The Hyundai Elantra was named 2012 North American Car of the Year. So there is something special under this hood.
It has a fairly good road presence, the interior is superb the clean elegant Korean design comes out well that complements the exterior design. It has dual ac, auto rain sensor, auto headlight, eco mode, rear ac vents, cruse etc., Flat foor so easily 3 can fit in. Front and rear arm rest. Basically the premium features offered by a Toyota is dished out for an affordable price.
It's super comfortable, if you get the fabric seats than will add in. Plenty of bootspace aswell.
It term of build it's quiet heavy and sold. This car was built to compete with Ford and Honda Civic. So alot of effort was put to build up this car.
On average it does 10-11 km/l ones I did an engine tuneup and reached 15.5 in the hi-way. Maintenance is average, eventhough you service with the agent or not the cost is almost the same. Replacing the engine oil, oil filter, air filter with full service and lube topup will come to aroud 13K. The recommended engine oil is Shell which they say the num 1. That may be expensive that other brands but performs well.
spare parts for wear and tear are available with the agent and couple of dealers out there have Korean vehicle parts. Most parts are compatible with KiA so you are safe. However body parts are not freely available specifically for this model. You need to wait for 3 to 4 weeks if it's been imported. So drive safely.
There are two common problems from what I know 1. The clock spring needs to be replaced when it reaches around 80000 km. It will cost arond 12000 for a brand new which will last for another 80K to 100K km.
2. A knock soud on the stearing wheel which is caused by a worn out rubber bush called 'cuppler' which is also fixable. A cuper will cost rs. 900/- from ebay. This too will last for 60000+ km's. so i would say it wont cost an arm and a leg compaired to similar range if othere brands.
Hope this helps.
