That’s why Hyundai is happy to sell you a Kona N crossover instead. However, the Elantra is a sedan, and, as we know, Americans don’t like sedans.
#Crossover car driver#
And even a novice racing driver will have a ball taking the Elantra N to the limit. It’s always more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. And here’s a secret: it’s just as fun as those faster European monsters. If you want a car that you can drive to work every day and then take to the track on weekends-and don’t want to spend the money on a BMW or Porsche-the Elantra N is a great choice. It was fast handled well and was wildly fun and exciting. What’s the point of having a jumped-up version of a regular car if no one knows about it?ĭriving the Elantra N on the track was basically what I expected. The Elantra N and Kona N both saw significant upgrades to the engine, brakes, suspension, exhaust, seats, and of course, some nice cosmetic tweaks. The essence of any hot hatch is to remain eminently practical while being potent, sporty, and funĪnd N cars are much more than mere cosmetic changes. N is the Hyundai equivalent of Mercedes AMG or BMWs M division. Hyundai invited me to wine country to test drive the new Kona N and its sibling, the Elantra N, at Sonoma raceway. It’s the Kona N, And it’s maybe the most surprising car of the year. And so, what is a hot hatch enthusiast supposed to buy now? Well, they could buy one of the remaining hot hatches… But Hyundai has a surprise for them. Whether that’s true or not is up for debate, But they remain extremely popular. And it makes sense, right?Ĭrossovers have a higher seating position and a taller roof, and, theoretically, they can haul more stuff. We Americans don’t want hatchbacks, no matter how much the car journalist in me might want them to. And that Veloster N sells in meager numbers. All that’s left is the GTI and the Hyundai Veloster N. The excellent Ford Focus RS is no more, and the Mazdaspeed 3 is gone too. Even the venerable Volkswagen Golf only exists in GTI or R spec now the standard Golf isn’t even sold in America anymore.Īnd the hot hatch is going extinct too. Sure, there are a handful that are popular like the Mazda3 or… OK, that’s the only one I can think of. However, Americans aren’t particularly interested in hatchbacks anymore. I drove a Volkswagen Golf GTI hot hatch a couple of weeks ago and liked it.
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