The inside story on Hyundai's Elantra Touring GLS is a bit of a Gothic tale, dark in aspect and stark in the details.
Otherwise, this stylish wagon has many of the ingredients to become a best seller. It's as practical as a how-to book, as engrossing as the sort of fiction that's instantly optioned for a movie (if not on the level of the classics, or a heart-stopping thriller).
Already the Touring edition of the Elantra is contributing to Hyundai Canada's continuing climb up the sales charts.
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The GLS version we're driving sells for $19,499. You'd spend as much or more on a well-equipped Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris, yet Elantra Touring is a larger, though still well equipped, automobile. (Note the Touring GLS listed at $20,499 price during our road test but was reduced by $1,000 with an incentive expiring at the end of May; whether the incentive would be extended was not established.)
Whatever the price, those of us committed to reducing gasoline consumption will zero in on its city consumption rating of an unimpressive 8.7 litres/100 km and wonder how close to the likes of Fit and Yaris it really comes. Your EcoDriver correspondent tops up the tank when picking up a test car, fills it again after a week's driving and makes the calculation. The process is under way.
The first question that comes to mind is, what is it about this interior that almost immediately prompts thoughts of Goth?
Many a car is lined in shades of grey, if not quite this relentlessly grey. Even the headliner is a darker-than-usual grey; perhaps this has a subliminal effect. Or maybe the exterior being so very white and bright plays a part. Anyhow it's gloomy in here. Artificial wood or ersatz aluminum trim on dash and doors might richen the ambience, but the silver plastic frame around the gearshift isn't up to the task.
Large windows do let in the light while providing superior all-round vision. Shoulder checks come naturally in the Touring GLS, easing lane changes. The sound system also helps lighten the mood. Although only four speakers are producing the tunes, what you hear is much stronger and clearer than average.
The steering wheel is yet another shade of grey plastic (only the top-of-the-line GLS with sport package gets a leather covered wheel) but it does tilt and the driver's seat is height adjustable. And the Elantra Touring's greatest appeal may be in its cargo capacity: 1,848 litres with the rear seats folded (bettering the Tucson's 1,580), or 689 litres with the rear seats in their passenger-carrying configuration. You can carry a ton of recreational gear, largish dogs, power equipment, whatever.
A 6-foot-2 neighbour who drives an Elantra GT is disappointed by the Touring's headroom even after he has adjusted the seat as low as possible. Others will find adequate room for head and feet front and rear. Too bad the seats are broad and fairly flat, in a one-size-fits-all way, with insufficient bolstering to hold you in place when the firm suspension encourages rapid cornering. The now-discontinued GT's seats are far superior.
Performance is fine if you don't ask for much. It's as lame as the plot of a Harlequin romance, although nice enough at highway cruising speeds.
The four-speed automatic renders progress all too predictable: meaningful acceleration is accompanied by the moans of a compliant, but shackled, heart. With 138 horsepower and 136 lb-ft of torque, the engine is strong enough but it longs for a five-speed automatic. Bet on Hyundai introducing just such a transmission at some point; Honda Fit and Civic have one now.
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Reviews of current Hyundai vehicles invariably include a pat on the back for their build quality, and for vast improvement in reliability over the past decade. Consumer Reports magazine agrees, bestowing the Elantra with a "Recommended" checkmark (while complaining the Touring wagon has a stiffer ride and is noisier than the sedan, criticisms with which EcoDriver disagrees).
Still, the feeling here is that Hyundai needs to get better. The engine's variable valve timing and the Touring's European-calibre suspension tuning underline the Korean giant's undeniable progress. The low-rent interior and underachieving automatic point to the need for further improvement.
Without doubt Hyundai has mastered the challenge of building the basic inexpensive automobile: think Accent, think Elantra GL. Beyond that, the latest Hyundai halo cars, Genesis sedan and coupe, prove the Korean company can do the premium thing, too.
Hitting the bulls eye in the $20,000 segment seems more elusive. Consider how the Touring GLS's interior is highly functional and would be beyond criticism at a $15,000 price point. In a $20,000 car it needs to look as good as it works.
Air-conditioning vents are well placed and effective. An unusual amount of thought has gone into the provision of places to put things. One cubby is situated at the top the dash and another at the base of the centre stack, both enclosed by doors, and the cup holders have adjustable arms that secure different sizes of cups.
But it's gloomy all the same. And what's that smell? Could it be a trace of the scent of curing, chemically formed material that once was associated with Korean cars not-so-fresh from the factory? Back in the day, a Hyundai Excel or early Sonata could flare the nostrils as surely as the cheap perfume worn by Kate, the private detective's ever-loving gal in a pulp fiction who-done-it.
Returning the car to Hyundai in Unionville, the fill-up totals 31.8 litres. We've accumulated 293 km of urban driving, for an average of 10.9 litres/100 km.
Not all that bad for a wagon with the carrying capacity of a small SUV - but not good by the standards of like-priced smaller cars like the Fit or Yaris. It's a less than satisfactory conclusion, whatever your take on the story as a whole.
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2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring GLS
TYPE: Four-door hatchback
BASE PRICE: $19,499; as tested, $20,994
ENGINE: 2.0-litre, DOHC inline four
HORSEPOWER/TORQUE: 138 hp/136 lb-ft
TRANSMISSION: Four-speed automatic
DRIVE: Front-drive
FUEL ECONOMY: (litres/100 km): Government lab test result, 8.7 city/6.5 highway; our actual urban driving 10.9/100; regular gasoline
ALTERNATIVES: Mazda 3, Suzuki SX4, Toyota Matrix, Volkswagen Golf Wagon