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Where are all the GT N lines?

34K views 77 replies 38 participants last post by  Bxngal 
#1 ·
There are currently less than 100 Elantra GT N lines in the entire US and only one in my state (Calif). I am in the market for a "warm hatch" and yesterday I drove 225 miles (round trip) to see and test drive this one example. I like the car, but it's not the right color and the dealer gave me a line of BS about it being a "special production item" and each dealer is allocated only two this year. Everyone who knows anything knows the N is a direct replacement for the 2018 GTS, of which there are only 6 remaining examples left within 250 miles of my home. My question is, for those of you who have more experience with Hyundai than I, what the **** kind of a product roll-out is this where they deplete stock on the old model without filling the pipeline for the new one and then refuse to let customers do a factory order? I don't understand how Hyundai expects to sell any of these things if none of their dealers have inventory!:confused:
 
#2 ·
There are currently less than 100 Elantra GT N lines in the entire US and only one in my state (Calif). I am in the market for a "warm hatch" and yesterday I drove 225 miles (round trip) to see and test drive this one example. I like the car, but it's not the right color and the dealer gave me a line of BS about it being a "special production item" and each dealer is allocated only two this year. Everyone who knows anything knows the N is a direct replacement for the 2018 GTS, of which there are only 6 remaining examples left within 250 miles of my home. My question is, for those of you who have more experience with Hyundai than I, what the **** kind of a product roll-out is this where they deplete stock on the old model without filling the pipeline for the new one and then refuse to let customers do a factory order? I don't understand how Hyundai expects to sell any of these things if none of their dealers have inventory!/forum/images/smilies/confused.gif


I was at Ontario California Hyundai today for warranty navigation system repair. I walked into the showroom while waiting and the sales vultures descended on me. They looked crossed eyed at me when I asked if the had an N line Elantra GT. They started yapping about the Veloster, I stopped them and said, no the 2019 N Line Elantra GT. They had no idea what I was talking about. Not a lot of 2018 GTS were sold, probably will be the same for the N line. Hyundai probably just don't care about a proper pipeline on this one.
 
#3 ·
This is not a car that hyundai is looking to sell. Its imported, which is expensive, and the profit margin is not good. The N-line GT is mostly a marketing exercise to drum up the brand and stretch the marketing impact of the "N" brand for the company as a whole. Hyundai dealers want to sell higher price USA manufactured SUVs, not $20k hatches imported from Korea. There is no surprise here.
 
#4 ·
This new trim will remain a low volume, niche product so its never going to be properly supported by a dealer network. If its something that you are seriously interested in your are likely going to have to travel out of state or have one sent over to you. I didn't realize they also weren't taking factory orders.
 
#5 ·
This is pretty much what I figured. 6 years ago the I was in the market for the same type of vehicle (before purchasing my current 2013 Mazda CX-5), I briefly considered the last gen Elantra GT and noticed then how skinny dealer inventories were of this and other Korean sourced product. Apparently nothing's changed as they continue to relentlessly push their US manufactured CUVs while being content to deal a few Velosters and base Elantra GTs on the side. Shame as, coming from outside the Hyundai family, I felt the GT N line was a really nice car at a decent price. So after speaking with Hyundai Customer Service and my local dealer and realizing neither of them even knew the car existed or could provide any information whatsoever on availability, I've decided to move on and will be purchasing a left-over 2018 Mazda3 GT hatch. They are discounting them heavily right now in order to make space for the 4th gen 3 (which, unfortunately, I don't care for!) and I'm looking forward to escaping the SUV trap, in spite of the fact that the CX-5 has been a good vehicle.
 
#7 ·
"Essentially" yes, but the devil is often in the details and, aside from the better looking wheels, I was hoping the tweaks they made to the drivetrain and suspension would make it a more refined car than the GTS. I guess we won't know until someone in journalism land snags wone for a road test. Certainly my 15 minute spin around the block didn't tell me much. As for settling for a leftover GTS, as I said in my OP, there are only half a dozen left withing 250 miles of my home and they are all in "non-colors" (white, silver, black grey), which just doesn't cut it. Ironically, it looks like I'm going to end up with a Machine Grey Mazda 3, partly because its the only color (non-color!) that to my eye looks correct with the dark silver wheels.
 

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#14 ·
2018 GTS fully loaded..silver

Just read through all these posts here.. I got mine leased about 2 months ago. I love driving it so far. However, I am thinking of taking a job offer on the east coast and will have to move if I take it. What do you guys think about the lease? Should I drive it across and...end up keeping it after the 3 yr term? (has 12k per yr mileage restriction and has 3,500 miles on it currently). Or...would anyone be interested in taking over my lease? By the way, I got it from the Vacaville, California dealer. What do you guys think about the lease? Keep it, or try to find someone to take over the lease?
 
#15 ·
Just read through all these posts here.. I got mine leased about 2 months ago. I love driving it so far. However, I am thinking of taking a job offer on the east coast and will have to move if I take it. What do you guys think about the lease? Should I drive it across and...end up keeping it after the 3 yr term? (has 12k per yr mileage restriction and has 3,500 miles on it currently). Or...would anyone be interested in taking over my lease? By the way, I got it from the Vacaville, California dealer. What do you guys think about the lease? Keep it, or try to find someone to take over the lease?
You must be referring to a 2018 GTS, not an N line. That dealer currently stocks only Elantra sedans. No hatchbacks of any sort.
 
#28 ·
tracking popularity

I saw some numbers posted for California sales. Please post a link to where one can track the number of units being sold by state. I went to Hundai's site and saw Manuals for 2018 GTs, but nothing for 2019, yet. Is this typical of Hundai? I like everything I can find on the Elantra GT N line for its price, but I am having a hard time understanding why more units aren't available and what are the implications (if any) if they only sell this line for a limited time. Thanks for any additional thoughts on where are all the GT N lines and what it means.
 
#30 ·
So since this is a "niche" car (lol) what are your thoughts on the statement above about mechanics are going to have a crap experience fixing these and getting parts for them. It is a serious issue in my mind as I already have one pain in my arse turbo wagon that takes a gold mine to fix and a miracle to find decent parts for.
I've been torn between the 2018 GT Sport (but I hate the Shiftronic, the one I tested didn't feel right), the 2019 GT N Line, or just waiting and hoping a 2020 N Line comes out here in the US. I too am several hundred miles from the closest N Line and will not be able to go out of state to drive one until 07/27.
Praying for an update on the 2020 model to hurry up and drop, even Hyundai Corp doesn't have a clue when I called for an update last week :( I see a thread about the possibility of the I30 appearing here which seriously makes me want to melt LOL
 
#31 ·
I don't think the info for the 2019 N-line came out until 2019. It wasn't an august release or anything.
There's nothing fancy about this car I see no reason why a mechanic would have a "crap experience" fixing them. Aftermarket support probably won't be the best regarding getting all sorts of parts at, say, Autozone but I see no reason that one wouldn't be able to get parts for the car.


If you have to drive a couple hundred miles for the right car at the right deal then go for it. I've flown half way across the country several times to get the car I wanted.
 
#32 ·
The 1.6 turbo power unit is used in several models over the entire line hyundai sells in the USA . Most other parts are off the shelf , sum body panels mite take time to ship . I am an old man i studied this car a good bit with the Dct before purchase as it was to replace another toy , it is fun to drive love the overall package i would not loose sleep over repairs , it is a hyundai problem for a 100,000 miles . every one have agreat day .
 
#33 ·
i would not loose sleep over repairs , it is a hyundai problem for a 100,000 miles . every one have agreat day .
Another reason I'm hoping for a 2020 model is then maybe my dealer can direct order what I want here to Virginia. They double the original warranty and cover for 200k miles. That definitely takes a lot of worry out of parts pricing/issues come time for it to start falling apart. lol :D
 
#36 ·
Can't get comfortable with the rear visibility out of the Veloster, and I don't need the extra stuff on a full blown N car. For me the Elantra N-Line is a perfect fit... if I could only get my local dealers to actually respond and sell me the darn thing... I am shocked that so many dealers A. Don't have a clue what the N-Line is. B. Don't respond to serious buyers.
 
#39 ·
I just purchased an N-Line a last week and took delivery on Wednesday! One thing I didn't notice during the test drive was the pops from the exhaust. I was reversing into a spot and I could hear the exhaust making small little pops. Yesterday after work in the parking garage, after a night shift, I thought I would try and see if I could get the exhaust to pop a little bit again. I was able to get some pretty loud pops from the exhaust right after a cold start! Can't wait to put an axle back on it and get those pops even louder haha Does anyone have any recommendation for an axle back for the '19 N-Line?
 
#40 ·
The pops definitely get louder with an axle back. The only options out there are the AFE axle back ($$) which is just a straight pipe and I think the Hyundai OEM option. I took mine to a local shop and got one made up for $250 with new tips. It's pretty loud compared to stock but I like it.
 
#43 ·
I leased a 2020 Manual last month. I previously was leasing a 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport. Which is well liked by all the car magazines. The window sticker on a 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport the same as what I had 2017, is about the same as the new 2020 Elantra GT N Line I just leased! Let me just say I am finding the GT N Line to have better brakes, More power, handling is as good or better than the Civic, and the interior, there is just no comparison! The Civic does not have Leather, heated seats, XM Radio, assist handles and a few more. I like the larger data screen and the fact it has knobs! The heated mirrors with turn signals are nice. I could list more, but mainly I am finding for the MSRP of both vehicles the Hyundai Elantra GT N Line is a better car. Oh I have a small garage, seems the builders are building the new homes with smaller garages and the Civic just fit in the garage. The Elantra is shorter and I now can walk behind it with the garage door down. My wife likes the red accents in the interior, they really did a good job of putting a Sporty interior in the N Line. I really enjoy the 201 HP vs the 180 in the Civic. I find I need to "learn" the positions of the gears better. That is the only thing I think could be improved. I haven't seen any N Lines here in GR. Even the local Hyundai dealer doesn't have one. They have a hand full of Volester Ns. The dealer I got mine from had a Black N Line. They dealer traded for the "Red" as Hyundai calls the maroonish color that I leased.
 
#66 ·
Well, now you know someone else that owns one in your general vicinity. Though I've seen one, maybe two since I've got mine (not sure all are N-Line models though).

2019 Elantra GT N-Line in Summit Gray with tech package, purchased a month ago with 7,500 miles on it. I also have owned the Civic (2016 EX Sedan). Purchased down in Benton Harbor. Could have gotten a new 2020 N-Line with the DCT but no tech package in Kalamazoo, but it was in white which would not be my first color choice (the gray looks a lot nicer).

Pros to the Civic:
  • Has Active Torque Vectoring (controls wheel slip out of corners better for this reason)
  • Better driving position, especially for tall drivers (I'm 6'4", long legs), and it fit like a glove. The N-Line has taken more work to get adjusted to fit my legs, without (even when fully extended) making the wheel position harder on my right shoulder. And when I have the wheel position just right, I'd like a little bit more clearance for my legs, and for where my knees are. I've done a lot of adjusting.
  • The stereo speakers (8, but no sub, just four tweeters, and four midranges) were better. However, they were good enough to make me wonder if my car (which I bought three months used with 1200 miles on it) had aftermarkets and I didn't know it. There was plenty of thump, I found it really impressive for OEM, thus my wondering.
  • More USB ports. Hyundai really needs a second charge-only USB port in the console, so a passenger can charge their phone.
-Better fuel economy.

Pros to the Hyundai:
  • Better fit and finish overall to the vehicle. Body panels feel more solid, ranging from doors, to hood, to hatch vs. trunk.
  • Better electronics. There's no comparison. Hyundai realized software is a big deal and paid a lot of attention to it. It's likely Honda learned from the 11th-gen Civic and the 12th-gen coming in 2022 will see real improvement (though no-one knows yet). Hyundai was also smart to make their electronics similar across all cars once they got things sorted. Hyundai also did their climate controls far better; touchscreen climate controls on the Civic were pretty annoying.
  • DCT instead of CVT. If you have to have a CVT, Honda's CVT was actually quite good. That said, it still had a bit of rubber-band effect unless you mitigated it with Sport mode. The DCT is more fun to play with, although 1st gear is a little balky (smoothed out by going manual, Sport auto, or Sport manual).
  • Interior quality. I tested a Civic Sport Touring when looking; the leather is more slippery and not the quality of the N-Line; I'd rather have cloth in the Civic, even non-heated cloth, compared to the leather.
  • Paint quality. At least for the moment, I'm more impressed with the paint quality on the Hyundai.
  • M0ar P0wer. You have to go to the Civic Si to get a comparison -and it's never been available as a hatch.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other:
- Handling. The Civic handles incredibly well, but the EX isn't as tight on 16" rims. Go with 18" rims and the Sport's suspension, and I assume they'd be on nearly equal footing. The N-Line is tight cornering, but to be at its best, it needs ultra-performance all seasons or summer rubber, especially to combat the wheel-slip from no LSD or active torque vectoring.
 
#48 ·
I got me a 2020 N line a week ago, im in the san diego area of california and i could only find 2 of the 6 speed manual versions, 1 in la and 1 in escondido, i got the la one because it cost less. The dealer who worked with me said that its not being advertised and its a korean imported car unlike many of the hyundais that are domestically built. Car is absolutely amazing, i went from a 2012 hyundai genesis coupe to this elenatra gt n line and boy am i happy with the result, just wish korea could reduce the clutch travel a bit.
 
#49 ·
Congrats. Though they were blowing a bit of smoke up your butt. It isn't because it's some exotic "imported car"; in fact there's as many Elantra sedans built in Ulsan, as they are Montgomery. But Hyundai builds a lot of their vehicles in Ulsan, for ALL markets. There aren't a lot of N-Lines/EGT because it's a low-volume seller and always has been. They sell 10x as many Konas which are basically the same thing- 4 door compact hatchback using the same powertrain, but with an AWD option.



https://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2019/02/where-is-hyundai-from-and-where-are-hyundais-made-.html
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/94997/hyundais-factory-the-biggest-in-the-world
 
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