Prepair to be "whelmed" (not over or under...just "whelmed")
This review is from the perspective of a life time Hyundai owner, starting from my first car, which was a 1993 Excel 4 Speed Manual. Paid $800.00 for it. I hade 115K miles on it, and never left me stranded!
The next Hyundai I had was a used 2003 Elantra GT 4 Speed Manual. Never left me stranded.
That elantra was traded in for a 2013 Elantra GT 6 speed manual. Never left me stranded.
That elantra was traded in for a 2020 Elantra GT N-Line 6 speed manual. Never left me stranded, but it did get destroyed in a violent accident at the hands of a mentally unstable person who crashed into me from behind going 100MPH. That car saved my life with next to no injuries. None of these cars gave me "cheap" vibes (excel the 93 excel...it had the door of a WWII willies jeep! lol) That felt cheap because it was supposed to be that way.
That brings me to today and to this review. The insurance settlement from that accident allowed me to purchase (in full) a brand new 2025 Elantra N with a 6 speed manual in a beautiful red.
I've wanted this vehicle since it launched. It's not a bad car, but it's not a great car either. None of my past Hyundai vehicles gave me "cheap quality" vibes (93 excell doesn't count). I was never aprehensive that something is about to break or fall off.
I get those vibes from this car and it makes me sad.
Body panel gaps do not line up. DO NOT look for this because you cannot unsee it once you have seen it, but it's true!
Less than 1000 miles into owning the car and the clutch pedal makes an annoying "squeeking" sound when driving. Every...single...time....you press the clutch.
Why is this? Hyundai (in an effort to save 3 cents) now makes their clutch pedals from composite plastic. Worse than that, the actuating arm that goes from the pedal arm, through the firewall is also composite plastic. Somehow, even worse, they also use a composite plastic bushing between the fire wall and the acuating arm WITHOUT any lubrication.
Plastic on plastic....amazing. Even if you lubricate this, the squeeking will stop...only for a bit.
This example of cheap materials extends throughout the entire car. Heck, even the little LCD display for the radio is covered in a plastic so soft that if you wipe it off with anything other than a silk sheet, it will look scuffed....because it is and now will be forever!
Piano black plastic everywhere else so you get those amazing smudge markes on everything you touch. Always a classy look.
All of the outside trim on the car is the worse quality plastic you're going to feel. If you touch it, it will "wiggle" at the slightest touch. Even the plastic panels on the "A/B/C" pillars feels like it's going to fall off. (careful in those car washes!)
To that point, people's trunk lids are "popping off" to a degree. They're held on with freaking adheasive!
Bumper clips on the front just pop off! No joke.
Knock sensors going off if you go through a carwash that has underbody cleaning....seriously...
This is the first time in decades of owning Hyundai vehicles that I've questioned the quality of the vehicle, and by extension, my purchase.
Don't get me too wrong here. I love the way my car looks and I love the performance. It has great interior space.
The ride quality is "okay" in all of the non-n modes, but it could be better. N-Mode ride quality is what you'd expect, and is perfect for that mode.
Again, cheapness made them remove the rear air duct vents for the rear passenters? Why? You can even purchase the koren center console parts that allow you to install it in your North American Elantra-N. it's just a couple of plastic pieces. Coudn't have cost Hyundai more than 1-2 dollars in parts, but they left it out? Why? The reason can't be weight since the parts are only a few ounces and they're in other regions of this same car. Rear passengers cann't have direct cooling because? Money?
I've giving this car 3-stars only because it hasn't broken down on me YET! I get the vibes that's it's waiting for the worst possible time.
Hyundai needs to focus on build quality and the "fit and finish" of it's cars.
The loaner car that the insurance company rented for me while I was waiting for my settlment was a 2025 Nissan Versa. North America's cheapest new car these days.
Never made a single rattle, squeek or underiable or unexpected noise. Everything felt solid. Real solid.
Yeah, it was SUPER slow and the CVT was junk, but if Nissan can get the interior of their cheapest car to feel more "premium" than Hyundai can with a nearly $40K vehicle, then Hyundai is just cutting corners.
Verified Owner
