2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring First Impressions

[auto123.com]

(Victoria, British Columbia) - Last year, Hyundai took advantage of the Montreal International Auto Show to unveil the all-new 2009 Elantra Touring, a more family-oriented variant of their popular compact.
[full story (http://www.auto123.com/en/hyundai/elantra-touring/2009/review?carid=1092500300&artid=104530)]

[reality strikes]

Something that looks like a worthy replacement for my Focus Wagon. I'll wait for all the production kinks to work itself out in the first couple of years. I never buy cars in their 1st or 2nd year of availability.I'll really look at one in 2 to 3 years.

[longo]

As the 'Touring' is now in the hands of a few testers, their impressions are far from informative, they are more like.... 'interesting'.....you know, when the Chineese want to insult you they say.."may you have an interesting life"So far, the reports I have read from the initial drivers of this new 5 door, have been the usuall, preditable gear head nonsense.When are testers going to stop reviewing 5 door family grocery getters on how fast they can go around corners without falling over, or peering at body joints tolerances with a micrometer?Where is the info potential buys really need to know? First is the mpg results...and NOT the cooked numbers off the company window sticker, the real number from the actual road test. Potential buyers want to know this, even if the tester has to ask some kid in Grade 5 how to calculate and divide gallons used into miles driven. Does it ride like a Camry, or, after hours of uninterupted driving in this thing, will you fall out of the front seat and have to crawl to the sidewalk.Does the engine sound like a screaming blender going up hills, at highway speeds, is the cabin hushed and quiet so you can have a conversation without yelling? Do the brakes feel like stepping on a lumpy mattress or are they ..'right there'?Do your elbows hit the armrests right, is the steering wheel positioned for a safe comfortable grip, does the entrance in and out of the front and back seats require contortions or immediate treatement for concussion?You know, honest answers to just a few of the questions I asked before I bought a Nissan Versa.

[mbouchard]

Dear Longo...Interesting comment... but you should read better cause this is exactly what with do with our reviews... but never with what we call the first impressions.Hard to tell, out of a 200 km ride on a road you never use, what is the exact fuel consumption. And there is too much to say about the new car to really get into the kind of details you ask for.So this was a first impression (and read carefully, I do talk about the engine and the noise, the comfort, the powertrain and even the comfort of the suspensions, not to forget the cargo space; not bad for consumer's questions...), mostly to present the car and his main carateristics, with a few driving impressions as well.For the rest, well, just wait until we drive the car for a whole week, and use it like a regular consumer. Then, if you have more questions, i'll be more than happy to answer. Marc Bouchard

[karin]

My brand new Elantra died the first time 11 Km outside the dealership after we first picked it up. The block heater was not properly connected. It died the second time when the Head Gasket went two weeks later due to a factory defect. We are currently without a car for at least three days while our less than two week old Elantra gets fixed because the engine is now warped. Great car!!!