2003 Hyundai Elantra

Going on nearly 3-years and 60k miles I've been very pleased with my 2003 Hyundai Elantra GT. With regards to reliability, performance, and comfort it has performed at or beyond my expectation.

The Elantra GT is rather roomy for its size, comfortably fitting two 6'0" size teenagers in the back and equal size folks in the front. The EPA rates interior volume as a mid-size car. Trunk space is more than adequate and the hatchback configuration adds more cargo room and versatility.

Performance is good with the inline 4. The engine revs freely but I wish it wasn't so harsh near the redline. The 5-speed is agreeable but a little rubbery and the clutch engagement is a tad light. Handling is ok but not thrilling or engaging. For a GT model you'd expect a lot more performance not just leather seats, a rear spoiler, and alloy wheels. The steering wheel rim isn't very thick and the manual shifter has an odd stitching pattern which chafes on my hand.

My Elantra has been pretty reliable. No major problems or breakdowns (knock on wood). The following are problems that I've experienced.

Warranty Replaced Items:

Body Trim:
* - Rear Spoiler came loose (fixed twice)
* - Tape molding around doors peeled off
* - Lower strip around windshield came loose

Interior Trim:
* - Driver side sun-visor clip lock broken
* - Clip that holds the driver side floor mat broke
* - Leather peeling from shift knob.

Engine:
* - Engine bogs down between 3800-4000 RPM (took two times to fix).

All of these are fairly minor and don't effect the reliability of the car. They are just annoying problems that give a perception of Hyundai being cheap cars. These were all fixed under Hyundai's extensive 5-year warranty.

Major repairs not covered under warranty:

Brake Rotors - These wear out much quicker than you'd expect, necessitating sanding of the rotors. The first time it was around 25k miles and at nearly 60k I'll probably need to do another shortly. My Honda CR-V went over 90k miles before needing one.

Timing belt - Be aware that suggested timing belt replacement at $60k miles. Depending where you live and where you get the work done this could easily be a $500-$1000 job. My CR-V didn't need one until 120k miles so 60k is a little early. Dealers have told me that the timing belt is 105k mile belt and they haven't seen any snap under 75k miles. Even with Hyundai's generous 5yr/60k bumper-bumper & 10yr/100k Powertrain warranty I wouldn't take the risk waiting on replacing something major like the timing belt especially if you don't have Hyundai do you 60k mile service (where they check the timing belt). If the timing belt snaps I doubt they'll cover an engine replacement unless you replace it at 60k or they're own service guys tell you it's ok until 105k miles.

Design elements that I would fix:
* - Aforementioned thin steering wheel and poorly designed stitching on manual shifter
* - Windshield wiper and the spray pattern on the wind shield fluid are not well coordinated. Liquid doesn't get to the lower part driver side section (the one's you mostly look out from while in the drivers sear). By the time the windshield wiper comes through there's no liquid so all it does is spread the dry dirt.
* - Stronger/stiffer wheel well cover (trunk floor)
* - Brighter head lights or better more focused light pattern.

I consider these all small problems.

Of the 15 or so cars that I've owned in my lifetime I consider the Elantra as one of my favorites. It does everything I need to do. Sure it could be a tad wider to fit 5 comfortably and more of a wagon instead of a hatchback to fit more cargo but I don't see anything in the current market place that can match the Elantra's combination of price, performance, versatility, reliability, and long warranty.