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Modify my 2013 Elantra 1.8l or buy 2014 Elantra 2.0l??

30K views 44 replies 27 participants last post by  justink 
#1 ·
I was thinking the other night: Modify my 2013 Elantra or spend an extra $4,000 to buy the more powerful 2014 Elantra?

At first during the test drive, I liked my car. However, after 5,000 miles I have noticed how painfully slow it is. I have a hard time keeping up in traffic. Furthermore the steering takes a lot of fun away. I heard these issues are fixed with the 2014 Elantra GT. So here are my options:

Option 1: Spend $2,000 for Cold Air Intake system, better exhaust system or any other mods that will increase horsepower and puts less strain to the engine(probably 10-15 hp increase) or,

Option 2: Trade in my 2013 Elantra GT for the more powerful 2014 Elantra GT? My calculations says it will cost $4,000-$5,000 more. The 2.0l is 30 horsepower increase!!

What would you guys do?
 
#2 ·
I'm sorry but while the Elantra may not be quick, you don't know what painfully slow is. My first car was a hand-me-down 1993 Toyota Previa, before they added the supercharger. I timed it with a stopwatch once; 0-60 took an agonizing 14.5 seconds. Top speed was 98 mph and that took a very brave (read: stupid) 16 year old to attempt and even then, I only had the guts to do it once. Probably the scariest thing I've ever done with a car.

Personally, if you can afford it, I'd say splurge on the 2014 if you find the performance worth the extra money. I highly doubt the price is going to go up by $5,000 because that would put a fully loaded Elantra comfortably in Sonata territory. They won't do that.
 
#3 ·
LOL. I Previa, wow! My 2013 will depreciate and I'm guessing the 2014 Elantra will be around the same price. So maybe $4,000-$5,000 I have to pay with trade-in. My car is worth $16,000. I'm estimating the 2014 will be around $20,000-$21,000.
 
#4 ·
I say if you have the funds, get the 2014. If you want to save a little money and mod the car, get an intake and exhaust. I have the flowmaster and K&N and can honestly say it's made a noticeable difference. Sure, its no ferrari, but it gets up to speed fine and sounds great. I'd wait til the 2014 comes out, test drive it, if it's a noticeable difference and you must have the 30 extra hp and LED accents, go for it :D
 
#6 ·
At first during the test drive, I liked my car. However, after 5,000 miles I have noticed how painfully slow it is. I have a hard time keeping up in traffic.
I too have a M/T and have no trouble keeping up with and beating regular traffic flow in stock trim. The M/T gives you more choice of rpm range.

Are you getting poor mileage too.??? I would look into fixing stock problems before spending any money on mods or a new car.
 
#8 ·
I was recently in the same boat as you; upgrade or keep except my planned upgrade was a 2014 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, an AMAZING car that sold me two minutes into the test drive. However I think it's wise that I keep saving for my own place now that I have a career-level job. I've already got a fair amount saved up for a down payment and there's a really nice complex of town houses with 2 beds, 2 1/2 bath and a 2 car attached garage for the high 100s. Also, it's walking distance from the light rail line which I can ride for free through my job and it would drop me right at the front door of my office. I'd like to buy in two years or less so I decided to keep saving instead of spending more money. I'd love to have the 6 but I think a place of my own is higher on the priority list right meow.
 
#19 ·
I'm frugal and pretty set financially. I rent because I move so much due to my job. I love the car but it needs to be a touch more powerful.

You have an MT and average pretty high MPG (35-40 MPG?). Even the EPA did not obtain such high numbers, so you must be driving it pretty slow to get your MPG that high. So the cure is to drive that car like an MT. Yeah, it may not sprint from a dead stop, but by 3rd gear and 4K rpm, the car will be really moving... But if HP and speed are your thing, and you want to keep your price in the low $20K range, then shop around. Maybe a new MazdaSpeed3 will fit you better, or a Mazda6 (1-2yo), or an Accord V6 (2-3yo)...

Look at my sig and you will see I've got quite a few fast ones... so can understand how you feel about power and performance....

Good luck on the decision, just make sure it is one you are happy with.
Quite honestly, I think I would be comfortable with a little more power, especially for city driving. For example, On right turns on highways, I need the acceleration balls to catch up with traffic. I need power without thrashing the engine.





Anyway, I'm eying on that 2015 Elantra. Unfortunately, the is going to have to depreciate again. . I hope to goodness they fix all of the issues we MD/GT Elantra owners are experiencing.
 
#10 ·
The way I look at it, the extra power will be fun at first. Then in due time, wanting more the mod bug hits you. It all depends what works for you but for me, no matter what I buy, I'm always searching for nice and worthy stuff. Even if I keep telling myself, enough! :laughing: Yeah, right
 
#12 ·
+1 ^What Curtis said. But I can't see him even attempting to tell himself "enough." This, from the guy that first introduced the rest of us to the joys of KYB shocks? LOL He'll NEVER stop, neither will I. As long as there are post-production aftermarket items available for sale, my money and me are vulnerable.
 
#11 ·
You have an MT and average pretty high MPG (35-40 MPG?). Even the EPA did not obtain such high numbers, so you must be driving it pretty slow to get your MPG that high. So the cure is to drive that car like an MT. Yeah, it may not sprint from a dead stop, but by 3rd gear and 4K rpm, the car will be really moving... But if HP and speed are your thing, and you want to keep your price in the low $20K range, then shop around. Maybe a new MazdaSpeed3 will fit you better, or a Mazda6 (1-2yo), or an Accord V6 (2-3yo)...

Look at my sig and you will see I've got quite a few fast ones... so can understand how you feel about power and performance....

Good luck on the decision, just make sure it is one you are happy with.
 
#13 ·
Let's face it, these cars were built for performance: performance at the gas pump, NOT on the drag strip. 30 more horsepower ain't gonna light up your life or your drive to work. If that is what you want, buy a Genesis Coupe. Just crank up the radio (do the speaker Infinity mods first) and be happy with the awesome gas mileage. It took me a while to do that, but I am there now.......
 
#14 ·
My opinion, respectfully of course, is that spending 4 to 5 grand to gain 30 horses is a waste of money and suggests that you bought the wrong car to match your expectations altogether. Of course the phrase "waste of money" is a relative term, some have money to waste or spend while others have other obligations. You aren't the first to say this car is underpowered though, but unless you are merging onto the 150 mph Autobahn, I would have to imagine this car will do the job just fine.

I would say my point in all this is that this car isn't under powered at all, it's powered just as it was the day you test drove it, it's powered just right to fulfill it's objective of being an econocar. Upgrading to the Genesis, while wasting more money(your losses on this car+price difference), might be the car you wanted to go with initially.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I'd keep the 1.8 - just step on the gas. I had no problem passing an m5 slowing down the fast lane last night. The transmission is eager to please and downshift; all you need to do is keep those RPMs above 5000. :D

None of these econoboxes will be posting 5 second 0-60s. I don't think the 30 extra HP will make much of a difference. My previous Optima (non turbo) had 200hp. I don't feel like it made any difference. I still had to shift down manually to achieve the acceleration I wanted in that car.

You'll get 30 horsepower now, and later on, you'll want to trade it in for a Forte Hatchback with the turbocharged 1.6 @ 201hp. Hehe.
 
#16 ·
While there are some mods that make this car look better or handle better you really can't make it much faster. I wouldn't buy the 2014 for more power because I think you will be disappointed. Quite frankly for $4K you can buy a fun project car like an old Honda Civic with many more aftermarket options and keep your Elantra for daily driving.


Sent from AutoGuide.com App
 
#18 ·
If you are willing to drop that kind of coin, you could wait and see if the guys tuning velosters can tune ours too, and have a turbo built. This will cost a small fortune.

Or you can do all those other mods and add a lil nitrous. I know everybody is going to chime in... "you'll shoot your eye out kid", but one of the na velo guys have done a small shot with no ill effect yet.
 
#20 · (Edited)
"IF" the 2015 arrives, true to form, like it appears on the sneak peeks, you might find yourself wishing you had waited for one of those. It's got my attention! Shh...Don't even think of letting Ingrid know this. Lots of water yet to go under the bridge between now and its unveiling in '15.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I liked my car. However, after 5,000 miles I have noticed how painfully slow it is.
I love my Elantra & adore the mpg I am getting. But, I agree with you. While cruising in 6th gear at 45 to 50mph, there is almost no acceleration. Dropping to 5th or even 4th gear, there is still little acceleration. Ya gotta dump three gears before Elantra starts to move out at anything called acceleration.

The Elantra only has 131lbs-ft of torque. Anything you do to increase power will NOT be satisfactory. Wait for something else if high 30mpg over 200,000 miles doesn't make you happy enough to forego power.
 
#23 ·
Trading a 2013 Elantra for a 2014 Elantra - or for that matter modifying the 2013 to have slightly more power - will bring maybe two weeks of happiness. Then the OP will be right back where he started, only poorer. Been there, done that.

My suggestion is to rewire the wiper stalk to make laser sounds when you pull on it. Blowing up other cars is 10x the fun of driving around with an aftermarket air intake, and only 1/10 the price. :)
 
#24 ·
You won't notice a big difference with an extra 30hp. With that being said, the simple mods like CAI and exhaust won't give you much gain either. Realistically you'll be lucky to get +5hp which again, you won't see any difference.

Check that your ECO mode is off.

Don't be afraid to rev up the engine, downshifting should be your best friend. Finally, why sacrifice the amazing fuel savings, I'd rather know I waste less gas than worry about keeping up with traffic. I go at my own pace if I need too
 
#27 ·
Hi I had a local custom exhaust shop frab a duel exhust using two magnaflow round mufflers with two stanless steel twim tips and the whole thing cost me $375.00 Plus tax. The K&N filter charger cost me another $225.00. The car sounds and drives like a bat out of ****. And best of all my gas mileage is 30mph city and 38 hwy. The 2014 gets 24mpg city and 33hwy. I.ll put my 2013 up against a 2014 anyday. $600.00 beats 5,000 anyday.
 
#30 ·
Of course the Elantra is slow (meaning crappy acceleration), but that's ok cause most of us bought it cause we like the styling, the gas mileage, and the reliability! Certainly none of us bought it for performance!!! (Again meaning acceleration). Face it, our cars are wussy cars! They are and that's ok!!!
 
#31 ·
One day I passed a car on a rural road with a friend aboard, he said WOW that engine is peppy. The guy has a Mazda6 just to let you know he knows the difference between our cars, maybe it's because I have the manual transmission and when I pass I downshift to 4th gear and can pass a car without problem. I never drove an automatic Elantra, I just don't know how they drive.
 
#40 ·
Nope, that's not why. It's because our cars are horribly underpowered, that's why!
Horribly under powered they are not. The Elantra power plant is perfectly fine for what the vehicle was made for. Sure it would be nice to have a few more ponies under the hood, but I didn't buy it to go fast. I bought it to save on fuel!! My Mustang feeds my go fast needs...
 
#33 ·
Look how far we've come with these little cars, and what some call slow.

2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Hatchback (Manual) 0-60 mph 8.2 Quarter Mile 16.3

Here's some old "fast" cars.

1974 Dodge Challenger 0-60 mph 9.5 Quarter mile 16.7
1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 0-60 mph 9.7
1983 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am 0-60 mph 9.1 Quarter mile 16.8
1983 Toyota Supra 0-60 mph 8.8 Quarter mile 16.6
1997 Ford Crown Victoria (Police Car) 0-60 mph 8.7 Quarter mile 16.5
2000 Dodge Intrepid ES (Police) 0-60 mph 8.4 Quarter mile 16.2

Yeah, there are faster cars around. What do they cost, and what sort of mileage do they get?

Getting 0-60 in 8.2 seconds isn't slow for an economy car.

Here, go race these guys from one red light to the next, and feel better....

2012 Toyota Prius V 0-60 mph 10.2 Quarter Mile 17.8
2012 Toyota Matrix (1.8L) 0-60 mph 9.9 Quarter mile 17.5
2013 Honda Civic HF Sedan 0-60 mph 8.5 Quarter Mile 16.4
2013 Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC SE 0-60 mph 9.9
2011 Volkswagen Jetta S (Manual) 0-60 mph 10.9 Quarter Mile 17.9
2012 Subaru Impreza 2.0L (CVT) 0-60 mph 8.9 Quarter Mile 16.8

Just remember what we're driving...and be happy :D
 
#35 ·
Not a fair point or comparison but I have an AMG convertible that will do 0-60 in under 5s... so I am not worried about the performance or lack thereof for the E. I do believe that the E is peppy enough for an econo box and doesn't have problems keeping up with traffic at any speed. Altho' mine is the slush box, I find myself switching to the manual use on freeways. Much better "performance" than leaving in Auto...:D
 
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