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Updated 2009 Hyundai Elantra

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Old 04-10-08, 03:48 PM
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GFerg
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Default Updated 2009 Hyundai Elantra







If the visual updates to the Hyundai Elantra you see here are carried over to all markets, which we imagine they will be, the sedan is going to make potential Civic and Lancer shoppers take a long, hard look. Not unattractive in its current form by any means, the Elantra's facelift being unveiled at Auto China next week incorporates a more upscale look in front than the current car. In a sidebar conversation, one of the other editors noted that it's somewhat reminiscent of the beak on early-'00s Acura CL/TL models. Those cars still look good, so this is not a bad thing for the Elantra. The rear fascia gets tweaked as well, with new taillamps being the most obvious change. Inside, the layout appears to carry over, and as you can see, the Chinese model has available woodgrain trim for The People's Luxury. Think of the changes as going from regular vanilla ice cream to that tastier version with the little flecks of real vanilla inside. They're basically the same thing, but you gravitate towards the fancier one. This is how we feel about the new Elantra.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/10/b...with-new-face/
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Old 04-10-08, 03:50 PM
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I didnt even know they had a current generation to update. What does it even look like?? Im sure Ive seen it before (probably looks like another car as usual).

Anyway, I like this. Front end looks like the new Mazda6 and the rear reminds me of the new updated TSX. The interior is AWESOME with that 2-tones leather.
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Old 04-10-08, 03:57 PM
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One day, there will be no more cheap economy cars.
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Old 04-10-08, 04:11 PM
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My cousin has this car (the non-updated model) in Korea, and I was actually rather impressed by the level of quality in the vehicle. I didn't have a chance to drive it--so I have no feel for the car as a driver, but as a passenger in both the back and the front seats, it was a surprisingly pleasant place to driven around in..
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Old 04-10-08, 04:57 PM
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Looks clean.
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Old 04-10-08, 05:04 PM
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Pretty nice looking if you asked me.
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Old 04-10-08, 06:00 PM
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Can anybody figure out what that long slot on the center console to the left of the shifter is?

It doesn't seem to be a manual-shift gate.....there's no way to get the lever over there. I wonder if it has something to do with one common console piece for both right and left/hand drive cars. Maybe on right-hand drive cars, the shift lever is over there in that left slot. That's the only thing I can think of.


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Old 04-10-08, 06:02 PM
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Not bad at all!
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Old 04-10-08, 06:06 PM
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Originally Posted by GFerg
I didnt even know they had a current generation to update. What does it even look like?? Im sure Ive seen it before (probably looks like another car as usual).
You've seen the current one I'm sure, but you couldnt tell it was a Hiyndai, because it's a straight rip off a Corolla.
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Old 04-10-08, 06:09 PM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Can anybody figure out what that long slot on the center console to the left of the shifter is?

It doesn't seem to be a manual-shift gate.....there's no way to get the lever over there. I wonder if it has something to do with one common console piece for both right and left/hand drive cars. Maybe on right-hand drive cars, the shift lever is over there in that left slot. That's the only thing I can think of.
I think it's just the piece that marks where P, R, N, D, 4-1 is...
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Old 04-10-08, 07:05 PM
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Originally Posted by PhilipMSPT
I think it's just the piece that marks where P, R, N, D, 4-1 is...
Thanks, Phil. It looks more to me like a ziz-zag shifting slot, but you might be right.
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Old 04-10-08, 07:51 PM
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WOW, Hyundai impresses once again!

That interior looks far beyond the Elantra class. Just compare it to the Corolla and others and it's a world of difference.

The one thing I don't like is the wavy waistline (same on current model).

And the Acura grill is kinda obvious, lol.
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Old 04-11-08, 02:14 AM
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Originally Posted by JLSC4
WOW, Hyundai impresses once again!

That interior looks far beyond the Elantra class. Just compare it to the Corolla and others and it's a world of difference.
maybe in pictures... it looks good in real life, but beyond? not really. Most people will probably preffer Corolla interior.
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Old 04-11-08, 06:30 AM
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Originally Posted by spwolf
maybe in pictures... it looks good in real life, but beyond? not really. Most people will probably preffer Corolla interior.
By request, I recently did reviews of the current-model Hyundai Elantra GLS and the new 2009 Corolla LE. The Elantra's interior, at least IMO, clearly won, hands-down. The Corolla's interior, though well-assembled, showed signs of cheapening, especially in the rear....and, in the new model, you have to move up to the new-for-2009 XLE model to get wood trim on the console....it no longer comes on the LE like last year.

That new Elantra interior that GFerg posted beats even the current Elantra interior by a country mile, and the new Corolla by a mile and a half....although the article states that is a Chinese-spec model. We may or may not see that interior here in the U.S. version (I hope we do).
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Old 04-11-08, 09:23 AM
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Originally Posted by JLSC4
WOW, Hyundai impresses once again!

That interior looks far beyond the Elantra class. Just compare it to the Corolla and others and it's a world of difference.

The one thing I don't like is the wavy waistline (same on current model).

And the Acura grill is kinda obvious, lol.
Sure the interior looks good, when you've got a very touched and doctored up picture of it. The interior looks nowhere near as good in real life.
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