<p>Another Hyundai fan here, due to the Hyundai Hope on Wheels program. </p>
<p>Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using CC</p>
<p>More Hyundai lovers here! My boyfriend drives the Genesis and I desperately want an Elantra. My friend has one and it is an awesome car.</p>
<p>2010 Elantra owner here. And I’ll admit it: I’m tough on cars. I rarely think about getting tuneups, checking oil, replacing oil (hell, it wasn’t that long ago that I discovered there was a difference!) – doing any maintenance. The only time that car’s been touched by a mechanic is when we had the snow tires put on. And you know what? It runs great. The perfect car for urban/suburban/highway conditions. Its only negative is big snow & mountains: so unless you’re planning to do a lot of 9,000-feet-elevation-and-above type driving, the Elantra should be a good, economical choice. It may even make you feel superior to all those other schumcks who paid thousands, or tens of thousands, more to get them from the same point A to point B that your Elantra covers just fine.</p>
<p>DH has a 2000 Elantra sedan and I have a 2001 Elantra hatchback, with over 110,000 miles on each of them. Love them! The hatchback is so versatile–it holds a ton of stuff, and it’s easier to park than a station wagon.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for your help!
It is pretty amazing to hear so many fans of the Hyundai vehicles.</p>
<p>stevensmama- I’ve suggested to DS that a hatchback would be useful. He is a teacher and performing musician who lugs all kinds of equipment and instruments routinely. But after many years driving a very uncool station wagon hand me down, he is set on a sedan. </p>
<p>The Elantra touring looks like it would be versatile…but the mileage is significantly less than the sedan last I checked.</p>
<p>I’m surprised the Elantra Touring gets such crappy gas mileage. If your DS can wait for the 2013 models, the hatchback is back!</p>
<p>[2013</a> Hyundai Elantra GT Photos and Info News Car and Driver](<a href=“http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2013-hyundai-elantra-gt-photos-and-info-news]2013”>http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2013-hyundai-elantra-gt-photos-and-info-news)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Note that the Elantra sedan and Elantra Touring are different designs, and are not on the same schedule for redesigns. So the current Elantra Touring which has been offered since the 2009 model year in the US is still using the older generation engine and transmissions rather than the newer generation versions that appeared in the redesigned for 2011 Elantra sedan. The 2013 Elantra GT that will replace the Elantra Touring gets the newer generation engine and transmissions.</p>
<p>We have a 2007 with 75k miles. It runs like a top…very pleased. Great value.</p>
<p>Got a 2012 Elantra last November - love the car - great gas mileage - handles very nice. It was car of the year for a reason!</p>
<p>One son bought a new 2012 Elantra last fall and adores it. Know that to keep the warranty in force, the required service must be done at a dealership and on their schedule, so having a convenient dealer is a must.
He drives the Beltway in Baltimore/DC area, makes great use of the built in Bluetooth and gets phenomenal mileage. What’s not to like?</p>
<p>2010 Elantra–very nice. A bit of road noise but the gas milage is fun–I can never even remember when I last needed to fill it.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Maintenance need not be done at a dealership, but it must be done correctly and on the schedule specified by the manufacturer. However, manufacturers are often more trusting of dealer service records than records from independent shops or do-it-yourself.</p>
<p>^^
I suspect the reasons our engine replacement was so easy was exactly as mentioned above – we’d followed the maintenance schedule exactly, done by the dealership. (And BTW in answer to the question upthread, I am mechanically-challenged and never did understand what the problem was, but the resolution was so seamless and stressfree – and no further problems – that it didn’t matter. ( I realize others might focus more on the problem; we focused on the solution and overall experience)</p>
<p>Well, today is my son’s car shopping day.
I’ve shared my vast (ha!) knowledge of the car buying process, printed out all kinds of comps and trucar, Costco, etc examples so he’s as prepared to do battle as possible.</p>
<p>I’ll be along for the ride (literally) as he hasn’t actually test driven the Elantra yet.</p>
<p>Thanks to all here for their stories and wish us luck!</p>