The last car I drove before I moved to the East Coast was an underpowered hatch that wanted to be a hero. The little white '94 Ford Escort, powered by a 100-hp engine tied to a five-speed manual, carried me on long hauls across the Great Plains with just enough oomph for I-80.
On my road trip this weekend, PopMech's 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT felt a little like that old Escort's spiritual successor, which is probably why I liked it immediately. However, a 1200-mile round trip to Maine made it clear why that is both a good and a bad thing.
The good: Despite tech features such as Driver Selectable Steering Mode that are impressive for such a compact car, our blue GT can feel delightfully simple. The Elantra has the six-speed old-fashioned manual transmission mated to its 148-hp four-cylinder. No automatic lights that turn themselves off after you leave the car?just a switch on the steering wheel's left side. For me, the GT was instantly familiar. It's also deceptively roomy on the inside despite its short wheelbase. Accommodating two people's junk for a four-day road trip is no sweat.
The bad: This car is a little too simple. Perhaps it's by forgoing the in-car navigation system that Hyundai manages to keep the price down (it starts sub-$20,000), but it's odd in a 2013 car. Back in the stone age when I putted around in the Escort, we were all still accustomed to reading paper maps and planning routes before taking off. In the GT, driving through unfamiliar territory the way we do today?hitting the gas first and worrying about what exits to take second?requires either (A) probably breaking traffic laws by gawking at the map in your phone, (B) owning a stand-alone nav unit, which just seems unnecessary these days, (C) asking your phone for directions and then piping the Google Maps lady's voice through the speakers, or (D) going fully old-fashioned and just asking your passenger to navigate.
Taking a summer vacation up north reveals the Elantra's dual personality in other ways. The GT is capable on the interstate?but not exactly comfortable. Mash on the gas in search of passing speed in fifth or sixth gear and the Hyundai doesn't have much to give you. Climbing any significant incline at highway speed is a struggle. The setup and low-profile tires conspire to make the occupants feel every bump of a poorly maintained parkway. (One unavoidable death-pothole on Interstate 91 in Connecticut felt like it would shake the car apart, though, admirably, the GT was no worse for the wear.)
It's on the twisty two-laners tracing the peninsulas of Maine's coastline that the little Elantra shines. Shifting between its middle gears while weaving your way from Bar Harbor back to Pemaquid Point, the hatch responds with eagerness. Let off the clutch in fourth with the steering set to Sport and it pulls through a turn with glee. Here, the six-speed manual?an annoyance while rolling through Massachusetts highway logjams?is a gearbox fully in its element.
One pro tip, though: Beware the big, retractable sunroof?unless driver's tan is the look you're going for.
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