Elantra does sexy
The coupe version of Hyundai’s growing Elantra family, which also consists of the multi-award-winning sedan and the all-new GT hatch, rolled in for a visit last week looking darn sexy, sporty, and stylish.
Dressed in stunning ‘Sparkling Ruby Red’ sheetmetal, the coupe arrived in my driveway with most of the same properties that made its four-door brother 2012 North American and Canadian Car of the Year.
The 2013 Elantra Coupe boasted the same new Fluidic Sculpture design elements as the sedan, along with the same fuel-efficient powertrain, fun-to-drive dynamics, a boat load of 'standard' high-tech convenience features, and plenty of advanced safety equipment.
Inside up front
We’ll slide inside the coupe first... where I was welcomed by plush, black, leather, well-bolstered seats that offered manual fore/aft, seat-back recline, and height-adjust movement.
Those perches provided good comfort and support on long drives and when taking the twisties at speed.
The seats had two-level heat settings, but there was no lumbar adjustment and the passenger didn’t get height adjust.
The Coupe's cabin materials, fit, and finish, like the rest of the Hyundai lineup, were better than you’d expect in its price range.
My tester included a seven-inch touch-screen near the top of the centre-stack area which featured the look now common across most of the Hyundai lineup.
The controls that surrounded that screen for radio, audio, media, and navigation were nice and big and simple to work.
HVAC buttons and a large dial to adjust the fan and to select the mode and dual-zone climate control (CleanAir) surrounded, like a pair of long chrome goat horns, a small digital screen that clearly displayed HVAC information.
A flip-up lid at the bottom of the stack in front of the shifter hid a nice-sized storage cubby perfect for a media device and its accompanying cable to stay hidden and out of the way.
That device could be plugged into AUX., iPod/USB ports. We used the 12-volt power source, also in that same cubby, to insert our Mobile AC Outlet to power up the kids' portable DVD player (it also fit fine in another 12-volt power source on the right side of the stack wall near the front passenger's left shin).
The gated shifter included manual shift mode which happened with a tap of the shifter to the right when in Drive; then a tap up to gear up and down to drop a gear.
The top of the dash area featured black, soft-touch plastics and a long, hard-plastic brow over the gauge cluster which featured the cats-eye analogue tachometer and speedometer gauges with the vehicle info. and vehicle warning indicator digital screens in between; all of which were easy to read and view from behind the wheel on both day and nighttime drives.
Its leather-wrapped steering wheel had both tilt and telescoping movement and held buttons for audio, Bluetooth, cruise, and vehicle and trip information.
The graphics on the touch-screen were easy to read for both audio and navigation and looked as modern and fresh as anything else out there.
I didn't use its available ECO mode to or from Cape Breton on the weekend (from Dartmouth) but still managed an impressive 7.5 litres / 100km with a car-load of humans and stuff, and with the A/C cranked the entire trip, and with me not driving like I had a big splinter on the bottom of my right foot.
Head and leg room was plentiful up front while driver visibility was also decent, for a coupe, thanks to good-sized, static rear windows. The backup camera's image on the touch screen also helped out considerably.
Other upfront features in my tester included: electronic push-button start, a good-size armrest bin, large glove box (not illuminated), bottle holders and storage in each door, silver sport pedals, auto-dim rear-view mirror with HomeLink, sunglass holder, power tilt/slide sunroof, lighted vanity mirrors, two console cup holders, auto up/down driver window, remote keyless entry (can leave keyfob in pocket), and a console-mounted handbrake.
I liked the notification on the cluster that showed 'Key Out' with an audible warning. I had the Elantra started in the driveway one day and then quickly ran inside the house to get something I'd forgotten; I left the key fob in the house and went back to the car; I would've driven away had I not seen and heard the warning. That would’ve sucked.
I also made note of the handy seat-belt extenders, which didn’t suck, but did help me avoid having to awkwardly twist sideways to grab said belt; the extenders were affixed to each b-pillar, but could be easily dropped down so as not to interfere with rear-passenger entry.
Not couped up in rear
Back seat riders had decent leg, knee, and foot wiggle room, and I was comfortable back there in its firm but supportive leather seats.
There was a three-point belt for the middle passenger, but that seat was good only in a pinch or for small humans. Head room accomodated my 5-11-ness fine.
The rear armrests had open cubbies which the kids used for Nintendo DSi games, movie discs, and dried out gum (unfortunately, not in any sort of wrapper).
There were no pouches on the seatbacks for the kids' books, but they consisted of hard plastic which made for easy footprint cleaning. The wide, thick, fold-down armrest had two cupholders. The lower tether anchors for child seats were not a pain to get at and the rear dash had three top-tether anchors. All three headrests were height adjustable.
The rear side windows were big enough to offer rear passengers a good view, which also worked well for the driver when peering over his right shoulder.
There was only one assist handle (above the front passenger); it could've used one on the driver side as well to assist the left-side rear passenger's exit.
The front seat could also have used a one-touch lever that could both tilt the seatback forward and move the bottom as well at the same time to make rear entry easier.
I had to do two separate actions to perform the manoeuvre and the same two actions to readjust the seat.
Olivia's booster chair fit well behind my driver's seat, with the buckle process not a problem for her to do on her own, and she never complained once about my seat being back too far.
I did get the odd kick in the back though when I had the 360-watt audio system up too loud.
Cargo room aplenty
I liked how the trunk lid popped open fast and high with a press on the keyfob or a finger pull of a small floor lever.
There was ample room back there for a long-weekend's worth of stuff, too.
The trunk measured roughly 42” wide and 41” long, while cargo volume totalled 420 litres (same as the Elantra sedan).
The rear 60/40 seatbacks dropped with the pull of one or both levers in the trunk for more cargo options.
The spare dummy tire and tools were under the cargo floor.
From the outside
Aside from the loss of two doors, you'd be hard pressed to find much difference between the Elantra Coupe and Sedan outside.
There was a slightly different look to the coupe's prominent hexagonal grille area (same as Genesis Coupe and Sonata Hybrid), while its rear included dual chrome-tipped exhaust outlets, a blacked-out rear valance, the 'Coupe' badge, and an integrated rear lip spoiler on the deck lid.
Other standards outside on my SE tester included: fog lights, alloy wheels with black spoke inserts, lower-profile P215 / 45R17 tires, auto headlamps, and repeater lamps on the side-view mirrors.
The Elantra Coupe rode on a 2,700 mm wheelbase with an overall length of 4,540 mm, a width of 1,775 mm, and a height of 1,435 mm.
Fun to drive
Its 1.8-litre inline four engine was a pleasure to spend time with on city streets and on the highway where it was always up to the task of keeping up with traffic and making safe, quick passes when required.
The rpms creeped up there when you stomped the gas pedal and so did engine noise a tad, but it cruised along smooth and quiet at the posted speed limits.
The engine made 148 horse- power and 131 pound-feet of torque; each delivered through a slick-working six-speed automatic with manual mode.
Overall, its ride quality was very refined; its steering (motor-driven power) felt light, but very responsive; while its suspension was firm yet compliant; the chassis felt rigid, while body roll was not a factor on city off-ramps.
All of the above was aided by some unique-to-the-coupe features which included a retuned suspension, more responsive steering rack, and larger diameter front and rear stabilizer bars.
Conclusion
On the whole, our top-spec’d Elantra Coupe SE tester was a fuel-efficient, stylish, fun-to-drive ride that was loaded with standard comfort, tech, and safety features, all for a hard-to-beat $25,199.
While it might not appeal to most families like mine as a day-to-day driver (sorry, I need four doors in my life), it should be a big hit with younger buyers wanting all of the above, but without the 'mature' look of the sedan.
Maybe for 2014 we'll see some turbo action to push more air into the four-banger’s combustion chamber.
And just because I mentioned that shows just how far the Elantra has evolved.