For those wanting a high-value, reasonably priced sedan, a look at the Hyundai 2021 Elantra Limited is a must. The sedan, whose price hovers around $25,000, is a great looking car with a combination of angular lines and curves. A chrome front grille certainly is a statement piece and there are nice touches throughout with the door handles matching the body paint, LED front and rear lights with automatic headline control, and 17-inch alloy wheels.
We did a long-distance road trip and found the ride was smooth, and with the 147-horsepower 2.0L 4-cylinder engine, we easily were able to handle the highway and passing trucks with ease. The seats — with 6-way power adjustable driver seat with lumbar support and 4-way power-adjustable passenger seat — kept our bodies comfortable and we were able to exit without any aches or pains. The front seat offers 40.6 inches of head room and 37.3 inches in the back. We also had plenty of cargo room (14.2 cubic feet) so there was plenty of room for suitcases and grocery bags.
The issues we had were with the infotainment touchscreen and the digital instrument cluster. The 10.25 high-res infotainment touchscreen had Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and an easy-to-read navigation system was great but we noticed that when the sun was behind us, it blanched the screen out, turning it into a light grey with white letters and numbers. We were able to read it but it was a little hard. It was much better on the return trip when the sun was in front of us. The screen was a bold black with distinct white letterings.
We had more issues with the 10.25 digital gauge cluster. The cluster had the speedometer off to the side with a view of the lane in the middle and a tachometer, which registers the engine’s revolutions per minute (RPMs) to the right. Way down below was how many more miles you had until you needed to put some gas in the tank. We had a hard time seeing the — most important data how fast we were going — and thought it should have been larger and more front and center. The other information was tiny and hard to read. To be fair, many reviewers have lauded this gauge cluster.
Especially for this price point, the Elantra is packed with advanced safety technology, such as forward collision-avoidance assist with pedestrian detection, cyclist & junction turning detection and lane keeping assist, as well as comfort comforts such as hands-free smart trunk release, rearview camera with dynamic guidelines and 60/40 split folding rear setback with armrest and cup holders.
And, we loved the fuel economy with the Elantra getting 35 miles per gallon combined with 31 city and 41 highway. The average fuel cost is around $1,150.
Every Hyundai offers outstanding value and better-than-competitive prices, and the Elantra Limited is no exception.
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