Hyundai and corporate-merged Kia have produced a wide range of cars and SUVs to choose from and together their sales exceed 1.5 million units surpassing Nissan and close by Chevrolet.
If you are shopping for performance in a small set of wheels, consider the four-year-old Hyundai Elantra N, a turbocharged four-door sedan with aggressive styling and track ready firm suspension with launch control.
Its interior is cockpit styled with leather trimmed and bolstered sport seats. A pair of 10.25-inch touchscreens monitor engine vitals and navigation screen. Bose premium sound system is part of the N trim along with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay however you will need a cord since neither is wireless.
Rear seat space is adequate for adults and trunk cargo space is generous at 14.2 cubic feet before seats are folded for additional room.
While the N is priced in the low to mid-$30s, the price includes performance, safety and technology options — minus adaptive cruise control. All that’s left is to pick the exterior color and whether you prefer a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.
Our six-speed manual transmission added to the fun factor with its launch control feature. When depressed, a red N button on the lower steering wheel adds turbo boost adding an additional 10 percent power for up to 20 seconds before releasing. While engaged, a sport exhaust system crackles and pops with all the right notes.
In our independent testing, the N ran the zero to 60 mile-per-hour sprint in 5.1 seconds while the automatic transmission with its precision shifting, did so in 4.7 seconds. Just as impressive, the N braked to a dead stop in a respectable 107 feet.
Worth noting, under power the front wheel drive N all but eliminated understeer, prevalent in most front wheel drive cars.
Hyundai engineers deserve kudos for giving the Elantra N road handling hardware not found in the rest of the lineup. Standard equipment includes multi-link electronically controlled rear suspension, rear chassis brace, oversize front and rear ventilated brake rotors, motor driven power steering and Michelin Pilot Sport summer tires.
The Elantra N delivers a mostly compliant ride. Around town it scoots when needed, has great visibility and is easy to park in tight spots. At sustained highways speeds we experienced higher than normal road and wind noise.
The cabin layout is sleek with digital instrument gauge facing the driver and digital infotainment screen situated at center console. The rest of the interior is basic with generous use of hard plastics, little padding and manual driver seat adjustments.
A blackened mesh front grille and elongated LED lighting assemblies dominate the front end. Our dark blue tester stood out with arrest-me-red ground effects all around and 19-inch alloys.
The N model comes with the best warranty out there – 10-year/100,000-mile power train, 5-year/60,000 bumper to bumper and 3-year/36,000-mile complimentary maintenance.
Bio Box What was reviewed: 2025 Elantra N Engine: 2.0-liter, twin-scroll turbocharged four cylinder, 276 hp boosted to 286 EPA Mileage: 22 city, 31 highway, 24 combined MSRP/as tested: $35,500 est. / $36,500 est. Assembled: Fully assembled in Ulsan, Korea. U. S. / Canadian parts content — 1 percent. Major source of foreign parts, South Korea — 89 percent, Japan -1 percent. Country of origin — engine and transmission — Korea. Crash test ratings: Neither the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) nor The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had evaluated the Elantra N as of this writing. Warranty: 5 year/60,000-mile bumper to bumper; 10 year/100,000-mile powertrain, 3-year/36,000-mile complimentary maintenance. {related_content_uuid}e75eebd6-3380-4b09-afbf-3d18d5e0fef4{/related_content_uuid}