Here's why I'm going to trade my 2011 Elantra for something else:

[har9020]

I bought it used in July 2012. It was a rental fleet vehicle and had about 32,000 miles on it.

In the first few months of ownership I've had to have the misaligned headlight assembly replaced, both rear shocks replaced, the entire power steering column replaced (but not before having an insulting experience with a dealer mechanic), the MPG is not as advertised (yes, I know that is being addressed), blah blah blah.

But the worst offender is the suspension system, or apparent lack of one. This car has the bumpiest ride of any car I've ever driven in my life. I've owned and driven a 1974 VW Beetle, two Honda civic models from the 1980's, two Toyota Corollas from the late 90s-early 00's, and a 1998 Ford Contour. I drove all of them on the same streets in the same city over a period of 30+ years. In this Elantra, however, I am now feeling every little bump and road surface imperfection as never before. I imagine this must be what riding in covered wagon must have felt like.

It is horrifically uncomfortable. I've had a dealership check the car out multiple times and they swear there is nothing physically wrong with the car.

When I drive over a sewer main cover (PLENTY of them on the streets I use every day) I get a "skidding" sensation. It's like turbulence in an airplane -- a sudden jolt one way or the other.

The car is lightweight which makes it more difficult to control in high wind or on even slightly icy roads. Not impossible, but far more difficult than any other car I've driven.

There are other little things about it too but they pale in comparison to the overall discomfort of the riding experience.

I fell for the hype. I test-drove one on roads near the dealership (in the smooth-street suburbs) instead of on the city streets I use every darn day.

I've heard that Hyundai is hyper-concerned with their image and looks out for their customers. Well I don't know what they can do to make this driving experience better.

I absolutely resent Hyundai for the way this suspension system is so ineffective at providing a smooth ride on "normal" streets.




Anyone else experience similar frustration?

[guidget]

You bought a rental fleet car. Who knows how hard it was driven, especially 32k miles on a year old car.

Never buy rentals.

[volntitan]

Exactly...rentals are rode hard and put up wet. That being said, you are driving a small economy car...were you expecting the same ride as a Bentley? I don't know of any small car that has a great ride when hitting sewer covers, potholes, typical city streets. I do know the my Elantra is the best riding small car on the interstate I've ever been in.

[har9020]

CarFax report was clean as a whistle and, again, the mechanics who checked it out could find nothing wrong with the car. No unusual wear or tear.

[har9020]

Originally Posted by volntitan

Exactly...rentals are rode hard and put up wet. That being said, you are driving a small economy car...were you expecting the same ride as a Bentley? I don't know of any small car that has a great ride when hitting sewer covers, potholes, typical city streets. I do know the my Elantra is the best riding small car on the interstate I've ever been in.

The Toyota Corollas were small economy cars too. No suspension issues like this Elantra.

[har9020]

Originally Posted by guidget

You bought a rental fleet car. Who knows how hard it was driven, especially 32k miles on a year old car.

Never buy rentals.

That could apply to any used car. Rentals have a reputation for being abused but that's not always earned or consistent. To a large degree rentals are driven like any other car. High mileage in a short span doesn't always indicate heavy wear or abuse. Often it's nothing more than highway miles.

[volntitan]

When we had a bad hail storm here and I took my elantra in to get fixed, I was giving a 2012 (whatever the current year was) Corolla. I hated it. One of the most uncomfortable cars I've ever been in. Cramped, hard seats, no leg or head room, etc. Went and traded it in and they gave me a Cruze. Much better car. Liked it except for the nonexistent leg room in the back. I'm a big guy, so I have to have the seat back pretty far, and there was maybe 3-4 inches from the back of my seat to the front of the rear seat. But it was a nice riding car.

Everyone has different experiences. I do know I would never buy a rental car. Kind of rule of thumb stuff.

[someguy]

I agree with the bumpy ride on bad roads but I think its more a characteristic of this class of car rather than just the Elantra. This car was great in TX but the roads in KY are ate up. If I had to get a new vehicle now it would be a compact SUV.

[volntitan]

When I traded in my giant truck in, my 3 choices of cars were Elantra, Civic and Cruze. I loved the Cruze ride all around and the front seat room. Not nuts about the styling and the nonexistent back seat was a deal breaker. Civic..like the styling and everything about the car, but most expensive of the 3 and I was looking to do a straight trade. The elantra was the surprising car, because it kind of fell in the middle. Had the great reviews of the Civic, cheaper of the 3 yet had the most techy gadgets (must for me ) yet had a nice ride and decent back seat. If I had one regret in not getting the civic, it is resale value. But honestly I don't have any intention of getting rid of this car until resale value won't really matter that much. It is just a car to get me to and from work. But if you think you might resell in a few years, you can't beat Civic for that.

Wife will be looking for a new car within the next year and she will certainly be looking small SUV, so will be interesting to see what we end up with. First out of the gate is probably the Ford Escape and Hyundai Tucson

[PLP]

Originally Posted by har9020

I bought it used in July 2012. It was a rental fleet vehicle and had about 32,000 miles on it.

In the first few months of ownership I've had to have the misaligned headlight assembly replaced, both rear shocks replaced, the entire power steering column replaced (but not before having an insulting experience with a dealer mechanic), the MPG is not as advertised (yes, I know that is being addressed), blah blah blah.

RENTALS fleet... driven hard with heavy loads.
Replaced power steering and rear shocks?
Rear shocks if not same age/wear as front, could create weird behavior...

Counterarguments

MPG - it depends how you drive, KIA/Hyundai said that they made a mistake with estimates so they updated the numbers by 1-2 MPG. Do you get 38 now? Everyone claims that Elantra is bad due to wrong MPG estimates. bah blah blah
So, this one does not count here.

Suspension - as you mentioned it is light weight car that supposed to carry 5 regular passengers plus luggage, right? How do you expect soft ride here then? The springs must be able to hold it above the ground even in the heaviest loads... Hence, stiff suspension is in order.
I actually find stiff suspension better than soft. It may give you a jump/sway from time to time, but most of the time it is responsive.

Ice condition - excuse me? what? are you trying to talk about driving on ice? What tires do you have? c'mon - with all season tires you can't say anything about handling on ice or snow.

Now, did you forget to say something about size of the car? Leg room? Trunk volume? Equipment? And all of this for a fraction of other makers...