This car is a winner! I am a young man and like to go fast. A Few dollars in performance parts gets you 125+HP at the wheels. A few thousand dollars gets you 235+! It handles well stock, and even better modified. Get it and modify it for performance, and beat everything else on the import market!

Get it!

Plenty of good room, confortable, handles very well, plenty of power for a small car and you get a lot for your money.

The AUTOMATIC TRANSMITION SUCKS. My car has 10,000 miles and they are going to put in a new one already. I also had a 1997 Elantra and with about 20,000 miles it was going on the third automatic transmition.

NEVER GET THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMITION. $12,000

Clean styling, quiet, decent ride, nice finish inside and out and plenty of space. Overall I believe it to be an excellent value for the price range ($12-15K).

Power seats not available, center console should have been larger given the ample space between the front buckets, would be nice to have cargo light turn on when the hatch is opened.

Without a doubt, best in it's class and an outstanding warranty (including 5yr/24hr/unlimited mileage roadside assistance).

I immediately fell in love with its exterior elongated and elegant look. But when I sat in the driver's seat, it was the interior view that really hit me. The console, cd player, fine tuning radio, button-operating air conditioning system are absolutely great. Cannot overlook its stability on the road and when you live in the country you need a reliable car for those closed curves. I have to admit, its the best car I have ever driven.

I can't say there is anything I don't like about the car. It's performance is great. Perhaps the only odd thing was the check engine light turning on several times for no reason at all. But, I got that fixed.

The reason I decided to answer this review is to let you know that my 1997 Hyundai Elantra saved my five-year old daughter's life as well as mine. Although my car was total loss (thanks to a wreckless driver), we walked out of the car with minor scrapes. You just had to be there to literally see the beating our Elantra took for us. The interior sides are protected by bars and definitely much stronger than it appears to be. I was always told that my car looked like an aluminum cracker box, but believe me this little car is strong and thanks to our Lord, it took a "whipping" that could've led to very serious injuries or even death. Everyone that has seen my car cannot believe how we survived. I know God was there, and like they say "Driving is Believing". By the way, I'm going for the Hyundai Elantra 2001.

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My family is really FORD-TOYOTA oriented and haven't bought anything else in the past years. I was the oddball with a Hyundai. If we compare price, performance, and style--I made the best investment.

My wife and I own a 1999 Elantra Wagon, bought new 8/99. Used 20% for city driving, the rest highway. The car now has 19K miles, and has had ZERO problems. It is a GREAT car for highway driving/long trips. Strengths are exterior styling, interior design comfort and space, standard features (ac, cruise, power windows, etc.), handling, value for the money and warantee.

The auto transmission IS clunky, but we have gotten used to it, and has yet (knock on wood) to cause us any problems. The car DOES ding easily. The paint is not the greatest, but no big problems. Mileage could be better, but is no worse than the window sticker said it would be...20-21mpg in hard core city (NYC) driving, 26-7 rural roads, 29-30 hwy.

After almost 20,000 miles of trouble-free, comfortable and enjoyable driving, I can heartily recommend the 1999-2000 Elantras. Do get a manual transmission if you can, and get a wagon if you can find one. The word seems to be the 2001 is a big improvement on what was already a really nice little car.

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1999 Toyota Corolla (underwhelming, overpriced), Honda Civc (nice but overpriced), Mazda Protege (hideous interior)

The Value, Great styling, powerful engine

Mileage lower than expected.

After road testing everything out there, I was supprized by the Elantra. I was planning to get a 2 door and went to check out the tiburon. The dealer suggested I tried the Elantra. To my supprise it was a much better car than anything I had driven. The improvements in the 2001 over the 2000 are impressive. The car handles well and power is impressive (5 speed). Even in snow the car handles very well. No other car I drove had so many options included in the base model. After tax, title, delivery fee and advertising fee my total cost after rebate was $12,600. The warranty is the best in the industry. After 2 months of owernship I still love the car. The only problem I have had is the check engine light came on because the gas cap was not put on tight enough. It only took the dealer about 5 minutes to clear the computer code and I was back on the road again. I would highly recomed the car to everyone.

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ford focus, mazda protoge, toyota corolla, honda civic, dodge neon cant hold a candle to this ones value.

Good build quality, lots of extras as standed equipment,good to drive, reliability, and most of all no rattles.

The remote control for the doors is too sensitive and easily operated ,mine went off in my jean pocket about 500 metres away from car.I hate when you select front window defrost and using the fan, that the air-con turns on automatically.The Gas pedal has got a real spongy feel to it, the housing assembly actually bends when pedal is depressed, I fixed mine with 3 rubber bushes placed under the housing assembly.Hyundai should fix this housing to the engine fire wall, by using bolts instead of two tacky bits of spot welds.

All cars today are built to a price range,they don't seem to have the lasting qualities of cars built 10 years ago.
I wouldn't have dreamt of buying a Hyundai a few years back but this current crop of new cars from Hyundai is as good as any of the cars listed above.The quality of materials used and the fit and finnish is right up there with the other cars in this class.Maybe they still have a little bit to learn from the Japenese and Europeans when it comes to road handling. As long as you stick to the speed limits on the roads you shouldn't have much to worry about.
I just traded in a Opel Astra 1800cc( European built GM car)I had it for 18 month.That car was a great handling car and a great performer, motor wise, but the quality of build was below par, especially the body panel fit.Plus reliability was poor, every few months it was back at the dealers with something broken down or a sensor of some sought going wrong. At present I havent had a thing go wrong with this car, its a very pleasent car to drive and it's loaded up with lots of extra equipment that put other makes to shame.I have no problems recomending this car.I reckon if Hyundai is selling cars on the world market they couldn't afford to sell a below par car. BUY WITH CONFIDENCE

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Mazda Protege, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic; Opel Astra(European built GM)

Overall quality of this car is excellent, Incredible warranty i.e., "Hyundai Advantage" 5-year bumper to bumper standard warranty, inspires confidence in purchase, overall sense and nice balance of value and performance (140hp engine).

I have owned my Elantra now for 7 months so here's what I discovered: A bit of cabin noise, suspension could use a bit more tuning i.e, a little clumpy over the bumps and well that's about it.

Simply stated, I love my Elantra! The quality is really excellent and aside from a bit of engine noise, the car really handles well. I still think that Civic is the best in quality particularly in the fit and finish dept., but I simply can no longer justify ($16,000), average for a 4-Door Civic. Also, Elantra's (140hp engine), compared to the Civic's (115hp), is no contest. And of course, Hyundai's 5 year "bumper to bumper" warranty inspires a sense of confidence in my car which also assures me of no surprises down the road if something should go wrong. With the Civic, I am on my own after 3-years and have no roadside assistance. I believe that Honda can no longer rest on its laurels of "value" and "quality" given Elantra's entry into the 2000-'01 compact car market. I recommend the Elantra to anyone whose considering a reliable car that they are going to keep (over three years), and a car that's fun to drive. O.k., maybe not so simply stated, I guess I'm just still very happy over my Elantra...

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Compared to the Civic, the Elantra shines in overall value. Compared to the new 2001 Elantra, I like my 2000, it's about 300lbs lighter and love the grill design compare to the '01.

Nice looking car,very smooth ride,roomy back seating,big trunk,great engine power

Mushy brake

I recommend the 2001 Elantra to anyone who is looking for a great roomy car,comfortable ride,great looking, a/c,am-fm-cd,eletric door locks,electric mirrors,heated mirrors.I think its just a great car.
If Hyundai keeps going in this direction of building nice quality cars,more and more people will buy Hyundai`s instead of japanese cars.

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I tried , madzda protege,daewoo leganza,honda civic,kia sephia.
And I feel the 2001 elantra is the best of all above.

This car is solid! I used to own a Toyota Corolla and this car is a far superior ride and haldling to what that one was. I'm very impressed with what Hyundai has done.

This model has everything. Weaknesses? Maybe a nicer seat material like a velour or something. Other than that....nothing!

Almost 5 months now and not one complaint...actually that's a lie. Here's my complaint...I wish people would stop coming up to me in mall parking lots asking me questions about this "great looking car...is that a BMW?"
I'm not a salesperson for god sake.

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Looked at 2001 Civic (expensive, malnourished, bland car), 2001 Toyota Corolla (I'm not a Kennedy and you'd have to be to buy one) and Mazda Protege which felt very cheap and "plasticy"