Hyundai Elantra N: Hilariously Fun, Great Value, But Slightly Flawed 

Currently at the top of my list for my next car here soon, the EN has done a good job working towards eliminating the Hyundai stigma

The issue with all the "negatives" being presented in the various videos of this car is that they're SUPER nitpicky negatives. I own a 2023 that I bought in May (2023), it's also white, but has a 6M because I'm a grown up. While it's objectively true that the DCT is faster, I'm not really big on street or track racing and the 6M is a helluva lot more fun to drive, as are all manuals. 1) So there's a plastic, shaky handle in the front? And? How often does anyone even look at it, let alone grab it? The seats aren't power? And? You adjust your seat ONCE, and then you literally never move it again. I've had my 2011 Optima SX since 09/10/11 and I STILL haven't moved the seats from initial setting; 12+ years ago. 2 ) No vents or ports in the back? How often do you have people in the back seat of your car where this is actually ever going to matter. In the 7 mos I've owned mine, the only person in the back seat was me, once, to install the rear facing 'dash' camera. 3) Rear bracing blocking large stuff being put in the trunk? Interesting. Why would anyone be putting such large items in the trunk of a CAR? They make SUVs and Trucks for that very reason. This is a small, economy sports car that has a trunk suitable for picking up groceries. The intent would've never been for small construction projects or hauling LED TVs. That's not to say there aren't some truly dumb things about this car: 1) The paint is pretty bad. I only have 1607 miles on my car and there are already about 5 - 6 rock chips in the paint, even one on the rest strip on the bottom in the front. It's super annoying especially here in AZ here stuff is always flying off the roads. It would've been nice to have higher quality paint and not have to resort to getting a wrap. 2) The fact that the car doesn't start in the same mode you turned it off in. In other words, if you turn it off in 'N' mode, it should stay there. But it doesn't. It reverts back to Normal mode. I don't see the point in this, other than maybe because the valves need to be closed. If you notice, the 'pops' don't really start until the car is warmed up a bit. But it's still silly to have to put it back in your desired drive mode every single time. The same goes for the REV matching, which turns off in Normal and Sport mode once the vehicle is turned off. Makes no sense. 3) Up until a few weeks ago, the BOSE stereo was really underpowered and underwhelming. Used to have to turn it up to like 25 or 30 in order to get any decent sound. However, there was an over-the-air update to the car's software which has fixed this stereo. Now, you can get quality sound with power at around 5 to 6, which takes this negative away. I'm leaving it here because if they can fix the stereo like this, then they should've been able to fix #2 as well, right? I don't know, I'm not an engineer. I really did enjoy your video. You gave an honest and thorough review. What I like the most about it is what happens with literally EVERYONE who drives this car. Any perceived negatives about it, and Hyundai in general, completely vanish as soon as you drive it. This is a driver's car. Not over priced, doesn't have bells and whistles for the sake of bells and whistles. It is priced correctly and gives the driver all the feedback and fun required for this type of car. I don't regret my purchase, at all. Not even a little bit. Cheers.

I got the manual transmission 2023 elantra N in phantom black (to hide that grill). I've had it about 6 months and couldn't be happier. Turning heads in a hyundai is something I never expected. I'm actually sad when my commute is over.

You can totally customize the screens I have the 23

Just bought 2023 N performance blue love the car and got it for MSRP so is a win win for me 🎉

Adding power controls to the seat could add an extra 20 pounds or more per chair. It's a bunch of small things across the whole vehicle that save weight. 3,300 pounds can turn into 3,600 pounds fast. Also, it would change the shape and size, removing some of that back seat leg room The rear vents are acrually in other markets, just not in NA. I assume it may have to do with import cost, but idk. With the bracing, it seems like you forget this is supposed to be a track ready car. Not just a more powerful car. Everything was tuned and changed to make it track ready while still being a good daily. So the argument of needing to take it out, etc, just doesn't make sense cause that should be part of why you buy it. If you simply wanted a faster economy car, the sonota nline or K5 GT would be your choice. Not the Elantra N. This car is supposed to be raced. Most of the marketing is on track. You have to remember what hyundai advertised this car for. So when you say why aren't the seats power, what's up with this bracing. It makes me wonder if you paid attention to what the car was advertised for. It's fun, it great, its daily, its track. Things you'd have to modify to other cars to make it more track capable or take corners better hyundai did that for you. Otherwise. Solid review.

People comparing this to cars at 40k+ price tags. I think the only thing that's flawed is the reviewers.

4:12 ''thats not very much force btw'' he says as the whole car shakes

Master of humor.

I recently test drove a GR Corolla, and I surprisingly liked the Elantra N (I30 Sedan N in Australia) more. I haven’t driven the current Type R, but can anyone justify paying a lot more for it? In Australia it’s around $17-20K difference in price.

The differential is *AMAZEBALLS* I've put the EN into full lock drifts and it'll pull itself right out. This car is a track & autocross monster. The seats make much more sense once you get onto track. Never once in my ownership I have I wished that rear strut brace wasn't there, it's not that hard to remove if you're planning to go to IKEA.

the option I see is either this elantra N or used RC F, RC F takes the cake easy since they go for 40k+ used

It's a performance car that bar is there for a reason it's the stabilize bar it prevents it from sliding

In the video you said the car weighs 3,500 lb It doesn't weigh that much. Maybe with the owner. Manual transmission version weighs 3,186 lb.

They really need to adopt the liftback for the boot. increases its utility massively. the liftback for the skoda and VW alone makes the price increase worth it for me.

Its amazing really what you get for the price. We get a slightly more upscaled version here in Australia and i chose it over the honda type r . Its quicker and more comfortable as a daily.

In my opinion the veloster N is still a better track car just because of the wheel base as far as power just change the turbo out to the EN turbo like i did 😁

lol, KONAN is legend… but the EN and the VN are cool too.

The rear chassis brace is annoying but it's 4 bolts to remove it, less than 5 minutes. The rear seats folding down in 1 big piece is a lot more annoying, especially if you have carseats.

If you had to compare the driving fun of this and your S4 and the M340i, would you say you're sacrificing fun going with this or no?

N go brrrrrrrrrr

If the car isn’t good enough for you go buy a bmw it’s the best car ever for that price point

I went with the veloster n. Just can't deal with how the elantra looks from the front

Actually bud, the MT Elantra N is under 3200 lbs. It is not a 3500 lb car. The DCT transmission model is heavier, though. I love my Elantra N and for 34 k I am glad I bought it over the Golf GTI. And please put some pants on those pasty white goat legs!

0:25 the car looks huge

Bro u look so small compared to the car in the first shot. Nice car tho. Shits sick

what lip is that?

Cyber Grey is best

I got a VN an don’t like the fact that they killed my car for a damn sedan used our engine then put it in damn sedan smh don’t see a lot of Elantra N’s and go for the Kona N which is even more rare to see they could of built a legacy with the VN now they got nothing but a semi sporty sedan An a SUV that nobody wants sigh hope Hyundai do better understand having certain cars in your line up helps build notoriety with enthusiast which help its brand the VN for rally the Elantra N for TCR events

The face lift EN looks really good. You can't compare this car to golf gti. VW gotta be the most unreliable cars

I have been driving Hyundai's since the late 90's and I am currently driving my 3rd Elantra now, just the regular 2020 IVT version, and my ownership experience with Hyundai has proven to be very reliable. I am glad I purchased my Elantra before the 2021 major redesign. One of the flaws that you had mentioned is the the front end of the current Elantra, it's just weird looking, to the point of being fugly. The other thing is the handle bar on the center console, idiotic and looks stupid as hell. So Hyundai takes a few steps forward and then one or 2 steps backwards. I have come to accept that Hyundais use cheaper plastics for the interiors of their vehicles. I was at a Mazda dealership a couple years ago, and the difference of the entry level Mazda 3 to the Elantra was very noticeable when it comes to the interior materials. But it seems that the interior quality of the more recent Elantras has improved since the 2021 redesign. I think that Hyundai gets most things right when it comes to delivering what customers want and what they are looking for, but it just seems that sometimes Hyundai is oblivious when it comes to a few other decisions. Then again, other car makers do the same thing. Overall, it's great to see Hyundais are now being compared to Honda, Toyota, Mazda, VW these days. I was around in the mid 1980's when Hyundai began selling cars in the US, to be honest with you, I didn't think they were going to be around that long. Just hope that Hyundai can work out the issues they have with some of their previous and current vehicles and move forward.

Omg the plastic! *adds leather and price jumps* omg not enough power. *price jump* omg no awd *price jump* omg this audio system sucks *price jump* final..... 70,000$ from 34k OMG YOUR ASKING THAT MUCH!? 🙄🤦

Practicality? It’s a performance car. go get a truck 😭