New cars are way too freaking expensive. Sure, they have more showroom appeal than ever before, but a lot of people who could spend about $30,000 on a new car ten years ago can still only spend about $30,000 on a new car. At the same time, fuel’s become more expensive, and the number of cars out there for less than 30,000 greenbacks is smaller than ever before. Thank goodness the Hyundai Elantra Hybrid still exists.
This isn’t the first time we’ve been behind the wheel of Hyundai’s electrified compact sedan, but a lot has changed since 2023. Not only did the Elantra get a facelift, the whole new car market has grown even more wild. Just last month, the average price of a new car in America crossed the $50,000 barrier, and while part of that was due to a rush on EVs before federal tax credits ended, it still means we’re living in a world where a four-figure car payment is increasingly normalized. So what can you still get for less than half that? An excellent daily driver, as it turns out.
[Full disclosure: Hyundai Canada brought this Elantra Hybrid to AJAC TestFest, where I was finally able to take it out for a proper evaluation.]
The Basics
Engine: 1.6-liter Atkinson-cycle twin-cam inline-four.
Battery Pack: 240-volt nominal 1.32 kWh lithium-polymer.
Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
Drive: Front-wheel-drive, open differential.
Output: 139 horsepower, 195 lb.-ft. of torque.
Fuel Economy: 51 MPG city, 58 MPG highway, 54 MPG combined on 16-inch wheels; 49 MPG city, 52 MPG highway, 50 MPG combined (4.8 L/100km city, 4.5 L/100km highway, 4.7 L/100km combined) on 17-inch wheels.
Body Style: Four-door compact sedan.
Base Price: $26,695 including freight ($32,999 in Canada).
Price As-Tested: $31,045 including freight ($32,999 in Canada).
Why Does It Exist?
In case you haven’t looked at the new car market in a decade, hybrids are hotter than those glowing metal balls you see while doomscrolling, so it simply makes sense that Hyundai builds an Elantra Hybrid to do battle against the Toyota Corolla Hybrid and the Honda Civic Hybrid. When it comes to reasonably priced fuel-sippers, this is one of the big three.
How Does It Look?
You know how baby pangolins always look like they’re about to sheepishly deliver some mildly sad but not day-ruining news? I know we humans are prone to anthropomorphizing everything under the sun, but I swear there’s a hint of endangered scaly anteater to the look of the Elantra. Maybe it’s the interplay of the bulbous silhouette with the angular character lines, maybe it’s exacerbated by the diamond pattern in the C-pillar filler panels, but like the strange-looking animal, this is one strange-looking car. Still, sometimes good things come in strange-looking packages.
What About The Interior?
Maybe it’s just me, but as the average car continues to grow more expensive, I’m warming up to the cabin of Hyundai’s value sedan. Alright, I wouldn’t trust the console grab handle to withstand much more than the weight of a chicken shawarma platter, but apart from that, nothing inside the Elantra feels flimsy or egregiously cheap. Some of it’s properly nice, like real metal trim and available denim-like cloth on the door cards. The only real complaint I have when it comes to usability is the metal trim on the steering wheel. It’s right where the edge of your palms rest with your hands at nine-and-three, and it gets frigid when the mercury hits the zone that tells you who’s wearing too thin a shirt.
Besides, the big story here is space and comfort. It’s no secret the Elantra is big-boned for a compact, but that just means you can get three real adults in the rear seat, and all of their luggage for a weekend away fits in the 14.2 cu.-ft. trunk. Of course, the best seats in the house are still up front, with a surprising amount of support for compact car thrones. We’re talking cushions that don’t seem like topographical maps of Kansas and instead actually feel designed for real human beings, a good reason to consider the Elantra Hybrid over the Corolla Hybrid. I do wish the tilt-and-telescoping steering column telescoped further towards the driver, but the overall driving position is perfectly comfortable for someone of average height.
How Does It Drive?
Of course, if you’re considering making a Hyundai Elantra Hybrid your next daily driver, it’s probably not simply due to its spaciousness and out-there looks. After all, you can get those in a regular non-hybrid model, but the hybrid powertrain really is something special beyond its headline fuel economy figures.
On paper, it may only pump out 132 horsepower, but 195 lb.-ft. of combined torque mean that off the mark and when changing lanes, the Elantra Hybrid always feels perfectly quick enough. What’s more, because this sedan uses a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission instead of a CVT, you aren’t forced to listen to an atonal wall of sound should you need to put the skinny pedal to the carpet. Score. Of course, this test car has the big wheels that knock fuel economy down a touch, but it still returned an honest 51 MPG with journalists treating the throttle pedal like a stompbox all day.
Even though the Elantra Hybrid gets multilink rear suspension, don’t expect it to feel like a sport compact car with hybrid efficiency. This thing leans firmly toward comfort, because most people just want a smooth ride home after eight hours in the cubicle. It turns out that all the fuss Hyundai made about structural adhesives means the comfy suspension can actually do its job, so this compact sedan glides over bumps with the grace of a midsizer. See, the operative word here is “natural.”
The steering weighs up like you’d expect steering to. The brake pedal feels normal, almost like it doesn’t have to blend regenerative braking from the electric motor with hydraulic braking from the, um, brakes. Even the shifter’s normal, so you could give the Elantra Hybrid to someone who’s been driving a 2006 Civic for the past two decades, and nothing will seem weird to them. Fantastic.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
Sort-of. All the gadgetry inside the Elantra Hybrid feels a bit five years ago, but in ways that aren’t exactly a letdown. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto only work over a wired USB-A connection, but Hyundai’s previous-generation infotainment system is still reasonably slick, with logical menus and plenty of physical controls. The digital gauge cluster might not show you what song’s currently playing, but you can set it to this fun cube-themed skin that delivers a bong hit of when-the-internet-was-fun nostalgia directly into your hippocampus.
This fully-loaded trim gets a moonroof, dual-zone climate control, wireless smartphone charging, GPS navigation, heated seats, a heated steering wheel, an eight-speaker Bose sound system that isn’t too shabby considering the segment, and ambient lighting, all for a shade over $31,000. That’s a lot of kit for the money.
Three Things To Know About The 2025 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid:
- Diesel-like torque means it doesn’t feel slow.
- It uses a subdivided section of its hybrid battery pack to power its 12-volt electrics, so you’ll never have to buy a replacement lead-acid battery for it.
- You can get one loaded to the gills with toys for about the same price as the cheapest Civic Hybrid.
Does It Fulfill Its Purpose?
Absolutely. The Hyundai Elantra Hybrid is a lot of good, economical car for the sort of money normal people can actually justify. Whether you’re looking at the $26,695 Elantra Hybrid Blue or the $31,045 Elantra Hybrid Limited, it feels like your money’s going far. While a comparably equipped Honda Civic Hybrid is quicker and more premium-feeling, it’s also thousands of dollars more expensive. At the same time, a Corolla Hybrid doesn’t feel much nicer than the Elantra Hybrid, is a whole lot slower, isn’t as comfortable, and costs about the same as the Hyundai. Even though Toyota has a rock-solid hybrid system, you still have to sit in that driver’s seat every day, so the Elantra Hybrid gets my vote hands-down.
Believe it or not, the Elantra Hybrid is an even better deal in Canada, where its single loaded trim level undercuts the cheapest Civic Hybrid by several thousand loonies, and works out about even with a mid-range Corolla Hybrid on price while offering a handful of features unavailable on the Toyota.
What’s The Punctum Of The 2025 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid?
With loads of toys, a great price, proper hybrid fuel economy, and solid comfort, welcome to the happy medium of the hybrid compact sedan market.
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
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The one you drove cost more than a base Prius. A Corolla LE Hybrid costs less than the base Hyundai. Either way, I’m picking the Toyota.
I have this same setup in a Kia Niro, and my car is closing in on 175,000 miles. I generally average between 46 and 53mpg, but with the convenience of a hatchback. I was skeptical about the DCT at first, but it is nice. In some ways I prefer the Toyota eCVT, particularly taking off from a start, but the DCT does provide quick shifts and a bit more excitement when driving. Overall, I like the car quite a bit.
If it didn’t have all of these stupid drag-adding styling cues(that grille and all of those creases are aesthetically hideous, IMO), and the rear end was tapered a bit better with some rear wheel skirts added, it might get 80 mpg highway.
Consider the GM Precept with its 0.16 drag coefficient as an example of what is possible.
That grill can be fixed with a roll of duct tape. As a bonus it’ll looked like a gagged fish.
I don’t know why Toyota tends to have such terrible seats. What about making comfortable seats is so damn difficult?
Toyota are not the only ones who can’t make a comfy seat. My 2 kraut wagons (admittedly sporting spec) tire my overweight bum after a couple of hours.
I love the front end on these; looks like they have popups.
I’d also love to see Hyundai offer a version with a manual, maybe a top of the line performance trim that say keeps the same engine but gives you a better suspension. Plenty of enthusiasts might warm to that.
That pancake electric motor is interesting its basically an e- toruqe converter. Ecvts are just so bulletproof I’m not sure I would want a hybrid without one. But for the money and warrenty it’s not a bad option. Especially as they can normally be had several $k off sticker.
Wow I didn’t realize they paired the hybrid with the DCT now.
I’ve always wondered why hybrids (and EVs) didn’t just use a DC-DC converter for the 12v stuff – I assume it’s just cost/already-in-place systems. Seems like a great idea to me!
Does this one have that easily-stolen problem a lot of Kia/Hyundai cars have? That’s probably the biggest thing that would prevent me from seriously considering these brands. That and crappy dealers.
It’s keyless so not the traditional USB no immo to start that was being exploited by urban youth but then you get in to typical man in the middle problem for all keyless systems. But people capable of that are typically stealing other things.
“It uses a subdivided section of its hybrid battery pack to power its 12-volt electrics, so you’ll never have to buy a replacement lead-acid battery for it.”
Is this subdivided section serviceable? Or, if just this section fails, do you have to replace the entire pack?
…”but a lot of people who could spend about $30,000 on a new car ten years ago can still only spend about $30,000 on a new car.”
Only one person to blame for that. A mirror will help you find the culprit.
Is the mirror displaying a rent bill that has increased 125%?
Your willful ignorance is showing.
Two people who haven’t managed to move up in the last 10 years. More to come.
Im doing just fine thank you very much. But I understand that not everyone is.
That being said I’d argue that anyone who can genuinely afford, in a responsible way, a new 30k vehicle in 2025, is doing rather well.
Based on the US median household income, I wouldn’t argue with you.
I think people are missing the point. If you could afford a $30k car in 2015, but you can’t now, that’s on you. Yes everything is more expensive, but you should be making more. To add to my point, a $30k car in 2015 is around $40k in 2025. So, if you could afford $30k car in 2015 but you can’t now, you are well behind inflation. This is your fault whether you like it or not.
So your claim is that, as the cost of living outpaces the increase in wages, it is the fault of the people working that their income doesn’t go as far. Got it, that makes complete sense.
Something about bootstraps.
After all the trouble my family has had with Hyundai, Kia and Genesis products, it would be a cold day in hell before any of us bought another one. Plus, I take umbrage with that false quarter-panel window, which Hyundai didn’t even have the good sense (or was too frugal) to make blend in with the glass.
In this instance, I would pay whatever the premium was for a Honda Civic Hybrid, and be glad to do it.
Genesis too?! I’ve seen several new ones in the neighborhood the last few months.
Well sure. The Civic is the Oreo, the Hyundai is Hydrox.
I had a 2018 G90 5.0 Ultimate in which the transfer case exploded, right after I bought it. And the transmission began slipping.
I really, really hate that plastic panel. So much. And I hate every other car that tries the same thing (looking at you 2015 Camry, which tries to make it look like and extension to the rear window admittedly, but has fooled approximately nobody). It looks so damn cheap.
I like most other things about this car but can understand why someone wouldn’t be super-duper stoked about the Hyundai ownership experience.
The worst part about the 2015 Camry was that they had to do new tooling for the door skin anyway, and new glass. Basically everything other than the roof was re-shaped. So why not just put a kink in the glass shape, to give it commonality with the other Toyota sedans? Why add that stupid plastic panel behind it?
I haven’t driven the Hyundai but we’ve loved the Civic the wife got this year. She is coming from a 5-speed 2011 Mazda3 i, so anything is more luxurious than that. I don’t care about the extra fluff the Elantra gets, and I like Honda’s no-transmission setup better.