Hyundai Elantra GT: 2018 Motor Trend Car of the Year Contender

We Like: Fun to drive, handles surprisingly well, the Sport badge actually means something

We Don’t Like: No limited-slip differential, cramped rear seat, inconsistent fit and finish

Usually, a Sport badge on an economy hatch means next to nothing. But the Elantra GT Sport gets more power, bigger brakes, and a multilink rear suspension—making it surprisingly fun to drive.

Angus MacKenzie called it “a genuine Golf GTI-lite,” and Christian Seabaugh said it was “a better Civic Si.” The Si comparisons didn’t stop there, either. “The Elantra’s driveline is smoother, the shifter is smoother, the ride is smoother, and so what if it’s a little slower and needs a limited-slip to keep the inside tire from spinning?” Chris Walton said. “I still had a blast on the winding road.”

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Not everyone agreed, though. “Great package,” Ed Loh noted. “But it’s not the class leader like the GTI. And I prefer the handling of the Civic to this.” Like Walton, he suggested adding a limited-slip differential.

And although the interior design, with its red anodized trim, red stitching and piping, and perforated, well-bolstered seats, received praise, we had a few nits to pick. “The plastic around the rearview mirror is very cheap, with a flash parting line right where your hands touch it to adjust it,” Frank Markus noted. There were also complaints about the packaging. “The second row is tiny; poor packaging on Hyundai’s part,” Mark Rechtin said. “And the cargo room is surprisingly small, too. Are we sure this is not an Accent?”

As Seabaugh summed it up, the Elantra GT Sport is the “perfect car for someone who wants something more fun than your run-of-the-mill compact but without the compromises of a straight-up hot hatch.” Excelling in that niche, though, does not make it a COTY finalist.

2018 Hyundai Elantra GT Sport
BASE PRICE	$24,135
PRICE AS TESTED	$24,260
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door hatchback
ENGINE	1.6L/201-hp/195-lb-ft turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4
TRANSMISSION	6-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	3,033 lb (59/41%)
WHEELBASE	104.3 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	182.8 x 70.8 x 55.5 in
0-60 MPH	7.2 sec
QUARTER MILE	15.5 sec @ 90.7 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	118 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.88 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	26.5 sec @ 0.67 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	22/29/25 mpg
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY	153/116 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB	0.79 lb/mile

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