2013 Hyundai Elantra Coupe SE PZEV: Sharp-looking exterior, less-sharp handling

Written by Steven Macoy
Thursday, 20 December 2012 12:05

2013 Hyundai Elantra Coupe SE PZEV

Hyundai doesn’t play fair. Already in possession of the four-door Elantra, one of the sharpest-looking compact car designs on the market, Hyundai boosted its style cred in a big way by rolling out an Elantra coupe for 2013. What’s next, a wagon? (Having dropped the conventional Elantra wagon, Hyundai this year introduced a wagon variant called the Elantra GT.)

In days gone by, young parents replaced four-door sedans with coupes to make sure children couldn’t open the back doors when the car was moving. Young singles, meanwhile, gravitated toward two-door personal luxury cars like the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Ford Thunderbird. Then came child-proof door locks and a burgeoning population of models that flat-out looked better in four-door trim. Some critics already have registered the same reaction to the Elantra coupe, comparing its styling unfavorably with that of the popular sedan.

Our coupe, a high-end Shimmering Silver SE with partial zero-emissions vehicle technology, had a sticker price of $23,965. The base GS coupe starts at $17,445; the base Elantra GLS sedan has a base price about $600 lower.

Other than having two long doors instead of four short ones, the Elantra coupe isn’t substantially different from the sedan. Interior appointments, fuel economy (27 mpg city, 37 highway), standard features and mechanical alternatives are about the same. All Elantras come with 4-cylinder engines, ranging from 145 to 148 horsepower, and can be equipped with a 6-speed stick shift or 6-speed shiftable automatic. Our coupe had the 145-horsepower PZEV engine.

The standard-features list included power sunroof, front fog lights, rear spoiler, Sirius satellite radio, heated mirrors, steering wheel-mounted cruise, audio and phone controls, integrated Bluetooth hands-free phone system, leather upholstery and heated front seats. Adding $2,350 to the price was a navigation system with 7-inch screen and rear-view camera, premium audio system, automatic headlamps, electronic push-button start, and dual automatic temperature control.

One of the Elantra coupe’s major strengths is interior and cargo room. It’s possible, if not always advisable, to transport adults in the back seat thanks to unusually spacious head and knee room. And the trunk accommodates 14.8 cubic feet of cargo. Neither the Honda Civic coupe nor the Kia Forte Koup comes close.

Elantra sedans are rated as a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The coupe has yet to undergo IIHS or government crash testing and is too new for meaningful reliability evaluations. Past Elantras, however, have done exceptionally well in Consumer Reports magazine owner surveys.

While our Elantra coupe had a sport-tuned suspension, we didn’t find its performance to be particularly sporty. Its styling hinted at something more under the hood or in the suspension, compared with the sedan, but it struck us as neither faster nor more nimble than the four-door version. Otherwise, however, it showed itself to be a well-founded car that won’t disappoint drivers who aren’t focused on performance.

Steven Macoy ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) is a longtime car enthusiast and full-time editor who lives in Bethel, Conn.

Price: $23,965

Engine: 1.8-liter inline Four, 145 horsepower, 130 lb.-ft. torque

Transmission: 6-speed shiftable automatic

Drive: front-wheel

Weight: 2,729 lb.

Suspension: 4-wheel independent, MacPherson strut front, torsion beam 

rear

Wheels: 17-inch alloy

Tires: P215/45R H all season tires

Seating capacity: 5

Luggage capacity: 14.8 cu. ft.

Fuel capacity: 13.8 gallons

Fuel economy: 27 mpg city, 37 mpg highway

Fuel type: Regular

Find out why cialis super active , and much more. Online pharmacy, viagra gold , low prices.