Drive Notes: 2023 Hyundai Elantra Limited
Last week's ride was the 2023 Hyundai Elantra Limited. Here are my first-take thoughts on this commuter-focused compact.
Pros
- Sprightly, sporty handling.
- Clean, easy-to-read digital gauges.
- Easy-to-use infotainment.
- Comfortable driver's seat.
Cons
- A bit noisy at highway speeds.
- Torquey on the low end but still could use more guts.
- The stereo wasn't up to the task of cranking some Van Halen. It washed the opening riff of "Humans Being" out.
- Feels a bit more cramped than it is.
This has been drive notes -- a quick look at a recent test vehicle. Next up: Lexus TX.
[Image: Hyundai]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
More by Tim Healey
Comments
Join the conversation
One of the biggest takeaways from this - Tim is a fan of the Mighty Van Halen!! Humans Being is a killer song.
But can the stereo handle Albert King's guitar work on "Born Under A Bad Sign"
Fast - damn man, let not forget the bonus feature of being highly desirable to thieves, they'll take this off your driveway faster than you can say "tick-tock!"
(hopefully an immobilizer is now standard in these cars - as other manufacturers have been for like the last 10/15 years OR you better damn well demand a club from hyundai on delivery and check with your insurance co if they'll even insure this!)
As for the styling - i kinda like it.
My guess is the road noise has more to do with the tires than with anything else. My Elantra (2016) is very quiet on the highway after changing over to COOPER tires. 76k miles on the odometer and it has been dead reliable with only tires and oil changes and a few filters that were replaced. Still looks brand new inside and out.