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ChrisTropea
ChrisTropea Associate Editor
12/2/22 5:00 p.m.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/qgOmfstH2eQ

Hyundai has come a long way since the ’80s, but has the Korean carmaker finally produced something that outperforms the Honda Civic Type R?

We took the new Elantra N to the Florida International Rally & Motorsport Park, the official test track of Grassroots Motorsports, to find out.

Presented by CRC Industries.

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Datsun310Guy
Datsun310Guy MegaDork
12/2/22 6:29 p.m.

Sounds like a great car so I drop a request to my local Hyundai dealer - how much if I drop a deposit?

 

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
12/2/22 6:40 p.m.
Datsun310Guy said:

Sounds like a great car so I drop a request to my local Hyundai dealer - how much if I drop a deposit?

 

Still less than the Type R tax.

(But if you want to throw a brick through the dealership's window just on principal I'll look the other way)

calteg
calteg SuperDork
12/2/22 6:49 p.m.

Hyundai and Kia, generally speaking, have some of the absolute worst customer service. The good news is that Honda recognizes the rarity of the type R brand, and typically discontinues them after 2 or 3 years.

 

The "N" brand is relatively new and Hyundai doesn't seem super concerned with diluting their offerings. The veloster N got killed off pretty quickly, but "weird shaped hot hatches" is one of the few segments that's smaller than "weird shaped performance sedans"...I'd bet we see discounts on the Elantra N if they continue to produce it for a few more years...

David Elfering
David Elfering GRM+ Memberand Reader
12/2/22 8:31 p.m.

Very cool analysis. I've been watching Hyundai since the 2017 Elantra GT and appreciate the value they've brought to the segment. 

nocones
nocones GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
12/2/22 8:37 p.m.

When you where doing the analysis was the blue/red numbers on the top screen Peak G for each trace?  

Sounds like it's a pretty great car.  And QUICK too.   

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
12/2/22 10:24 p.m.
nocones said:

When you where doing the analysis was the blue/red numbers on the top screen Peak G for each trace?  

Sounds like it's a pretty great car.  And QUICK too.   

Not peak but momentary. 

bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter)
bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
12/3/22 9:39 a.m.

I am currently sitting in a rented Hyundai SUV of some kind. I picked it up at the airport late last night and didn't really look at it other than to note it is brand new with less than 2,000 miles on it so I guess it's a 2022. That's the thing is, I started it and other than the tach registering it was hard to know that it was running because it was so smooth and quiet. I rolled down the window and revved it a couple of times and confirmed to myself I was not driving an ev. It is hands down the smoothest and quietest vehicle I have ever driven. The rest of it is not bad either although I only have maybe 30 minutes of night time driving so far.

borf42
borf42 GRM+ Memberand Reader
12/3/22 2:25 p.m.

I have a 2022 Elantra N-Line 6M, and I love it. I have experience with two Hyundai dealers, and they were polar opposite. One was one of the worst experiences at a dealer, the other was fantastic. The fantastic one should be what all dealerships act like.

msterbeau
msterbeau Reader
12/3/22 5:13 p.m.

I was thinking the other day that a Kia Soul with a Veloster/Elantra N drivetrain swap would be relatively straightforward and yield a stealth track rocket with some weight taken out and assuming the it can be suitably lowered with decent size rubber.  

 

Ttrackjunky
Ttrackjunky
12/3/22 11:03 p.m.

In reply to Datsun310Guy :

I purchased my EN from Jermaine of St. Augustine at sticker and there was no hidden BS to contend with. 13,000 miles and 5 track days and as the song says "Lovin' every minute of it" I love the  DCT... Just switched to a wheel and tire set-up that is about 40 lbs less unsprung weight so looking forward to Sebring in a couple of weeks

 

OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
12/4/22 9:06 a.m.

In reply to bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) :

Curious which one it is. My SIL has a 21 Palisade and niece a 22 Tucson. Both are extremely nice vehicles. 

OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
12/4/22 9:12 a.m.

This video gave me serious MotorWeek vibes. I mean that in a good way.

Saw one of these last night. The taillights look awesome. Hyundai is killing it. 

thomiriana
thomiriana GRM+ Memberand New Reader
12/4/22 1:22 p.m.

I just bought a 2020 Veloster N with the Performance Pack. I love it! It is replacing my 2000 Miata LS swap that I crashed in Oct 21. The VN isn't as fast as the Miata but still very fun. 

Aaron_King
Aaron_King GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
12/4/22 1:30 p.m.

I hope they transfer the N bits to some KIA offerings which I think look better than the Hyundai stuff at the moment.

pinchvalve (Forum Supporter)
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
12/5/22 7:46 a.m.
Aaron_King said:

I hope they transfer the N bits to some KIA offerings which I think look better than the Hyundai stuff at the moment.

If you like the look of Kias, the K5 GT offers 290 HP and 311 Torques with a DCT, sport suspension and P-Zeros. It is a mid-sized platform however, so you gain some size and weight. 

 
Of course, it's not an N so you don't get all of the track-ready stuff  you see on the Elantra's Code Map

 

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
12/5/22 8:26 a.m.

Bring. Me. The. i20N. 

In reply to msterbeau :

One step further, the Accent/Rio share much of the architecture of the V and Elantra. The 1.6T swap is pretty straight forward. The Rio already uses the Elantra GT sze rotors/pads with 4 bolt hubs instead of 5 (11" front, 10.5" rear). If you want to go crazy, a 5 lug swap is as simple as bolting on new rear hubs, pressing in a new 5 bolt hub into the Rio knuckle and then you have he VT 12" brakes available in a car weighing 2500lbs. 

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
12/5/22 9:39 a.m.

Mostly I just love that we've reached the point of the discussion in this item on Facebook where the Honda Type R fanbois are showing up to say they don't like the Elantra N because it looks funny.

 

kevinatfms
kevinatfms GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
12/5/22 9:40 a.m.
bobzilla said:

Bring. Me. The. i20N. 

 

This x1000. Id be all on board. The Youtube reviews sound like it was built to replace the Fiesta ST.

QuikMcshifterson
QuikMcshifterson New Reader
12/5/22 11:10 a.m.

Just picked up a Veloster N and drove it from SLC back down to Phoenix (note: turns out that summer performance tires don't work in freezing weather with snow on the ground... at all). The car is a surprisingly good road-trip vehicle for a hot hatch (when in NORMAL mode). 

I test drove the Elantra N but it was so ugly I would have to drive it in the dark while blindfolded. I also didn't like the full digital dash and goofy interior. The Veloster looks like a proper hot hatch to me and while the interior plastics are Dollar General grade materials, everything that contributes to the driving experience (shifter, steering, etc) seems pretty good.

 

DirtyBird222
DirtyBird222 PowerDork
12/5/22 3:27 p.m.

I had a Kona N for about 5 months and loved it. Got to take a few hot laps in it at Sebring and was super impressed. I needed a bigger car and traded it in on a Raptor. I got $5k over what I paid for it too. I miss that car tbh but too small for my needs. The Hyundai dealer I went to was excellent too. I selected the car off their website, made a deposit, they helped me load it on to a trailer, and I spent 45 minutes signing paperwork and that was it. Would def buy another car from them again if I was in the market. 

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter)
ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) Dork
12/5/22 3:42 p.m.

I've decided that the reason I don't care for the look of these is the wheels.  They don't look "performance" at all, and have a very 80's vibe (not in a good way).  Easy enough to solve I guess.

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
12/5/22 4:16 p.m.

In reply to kevinatfms :

prety sure it was meant to take the fist head on in the market. 

ProDarwin
ProDarwin MegaDork
12/5/22 4:50 p.m.
msterbeau said:

I was thinking the other day that a Kia Soul with a Veloster/Elantra N drivetrain swap would be relatively straightforward and yield a stealth track rocket with some weight taken out and assuming the it can be suitably lowered with decent size rubber.  

 

The early ones (not sure about current) have the same E36 M3 suspension as the other Hyundai small cars, but in a taller/heavier vehicle.  Beam in the back, struts up front.  Little suspension travel, tall and tippy.  They can't be lowered and retain any performance really.

If thats what you want you'd be much better off starting with a Kona N and adding grip.

I still think you'd quickly find your car on its roof.

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
12/5/22 4:54 p.m.

In reply to ProDarwin :

Fronts can be brought down with coilovers. The rear beams need the spring pockets lowered. I believe thats what Kinetic did with the first gen fortes for Continental series. Lowered the spring pockets to use a taller spring and shock and retain some suspension travel. 

Beam cars can handle really well. VW did wonders with them for a long time. They're not ideal, but they work and they're cheap. 

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