I'm Dan Gray for MPGomatic.com and this is a Hyundai Elantra Touring.
The five-door 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring is fitted with a 2.0-liter DOHC engine that
can be mated to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. The
Elantra's inline four produces 138 horsepower (HP) and 136 foot pounds of torque.
The EPA's fuel economy estimates for the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring are 23 city / 31 highway
miles per gallon (MPG) with the manual and 23 city / 30 highway with the automatic.
We put roughly three hundred miles on the odometer of our five-speed manual Carbon Gray
review unit over a long weekend and dispensed the official mileage estimates with an average
of 35.4 MPG on the Interstate highway and 29.8 MPG combined.
While the little four-banger's numbers might not look impressive on paper, it delivers
off-the-line when fitted with the five-speed manual.
The Elantra Touring's standard B&M shifter makes it a pleasure to take a quick run through
the gears.
Through the twisties, the Hyundai five-door's handling isn't as tight as the segment-leading
Mazda3 ... but when it comes to hauling gear rather than hauling (ahem), the Elantra Touring
absolutely shines.
The Elantra Touring offers a remarkable amount of cargo capacity, with 24.3 cubic feet of
space available when the 60/40 rear seats are up and 65.3 cubic feet when the rear seats
are down.
Cubbies underneath the rear floor provide concealed space for even more stuff.
Rear seating is comfortable and relatively spacious, with a center fold-down armrest
and plenty of headroom.
Driver's amenities are quite good, given the Elantra Touring's price point, with the beefy
leather-wrapped steering wheel providing integrated controls.
Manual lumbar support is standard.
Our test unit was fitted with the Premium Sport package, which includes a power sunroof,
heated front seats, and 17-inch alloy wheels.
The optional Bluetooth hands-free phone system is housed above the windshield.
There are two power outlets at the base of the dash, and another in the cargo area.
The standard six-speaker audio system provides both auxiliary and USB input jacks.
Although the standard audio system does a great job of iPod integration, volume is limited.
iPod support includes access to playlists, artists and albums.
The steering wheel controls allow you to switch between songs, auxiliary input devices, CDs,
radio and satellite radio without lifting your hands from the wheel, so your eyes can
stay on the road where they belong.
While the trip computer provides an average mile per gallon fuel economy display (along
with distance to empty), the Elantra Touring lacks a real-time fuel-efficiency gauge.
All-in-all, the Hyundai Elantra Touring delivers excellent value with a combination of technology,
fuel efficiency, driveability, and cargo capacity.
Whether viewed as a competitor to the Toyota Matrix and Mazda3 or as an alternative to
a small SUV, the Elantra Touring delivers plenty of bang for the buck.
For more reports and reviews, come to MPGomatic.com, where mileage matters.
