Considering 2020 Elantra GT in lieu of a 2020 Corolla. Any thoughts?
My concerns are:
Reliability of Transmission (Toyota CVT is suspect)
Build Quality
Safety Electronics
I was very recently in the same boat trying to figure out what to buy.
My previous car was a Toyota with nearly 175k miles and nearly 14 years old. When it comes to engine reliability, my Toyota was getting it's oil changed every 5k miles and didn't need much else at all.
Recently reading stories or first generation Hyundai gamma engines failures have made me a little worried, but on the other hand they've been extending warranties and covering owners very well. Hyundai is clearly intent on improving the reputation of their brand, and is standing behind their product for a very long time.
I compared warranty lengths across the brands and it's no contest. The standard warranty length from Toyota or Honda has nothing on Hyundai, but when you look into the details you'll find the Hyundai 10yr powertran warranty doesn't fully transfer to a second owner (6yr/60k). Eventhough both Toyota and Honda's warranties are long since expired even still the shorter term, I still bought the Hyundai extended Platinum warranty for piece of mind (I paid $1250, bumper to bumper for 10yr/100k).
I was also swayed by how much farther your money can go buying a Hyundai. I bought the Elantra GT N-Line (less than a month ago) and was looking at a Corolla hatch or a Civic hatchback. For what I paid for the GT I was looking at essentially base models from Honda or Toyota. The interiors of those cars felt pretty cheap, the seats looked kind of cheap, their engine performance wasn't exciting, and they looked pretty bland from the exterior.
My GT N-Line was immediately different as soon as I sat in the cabin. For essentially the same price as the other base cars I got a very nicely finished interior (leather seats, a large 8" Android/apple radio, an LCD based odometer/trip display, automatic climate control with back seat vents, tilt and telescopic steering wheel), a more powerful/fun vehicle overall (1.6L turbo, great suspension, grippy summer tires), and a handsome exterior (I really like the way the GT and the N-Line look, and the N-Line wheels are really sharp).
I can't speak to the safety stuff or the DCT transmission because I'm a "manual transmission required" guy, and they don't offer the lane keeping assist or blind spot monitoring on the 2019 with the manual. I don't like those features anyway, but I do wish I could get the insurance discount and then just turn them off.
I didn't know the GT at all before I went out for test drives and if I could have gotten the GT in manual without the N-Line trim, I might have never even tried to find an N-Line.
My GT isn't even a month old. It's still fun to drive and feels pretty luxurious to me. I think I made the right choice but only time will tell.
