ELANTRA

About the Elantra

Six generations of "good enough." The Elantra sold millions by being invisible — affordable, adequate, forgettable. Your aunt drove one. Your Uber driver drove one. Nobody had an opinion about it because there was nothing to have an opinion about. The CN7 changed the math. Hyundai's designers went full origami on the bodywork — creased, angular, aggressive in a way no compact sedan had any right to be. But styling is just styling. The real shift was the Elantra N. 204 horsepower. A six-speed manual. Launch control. An electronic limited-slip differential. In a Hyundai sedan. The Elantra N is what happens when a brand stops asking "what will sell?" and starts asking "what would be fun?" It undercuts the Civic Si, outguns the Jetta GLI, and delivers the kind of driving experience that makes you take the long way home on purpose. Thirty years of building a reputation for sensible transportation, then this. The Elantra finally has a personality.