Current generation Hyundai Elantra.

[SentraSE-R]

My family, including my son's family, has owned 5 Hyundais (1 Sonata & 4 Elantras) since 1994. They've held up well, with the biggest problem being a broken timing belt that killed the 1994 Elantra this year (despite proper maintenance). The next, and commonest problem is broken window regulators. The '94 broke 4 manual regulators. The 2002 Elantra broke 2 electric regulators. The only other common problem is front strut replacements on the '94 and one of the 2006 Elantras.

I'm with tjts on this. Lower resale value means better bargains for those of us who buy our cars used and keep them until they drop.

Bottom line: If my family needed another car tomorrow, I'd start looking for a Hyundai. I'll look at Kias, too. However I'm not convinced Kias will hold up as well as Hyundais

[pana]

Originally Posted by SentraSE-R

My family, including my son's family, has owned 5 Hyundais (1 Sonata & 4 Elantras) since 1994. They've held up well, with the biggest problem being a broken timing belt that killed the 1994 Elantra this year (despite proper maintenance). The next, and commonest problem is broken window regulators. The '94 broke 4 manual regulators. The 2002 Elantra broke 2 electric regulators. The only other common problem is front strut replacements on the '94 and one of the 2006 Elantras.

I'm with tjts on this. Lower resale value means better bargains for those of us who buy our cars used and keep them until they drop.

Bottom line: If my family needed another car tomorrow, I'd start looking for a Hyundai. I'll look at Kias, too. However I'm not convinced Kias will hold up as well as Hyundais

What kind of MPG's were you averaging out of your Hyundai's?

You can always buy any used 88-2000 Honda or Toyota, drop in a 30-60k imported engine and drive it for another 200k.

[RobertM]

Originally Posted by cookie96civic

Depreciation is negated if you keep the car. Plus the current Civic struggles to get 34mpg even with the long geared 5 speed on the highway. It's a nice car, I've owned 3 Civics, but they just seem to rehash and spit out models with few improvements. Don't get me started on the rust, yes rust issues on 08-11 models.

I recently purchased a 2011 Civic LX 5-speed auto and it has no problem achieving 40-44 MPG highway at 65-70 MPH, even with the A/C running. I just recently picked up a SGII for it and I've been seeing 50 MPG on highway trips through the hills of Pennsylvania so long as I keep the A/C to a minimum and keep the speed to around 60 MPH.

[tjts1]

I'm far more interested in the 2012 Accent/Rio hatch with its 1.6 DI engine. Both gets 6 speed and should be worth a few more MPGs over the Elantra.



Should depreciate like yesterday's news paper.

[cookie96civic]

I've seen a lot of different reviews on the mpg as well. Hyundai says the 6th gear is being used to soon in a press release earlier this year. With the manual, they say 6th shouldn't be used until 65 mph. The engine is quite powerful, but doesn't have massive torque at 2000 rpm to keep from lugging, which wastes more fuel than revving it up. They also claim a longer break in on the new engine than most manufactures do. Driving style also obviously has the biggest impact on mpg, and nearly every test by every car magazine exhibits mpg lower than EPA ratings. They are running brand new cars and usually pushing them to see what they're made of. Another year or so and there should be enough solid data out to either prove or debunk the claims.

[cookie96civic]

I appreciate the info on the new Civic. I was using EPA data and a neighbor who claims to drive gently as my source. I just passed up a 2010 Civic LX with 9,000 mile on craigslist for $14,500. I don't technically NEED it until my 96 dies, which may be a while. Only 120,000 on it, but a lot of thongs are starting to go bad due to it's age rather than running. I'm not looking to extreme hypermile anymore, like belly pans, EOC, etc. Just looking for a nice car that can get great mileage when driven correctly.

[cookie96civic]

Any hard data on Civic 5spd auto vs. 5 speed manual? Not counting coast or EOC...just plain highway results please.

[tjts1]

Originally Posted by SentraSE-R

Bottom line: If my family needed another car tomorrow, I'd start looking for a Hyundai. I'll look at Kias, too. However I'm not convinced Kias will hold up as well as Hyundais

Considering they both roll off the same assembly line with the same components from the same suppliers, I would be surprised if there is any difference in quality today.

[SentraSE-R]

Originally Posted by pana

What kind of MPG's were you averaging out of your Hyundai's?

I didn't keep mileage records until I started hypermiling. I only record full tanks when drive my wife's 2006 Elantra on long trips, but I'm averaging 40.1 mpg over 4200 miles with her car. On local trips to the next town, I typically get mid-30 mpg with it, according to my Scangauge

[SentraSE-R]

Originally Posted by RobertM

I recently purchased a 2011 Civic LX 5-speed auto and it has no problem achieving 40-44 MPG highway at 65-70 MPH, even with the A/C running. I just recently picked up a SGII for it and I've been seeing 50 MPG on highway trips through the hills of Pennsylvania so long as I keep the A/C to a minimum and keep the speed to around 60 MPH.

Nonetheless, your 33.9 combined mpg shows the limitations of relying on highway averages.