When you’re shopping at the cheap end of the used car market, sometimes it pays to look beyond the obvious choices. Sometimes the perfect car is from a marque that you hadn’t even considered, or a model you kind of forgot about until you saw one. Today we’re looking at a couple of those fringe cases to see if they really are hidden gems, or if they’re uncommon for a reason.
I learned two things yesterday: One, I really shouldn’t attend any more rock concerts without earplugs, and two, you all kinda like Volkswagens. Yesterday’s manual Tiguan absolutely massacred its Jeep Renegade competitor, and it looks like Monday’s Golf held on to its slim lead as well. So that’s two stickshift VWs heading into Friday’s final.
I don’t think I’d mind the Tiguan, but I have a feeling I’d prefer the Renegade. I’m very curious about that 1.4 liter MultiAir engine, and even though I made fun of the interior fabric, I think I like its utilitarian feel better. Of course, all that could change after a couple of test drives, but that’s beyond the scope of this little column.
There’s an ass for every seat, the saying goes, and that holds true for cars as well. Even if a particular model may be a sales flop, someone out there has one and loves it. The rest of us barely even remember the car exists, until we see one. These two are like that. Neither one is anywhere close to the first vehicle you think of in their classes, but they both look like they’ve led full lives in the hands of owners who cared for them. Let’s check them out.
2013 Hyundai Elantra GT – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8-liter DOHC inline 4, six-speed manual, FWD
Location: Eau Claire, WI
Odometer reading: 194,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
I got really confused when I first started researching this car. It seemed like it didn’t exist. I found specs for ’13 Elantra sedans, but no hatchbacks. Then I figured out that if you’re looking for the hatchback, you have to look up Elantra GT, not just Elantra. Apparently Hyundai split them into two different models. With either body style, you had to aim for the bottom rung of the ladder if you want a manual transmission; anything fancier and you’re stuck with an automatic.
Power for the Elantra comes from Hyundai’s Nu engine, displacing 1.8 liters. The Nu isn’t one of the really bad failure-prone Hyundai engines – that was the Theta – but it does have its share of problems, oil consumption chief among them. The seller of this one has lavished it with attention, including new rod bearings, a new clutch, and tons of suspension work. It runs and drives great, and it needs nothing at the moment.
The interior has received a lot of attention too, though it’s where you can’t see. The seller pulled the whole back half of the interior out and lined everything with sound-deadening, and replaced the whole air conditioning system too. It has leather seats in good shape, and a big-ass sunroof, in case you prefer fresh air to the artificially chilled kind.
It lookd good outside, and we can tell from the handy underside photos in the ad that rust isn’t a problem. It does have a little peeling paint, and a wrinkle in one rocker panel. The front bumper has also been replaced for an undisclosed reason. But overall, for a car with nearly 200,000 miles on it, it looks really clean.
2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport ES – $4,995
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Cambridge, MN
Odometer reading: 141,000 miles
Operational status: Let’s assume it runs and drives fine
Mitsubishi played silly name games with this car too. I first looked up the Outlander, and found nothing but CVTs listed for transmission options, and got confused. That’s because this isn’t an Outlander; it’s the smaller Outlander Sport, which is available with a manual. In other parts of the world, the naming isn’t as confusing, because this car is known as the Mitsubishi ASX or RVR. If I remember right, Mitsubishi pulled this same stunt with the Montero and Montero Sport earlier, which were different vehicles too.
To get a manual in the Outlander Sport, you had to opt for the base model, which came with a 2.0 liter engine and only front-wheel-drive. That essentially makes this just a really tall Lancer. This one is being sold by a buy-here-pay-here dealer, and you know they’re not big on disclosing a car’s condition, but I always have to assume that it at least starts, runs, and drives. How well it does those things you’ll have to assess for yourself.
The front half of the interior is in good shape, but the back seat appears to have been removed and replaced by a carpet-covered platform. For what reason, I don’t know. There’s a bracket on the rear bumper too, which makes me wonder if it had a wheelchair lift in it or something. But that doesn’t really make sense either; you can’t operate a manual with hand controls. Maybe the previous owner used a mobility scooter, but could still manage a clutch? I don’t know. Anybody else got a better suggestion?
It’s a great shade of blue, and the paint is nice and shiny, but it does have a couple of rust spots starting to rear their ugly heads. I’m still getting used to seeing cars this new with rust on them; twenty years on the west coast made me almost forget that rust was a thing.
These two cars are both less-common versions of other cars with the same name, made even more uncommon by being base models with manual transmissions. Choosing one of them is like ordering off the secret menu at a restaurant. They’re not really anything special, but if you hate seeing the exact same car as yours coming and going all the time, one of them might be just the ticket. Which one would you pick?
Outlander! So easy. An Elantra vs. an… Outlander? Ha ha ha ha ha
I love that beautiful blue Mitsubishi… I’d buy it right now if I could. All Hyundais suck in my opinion…also Kias. Wow, that Elantra swoopy body style is so awful I almost puked. I prefer regular looking body panels. I will thoroughly enjoy the Outlander…
“It lookd good outside”
You got that right…the Elantra looked good before it was assembled, ha ha
That era of Kia/Hyundai likes to pop engines like they were designed by Orville Redenbacher.
I’m genuinely surprised at the skew today, at least the Mitsu will reliably get you home.
The Elantra is sporty, and fun to toss around.
The Mitsubishi is just slow. It’s not a tall Lancer at all, it feels irritatingly and mind bogglingly slower than it should be.
I once rented an Outback Sport and it reminded me of a dog my parents once had. They were forced into a sudden move, and had to spend 6 months in an apartment that didn’t allow dogs, so Jake had to go to the kennel. When the lease was up and they secured a house, they finally got to bring Jake to his new home. He walked in the front door, and immediately walked to and curled up under the piano bench, which is where he slept at their old house. No drama, but a perfectly loyal and reliable dog. The Mitsu felt about the same…
My wife used to have a ’13 Elantra GT, it was super fun even though it was an automatic. Bet the manual is a blast.
Outlander sport. I just like it more and have less mileage and blue helps. I’m guessing was used as delivery vehicle. Sort of has hurse or “body van” vibes but I think its probably too short to have been doing that.
The Elantra appears to have been owned by someone that loved it and took care of it, while the Outworlder was not and is on a BHPH lot. Elantra for me.
are we sure the Elantra Gt didn’t have a theta engine? it was the basis for the veloster and it has theatas.. I miss my veloster lol, I voted Mistsu which is crazy lol
As far as I know, the Veloster was based on a smaller platform, that of the Accent.
The Veloster rides on the same platform as Hyundai’s Elantra sedan. It’s not quite the same on the outside, though, as there’s 2 inches sliced out of the wheelbase and another 10.2 inches total lopped off the front and rear overhangs. But just because it’s more than a foot shorter than the Elantra overall, and almost 8 inches shorter than a 2011 Scion tC, that doesn’t mean it’s small by the CRX’s historical standards.
Did the Elantra saloon and the i30 rode on the same platform.
As far as I remember the Veloster had a torsion beam rear suspension, whereas the i30 had an independent multilink at the rear.
The Elantra also had a torsion beam, because you know, America and cheaper
I was all set to vote for the Mitsu until I saw that 60% of the seating is MIA. I like the styling and this one is in nice vibrant blue. But I’ll take a pass on this one.
The Elantra looks unbelievably clean underneath, especially for a car from NW Wisconsin. I’ve thought about adding sound-deadening material in my car. Here, someone’s already done it. Easy choice today.
The condition of the underbody was really surprising to me. Could be a recent transplant to the area.
True. I had a ’94 Jeep GC for one winter in Cleveland, OH and I couldn’t believe what it looked like up on a lift in Seattle. Like hand me a torch and a can of WD-40 bad nuts and bolts. I’ve driven a few rental Elantras and they’re not a penalty box. At least for a week and maybe 200 miles all told.
The Outlander is so, so close to being a wagon, thus garnering my vote.
I’ll take the blue, unmolested, mitsu. Assuming the underside isn’t totally rusted out. Should be good for a few years yet and it’s a nice, honest, car. I don’t think I trust that Elantra.
unmolested? someone molested the rear seats clean out of the thing.
“I got really confused when I first started researching this car. It seemed like it didn’t exist. I found specs for ’13 Elantra sedans, but no hatchbacks”
The Elantra GT is esstientially the Hyundai i30… a vehicle designed by Hyundai Europe for the European market.
My GF has the 2020 version of it. It’s a great car and has been mostly troublefree over the past 6 years. I made sure she got the one with the base 2L engine and conventional 6 speed auto (she is not the type who wants to learn how to drive stick). It’s a great car for what it is.
Anyway… In this case, I’m going for the Outlander… it’s newer, has less mileage and has a better colour. Yeah the Elantra had a lot of work done to it. But in my experience, just because someone just put a ton of work into an older high mileage car does not mean that’s the end of the work it needs. The suspension, rod bearings, heater core and A/C are all good now.
But that doesn’t mean you won’t have issues in other areas… like the transmission, valvetrain, electrical stuff, etc.
My mother had a Mk1 i30 with the base 1.4 litre and a five speed manual. It was a lively little car. It was the last car she owned.
Later I tested a Mk2 with the 1.6 litre diesel and a six speed manual. It was much more grown up.
Elantra GT by someone who cared way too much for such a car. Respect.
The Elantra GT has that big awesome sunroof too 😀
I voted for the white car
Normally, I’d pick generic Mitsubishi over generic Hyundai, but not in this case. The work that’s been put into the Elantra and the fact that the seller cares enough to get the thing up on stands to show the lack of rust indicate someone who’s really cared for the car and wants to make that clear. The Mitsu, OTOH, has some weird aspects (bumper rack thing, back seats) and is being offered by a less-than-ideal dealer.
The Mitsubishi isn’t a hatchback, so by the rules of the header it has to be the i30 Mk2.
Mitsubishi all day long because it isn’t a Hyundai.
Username tracks.
Agreed…and especially since it isn’t a…Kia. I love that blue too!
I picked the Elantra because I think the PO was someone that really cared about their unloved car based on the underbody shot and sound deadening. A friend of mine used to have an Elantra GT with an auto and it was a fine car, not exciting, but cheap and efficient. I have to assume the manual would improve the experience a touch, but I am not hoping for much.
I don’t think you could really go wrong with the Mitsu either, except I don’t like the lack of rear seats.
Camper conversion!
Elantra. The oil burning issue is real, but manageable. My brother has one of these, with the automatic, that he has been using for commuting duty for 12 or 13 years now. For a non-sporty car, it is reasonably fun to drive and his has been surprisingly low maintenance (aside from said oil burning issue, which isn’t severe).
Is the oil burning due to stuck rings? I used some snake oil called Auto-Rx on our Mazda and it seemed to clear it up.
As I understand it, it is carbon buildup on the valve seats from the direct injection, which then leads to carbon buildup on the piston rings. I know my brother was a bit more proactive on getting his valves walnut blasted, so perhaps that helped his car out in the long run.
I thought the 1.8 Nu was port only. The 2.0 was either GDI or Port injection, I owned the latter in a bit newer Forte. It doesn’t consume oil at 175K
I believe the Nu could be had with port injection or direct injection, depending on year, model, and displacement. My brother’s has “GDi” on the engine cover.
I’m a big cheerleader for Mitsu as an underrated competitor to Toyota and Honda, but not feeling this one. It’ll probably run for another 100k easy but no back seat and who knows what with the rear bumper. If it weren’t for that, it’d be a shoe-in. The Hyundai at least has been really well cared for, so it’s going to be my reluctant winner.
Let’s be clear that it’s an Outlander SPORT.
That’s the little one, known as the RSX in other places.
And that’s the one you want out of these two. Mitsu’s 4 cylinder is great. This car is based on ancient stuff – and it’s all commodity, no passion. I mean, you may wind up a fan, but nobody tends to think of any GS-platform Mitsu other than the Evo as a must-have.
ASX actually. Or C4 Aircross / 4008.
Right…ASX.
I’d take both over some of the more expensive options that have been shown here.
The Mitsubishi powertrain is pretty good, and calling it a tall Lancer hatchback is fairly accurate. Unfortunately Mitsubishi’s dealer network in the US is a shadow of its former self, so I’m not confident about being able to get replacement parts right away. I like the color and the ease of ingress/egress the taller body offers.
The Elantra GT is one of the two preferable options for Elantra, the other being the Elantra Touring wagon, which had an entirely different face than its sedan brethren. However the oil consumption can be a real issue, and the transmissions are not the most robust, though the stick shift is better than the alternate automatic. I really appreciate how well this example was cared for and the thoughtful changes the owner put into it. Parts can be an issue, though: one of my customers recently brought hers in, and it needed catalytic converters. The OE set was on indefinite backorder, and we went through 3 different options before finding a combination that actually fit correctly. It was close to the point where we were exploring a weld-in universal option which would have been tricky with how it’s set up.
Going to have to be the cared-for Elantra.
For doing the mechanicals right but neglecting the cosmetics, that person seems to be like me. I can twirl a wrench pretty well but do not, I repeat do not, ask me to do anything paint related. My stuff works superbly while looking like garbage.
That Elantra was owned by someone who clearly cared about it a lot, so it has my vote. As far as the sound deadening goes, I’ve done the same thing with my 2014 Sportwagen. There were lots of areas with no sound insulation at all, and adding it really did help. Nice that someone already did that here.