The new-for-2013 Hyundai Elantra GT hatchback is a stylish, fuel-sipping, nimble car with surprisingly quiet interior and luxury touches that include a huge panoramic sunroof and a sliding center armrest.
Despite the name, though, this new Hyundai is not that much of a GT, or Grand Tourer, in performance.
In fact, the Elantra GT has the same 148-horsepower, naturally aspirated, four-cylinder engine that’s in the 2013 Elantra sedan.
This powerplant helps account for the Elantra GT’s notable federal government fuel economy rating of 28 miles per gallon in city driving and 39 mpg on the highway for an automatic transmission model. These numbers are near the top mileage ratings among gasoline-only-powered, five-door hatchbacks.
Best of all, the new Elantra GT, like all Hyundais, comes with a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty and a limited, bumper-to-bumper warranty for 5 years/60,000 miles.
Hatchbacks typically are priced higher than their sedan siblings, and the Elantra GT five-door is no exception.
Starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price, including destination charge, for a 2013 Elantra GT is $19,170 with six-speed manual transmission and $20,170 with six-speed automatic.
This compares with $17,590 for a base, 2013 Elantra sedan with manual transmission and the $18,590 starting retail price for a base, 2013 Elantra sedan with automatic.
Still, the Elantra GT has starting retail prices that are lower than major hatchback competitors’.
For example, the 2013 Ford Focus starts at $19,995 with five-speed manual transmission and $21,090 with six-speed automatic, while the 2013 Volkswagen Golf starts at $20,590 for a five-door model with six-speed automatic transmission.
Arguably, all hatchbacks have a flowing side profile. But the Elantra GT’s sweeping lines emanate from the same Hyundai Fluidic Sculpture design that made the Hyundai Sonata a U.S. sales winner.
Combined city/highway mileage in the test car was 32 mpg, and with regular unleaded all that’s needed, it cost just over $50 to fill the 14-gallon tank, which is 1.6 gallons larger than that in the Focus.
Elantra sedans are built in an Alabama plant; GTs come from South Korea.