Hyundai Elantra (2011 - 2016) Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Absolutely the best car I have ever owned! I bought it in 2015 as a certified pre-owned vehicle and never once did I have any mechanical issues other than just this year the pump for the windshield wiper fluid finally went out. However, my boyfriend and I were able to repair that on our own. I planned on keeping this car a good long time as I take care of my vehicles. Unfortunately I was rear-ended in October and the vehicle was totaled. Im putting my faith once again into Hyundai and buying a certified pre-owned 2020 Kona that I have researched heavily. I loved my Elantra and found it to be an excellent vehicle. I very much hope to have the same exact experience with my Kona as when I test drove a 2018 which had the same engine as the 2020 I found it extremely responsive, fantastic breaking, smooth ride even on bumpy bad roads, major safety features, very powerful, and felt just like my Elantra to drive. Dec 31, 2024

Aviod 2013 models. Aviod 2011-2012 models made in alabama. 2011-2012 models are O.K. if they are made in korea. 2.0 liter GDI engines should be avioded because some high pressure fuel pumps leak and they are on top of the engine and could start a fire. 1.8 liter engines could have piston slap creating noise and poor gas mileage, because they did not deburr the cylinders on some engines, wearing the pistons out. When you start the engine cold and hear a noise like a hand knocking on a table that is rod knock, avoid those elantras because on some engines they did not clean the oil passages from metal shavings before they assembled the engine. 2014-2016 elantras are good from my experience. A relative has had 2 2015 elantras one had 180,000 miles before it got totalled, and the one she has now has 214,000 on it. Hope this helps.Aug 02, 2023

We loved our Elantra! Great ride, great on gas and it was put to the ULTIMATE TEST when during a downpour a tractor trailer flew by and swerved into our lane causing us to hydroplane across 3 lanes then down an embankment where we flipped on our side and finally came to a stop when we hit a tree line. Climbed out the top through the passenger window and walked away with only a few bumps and bruises. The rescuers, police and tow truck guys all said wow, that car saved your lives! Nov 07, 2020

Great car, many features for the price. Great mileage, low maintenance. Slick appearance. Very comfortable, roomy. Not quite as peppy as a Mazda3 (which was my 2nd choice), but peppy enough. Good handling, fun to drive. I use it mainly for commuting to work, but its a great trip car. Love the car, would recommend it to anyone and would buy this model again in a heartbeat.May 20, 2015

Great appearance, with good fit and finish. Hyundai has come a long way in the Elantra's design and appeal over the last four model years. The build quality on the vehicle is good; However, the quality of each individual component is another issue entirely. Hyundai's warranty and service has thus far been absolutely unbeatable, and I do not use that word accidentally. UNBEATABLE. This car performs well among competitors in its class, but road noise in the 2011 and 2012 model years is downright excessive. Additionally, the thickness of the exterior body panels on the Elantra have always been less than that of other auto manufactures, and that continues to be the case through the 2015 model year. This exposes the vehicle to significantly more dents, dings and paint damage than one would expect, and it truly is a nuisance. As of this review, the vehicle has been to the dealer for warranty work and repair 9 times, not including normal maintenance visits, with a mileage reading of 21, 900 miles. The costs of those repairs is non-existent (no charge) under the Elantra's generous warranty. However, this has significantly affected my opinion of the vehicle, as the mileage and age of the vehicle would suggest a much more hassle-free ownership experience. I can honestly say that I love this vehicle, and HOPE to get ten dependable years of service with approximately 100,000 miles of reliable transportation. However, I would not recommend purchase of the Elantra to friends and family. Ever. Based on my ownership experience thus far, I fear that my expectations of this model are far reaching and unlikely to be attained.Aug 18, 2014

On friday I decided, after an exhausting search for a new car for the wifey, on a new 2014 Elantra Sport. My initial thoughts after the first 50 miles are that this is a car that can stick around in our family for a while. Excellent safety ratings, excellent gas mileage (we sold a Jeep Wrangler for this so ANYTHING is better) and a lot of fun for me to drive (when the misses gives me a chance. :) ) My first impression of this car went straight to the finish and body lines. It's obvious the Elantra is the little brother to the Sonata. The Sport package we selected is the most limited on color ranges so we opted for the Titan Gray with Gray/Black interior. When clean, this color is STUNNING. Very deep, dark color in the shade and when the sun strikes it, the color just pops. The finish work is well executed with no noticable overspray or edge drip to be found. As for the body itself, the lines are agressive and lean. I find the design to be well executed and quite attractive aside form the very front nose where the front licenseplate area seems a bit clumsy. After the lines of the body come the wheels. The stock wheel is above average in looks and the paired with each tim level as appropriate. This car has a lot of upgraded quality for an affordable price. I found the overall hands-on quality to be just as nice and solid as the Sonata (made in Georgia) even though it's final assembly is in Korea. The looks are that of a lean bicept, and the performance matches that in a powerful quick twitch fashion. Now, this car is no hotrod, but that little 2.0l four can get you going in a hurry. Since the car is still going through it's break-in period, I havent really put it through the gauntlet yet, but after driving it to the store a few times and taking it across town once, its quick for sure. The selectable automatic is great when you want a little more hands on driving and that "pin you to the seat feeling." The standard 6 speed auto is a great 'mate for this motor and the selectable shifting is a wonderful cost free addition. I think Hyundai did a great job with this drivet train and I'm anxiously awating our first road trip in this car. The interior is one of the major picking points for me in automobiles, and this one asthetically is nice, maybe. Again, comparing to the Sonata, it's very close in design although somewhat lacking in execution. The Sport package comes with bluetooth, rearview camera, satellite radio and a small internal storage headunit. The audio performance in this car is very average, if not poor (to be fair, I only used the bluetooth connection for media playback so far, so that could be the issue) and the satellite radio/media storage system is not very user friendly. The audio system paired easily with my iphone 5 and automatically synced my contacts for reference. The one major issue I have with the interior and cabin of this car seems to be the fact that every surface of this vehicle scratches/get's dirty very easily. We looked through three identical units on the sales floor and every single one of them had issues off the lot. We just picked the cleanest of the three and hoped that we could keep this car looking decent through the weekend. We have already planned to have the headliner cleaned professionally and scotchguarded for the future. Families with small children/dogs beware. I'm already leary of putting our two small dogs in the car. Only time will tell if it's a warranted concern. Overall, I'm excited about this car and am deeply reminded of our early 2000's Ford Focus we so loved. The build quality is great, the drivability is really great and it's very well equipped for the price. So far, we have no regrets about this purchase and we are looking forward to our future with it.Mar 31, 2014