The Veloster may be no more, but does Hyundai's Elantra N have what it takes to keep up with–or even surpass–the latest Civic Si?
The Veloster may be no more, but does Hyundai's Elantra N have what it takes to keep up with–or even surpass–the latest Civic Si?
You know, it's probably for the best that I didn't get a chance to drive this one. I probably would have driven it to the dealership and asked to buy one.
Colin Wood said:You know, it's probably for the best that I didn't get a chance to drive this one. I probably would have driven it to the dealership and asked to buy one.
I had a Kona N for a few months. It was a hoot of a car and wouldn't mind having another one. They did a good job with the N models.
Everything I have read is that the manual transmission model is plagued by a funky clutch, making smooth starts nearly impossible, and I am loathe to buy a sports car with an automatic, never mind if it might actually be faster than a manual transmission model, I still want a manual gearbox because a proper sports car is supposed to be equipped that way. I know there are those that will disagree...but in this case given that the manual is a clunky option due to the clutch issues, an auto would seem to be the only reasonable choice but I would hate myself every day for making it.
In reply to livinon2wheels :
That's news to me. But I've had Korean clutches for 2 decades now and they all feel normal to me.
isn't this the car that guy in California got ensnared with red tape over because a cop thought his factory fresh car was too loud?
mad_machine said:isn't this the car that guy in California got ensnared with red tape over because a cop thought his factory fresh car was too loud?
Yes there is a case of that. There are a few exhaust settings and when you go into full "N" mode it's got a nice note. Some municipalities in California don't mess around. Every time I would visit Laguna Beach, they would have LEOs out there with decibel meters and citing all the supercar owners for said issue. Just another superfluous law in that state to generate revenue for gov't.
I know that race car /= street car, but I can't help but notice how successful the Elantra N (and the Veloster N before it) has become in the international TCR class.
I know I'm supposed to proclaim on the interwebz that "marketing BS doesn't work on me!" but the old adage "win on Sunday, sell in Monday" seems to influence my aging lizard brain to this day.
How are Hyundai's DCTs? Been curious about that.
livinon2wheels said:Everything I have read is that the manual transmission model is plagued by a funky clutch, making smooth starts nearly impossible, and I am loathe to buy a sports car with an automatic, never mind if it might actually be faster than a manual transmission model, I still want a manual gearbox because a proper sports car is supposed to be equipped that way. I know there are those that will disagree...but in this case given that the manual is a clunky option due to the clutch issues, an auto would seem to be the only reasonable choice but I would hate myself every day for making it.
When I had my Veloster, the throttle programming was the issue, not the clutch. In "normal" mode it was a berkeleying nightmare to start (although you could get used to it). "sport" was like a regular car.
My Kia has really E36 M3ty throttle programming also, which I am reminded of every time I go back and forth between it and the BRZ.
It would not surprise me if this was a brand-wide issue.
I own an Si currently and these really do seem like great cars (the Elantra N). Performance wise it's seems better than the Si and on par with the Type R which is amazing. I'd drive one except my Si gets better mpg and on my commute that matters. Heck if the Elantra had a larger fuel tank I'd consider it but I like getting fuel every 3 commutes vs 2.
DirtyBird222 said:mad_machine said:isn't this the car that guy in California got ensnared with red tape over because a cop thought his factory fresh car was too loud?
Yes there is a case of that. There are a few exhaust settings and when you go into full "N" mode it's got a nice note. Some municipalities in California don't mess around. Every time I would visit Laguna Beach, they would have LEOs out there with decibel meters and citing all the supercar owners for said issue. Just another superfluous law in that state to generate revenue for gov't.
I wish they'd do that against the Harley guys here. For berkeleys sake so many of them are way beyond obnoxious.
In reply to ConiglioRampante :
I remember talking to a friend at Hyundai about their racing program–this was back when their TCR program was new. Go against Honda? I thought.
And here we are today.
z31maniac said:DirtyBird222 said:mad_machine said:isn't this the car that guy in California got ensnared with red tape over because a cop thought his factory fresh car was too loud?
Yes there is a case of that. There are a few exhaust settings and when you go into full "N" mode it's got a nice note. Some municipalities in California don't mess around. Every time I would visit Laguna Beach, they would have LEOs out there with decibel meters and citing all the supercar owners for said issue. Just another superfluous law in that state to generate revenue for gov't.
I wish they'd do that against the Harley guys here. For berkeleys sake so many of them are way beyond obnoxious.
I'll counter, and I'm by no means a Harley guy but, I would rather hear them because I can't always see them. With that being said, some of them take it to the Nth degree in their antics, revving obnoxiously anywhere and everywhere.
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
If you drop down to Si level power the forte gt manual is your car. Forte, even though it's the same platform has a 14 gallon tank.
In reply to DirtyBird222 :
People I think unfairly say Harley is like this.
Where I live it's sport bikes. Literally past midnight you can still hear them.
bobzilla said:In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
If you drop down to Si level power the forte gt manual is your car. Forte, even though it's the same platform has a 14 gallon tank.
Honda dealership practices and insane markups will push people to Hyundai and Kia. I'm a Honda die-hard and I ended up with a Kona N because every Honda dealer wanted $10k+ for a Civic Si that's already overpriced at MSRP.
@Kanaric - I live between two military installations so all I hear are Chargers/Challengers/Mustangs all night. If I hear a sportsbike it's a welcome sound.
In reply to bobzilla :
That is a car I should look at then.
In reply to DirtyBird222 :
Dealerships can be atrocious. The Honda dealer near me doesn't seem too awful.
The dealer a town over from me has exactly one current gen 2023 Civic Si. It's used with a handful of miles and they want $35k for it. Every time the SIs get scarce, they really mark them up. Happened back in 2011 when I bought my old Mazda 3 as well; I went there to buy a new one, but the Japan tsunami made them scarce, so the only one they had was a used and abused 3 year old one marked up about $5k over what a new one would would cost. Ended up getting the 3 instead.
Same thing happened when I bought my Kia; they were at the tail end of production on the last gen, so all the dealers marked up remaining stock. I got the Forte GT for nearly $10k less than the Si.
The cars are great, but when Honda can't produce them or sell them for an agreeable price, the competition thrives. And the competition is getting better and better.
I bought a new Civic SI a month ago. Absolutely love it. Great gear box and plenty of power for around town.
I test drove a manual EN last week. I liked basically everything about it except for the manual transmission. I stalled it out 3 times and I've been driving manuals for 40 years. I eventually got the hang of it, but it doesn't compare to the SI transmission, which is so easy to use.
Maxdriver said:I bought a new Civic SI a month ago. Absolutely love it. Great gear box and plenty of power for around town.
I test drove a manual EN last week. I liked basically everything about it except for the manual transmission. I stalled it out 3 times and I've been driving manuals for 40 years. I eventually got the hang of it, but it doesn't compare to the SI transmission, which is so easy to use.
See my post above regarding throttle programming.
The point still stands though, Kia/Hyundai somehow really drop the ball on this part :(
AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to DirtyBird222 :
Dealerships can be atrocious. The Honda dealer near me doesn't seem too awful.
I presume they are not Hennessy Honda of Woodstock then.
In reply to ProDarwin :
Aftermarket tuning has been the fix for over a decade. The first Feb big block forte throttle mapping was so bad it makes the current models feel Like a cable. Tuning fixed it and madeitmuch much much better
In reply to bobzilla :
So it's been an issue for 10+ years and we have to rely on the aftermarket to resolve it?
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