The Hyundai Elantra N Is Legit
The Hyundai Elantra N Is Legit
The Hyundai Veloster N was our 2020 Performance Car of the Year. A hatchback from a brand known for good prices and a killer warranty beat out cars from Lotus, Porsche, McLaren, and even the new C8 Corvette. Even we were shocked, and we're the ones who gave it the award.
Not that we should have been surprised. The Hyundai Elantra N Is Legit
Hyundai isn't known for performance, but the people who made the Veloster N certainly are. That team is led by Albert Biermann, the former head of BMW M who was poached by Hyundai in 2015. He was responsible for the Kia Stinger and the Genesis G70, both brilliant cars. The Veloster N was his first front-wheel drive project, and he knocked it out of the park. And now there's the larger Elantra N. It's even better. The Hyundai Elantra N Is Legit
The first N-model on Hyundai's next-generation front-drive platform that underpins sedans and crossovers, this Elantra N uses a lot of the same ingredients as the Veloster N. The 2.0 liter turbo four-cylinder is still here, now making 276 hp and 289 lb-ft of torque. That goes to the front wheels through a six-speed manual or an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic linked to a torque-vectoring front differential. The Hyundai Elantra N Is Legit
DCT-equipped cars also get a button that activates a 20 second overboost, good for an extra 10 horsepower. The new platform allowed for wider tires than what's on the Veloster N and Kona N, so the hot Elantra gets 245-series 19-inch Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, one of our current favorites. The car has launch control, adjustable drive modes, adjustable suspension, and a stiffened platform, plus great seats and an aggressively revised exterior.
And it's a riot. A day on a tight autocross as well as laps at Sonoma Raceway showed that Hyundai's N team focused the right stuff. They didn't just make a stopwatch car. Refreshing.
Between the six-speed manual and the eight-speed DCT, you can't really go wrong. The six-speed is a delight. The shift action might not be the crispest you can buy, but it's well weighted and direct. The gearing isn't overly tall, either, which is welcome. The DCT's eight ratios are tighter, which means it accelerates quicker, and the gearbox has that mechanical feel we love in a good DCT.
On track, left in auto, Hyundai's dual-clutch is as intuitive as similar transmissions from automakers that charge hundreds of thousands of dollars for their wares, shifting at the right moment and putting you in the right gear for each corner. However, Hyundai's DCT launch control seems more like a gimmick than a useful addition, requiring multiple steps to activate—and even then, it might not work. The manual can be tough to get off the line quickly, with a hard launch bringing axle tramp and some truly unhappy noises from the front end.
While this is essentially the same engine as the Veloster N, it has five more horsepower and 29 more lb-ft of torque, which you really notice. It makes the engine feel more refined, with noticeably less lag at lower RPMs. I did the autocross entirely in second gear, and even the slowest, tightest turn didn't make a change to first feel necessary.
So The Hyundai Elantra N Is Legit
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