Review: 2018 Hyundai Elantra GT Sport Ultimate – Part 1
A very popular segment in the car market is the so called “hot hatch”. In short, it’s a high performance version of a three or five door hatchback. They tend to walk the line of being sporty while being good daily drivers. While there are many players in this space, the company who pretty much is the king of the hill at the moment is Volkswagen with the GTI. But I would submit that their days at the top of the food chain in this space may be numbered based on this entry from Hyundai:
Meet the 2018 Hyundai Elantra GT with the Sport Ultimate trim package which looks very European right down to the dual tailpipes and the square “ish” hatchback shape that a lot of European hatchbacks have. Even the tailights have an European look to them. If Hyundai was looking to get the looks of the Elantra GT right from a hot hatch perspective, I’d give them an “A” in that department. Especially because they haven’t made it look like something out of a Fast And Furious Movie, or made it look like something that is more akin to a robot from Mobile Suit Gundam. That means that it is likely to appeal to an audience beyond the boy racer crowd.
I’d like to highlight one thing about the looks of this vehicle:
This vent that’s next to the turn signal/foglamp isn’t there for show. It’s actually functional as it is there to reduce turbulence and to increase stability and fuel economy.
The question that I’ll be answering this week is does the rest of the car match the looks?
My review of the 2018 Hyundai Elantra GT is made up of five parts:
- Exterior
- Engine, transmission, handling, fuel economy, and driving comfort
- Interior
- Technology in the vehicle
- Wrap up
The next part of this review will cover the engine, transmission and driving comfort. Specifically, I’ll be looking to see if it lives up to this badge on the hatch:
Tune in tomorrow to get the answer to that.
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