The Hyundai Elantra GT is ergonomically superb with easy-to-read dials and gauges.American consumers have mostly been ambivalent about hatchbacks. Perhaps we all had a friend with a glitchy, 1970s-era econobox.
Popular in Europe for their fuel economy, versatility and drive-ability, five-door hatches are still a niche market in the U.S., where small SUVs rule.
Here, hatchback buyers tend to be younger, performance-oriented drivers. For example, I see lots of Volkswagen Golf GTIs zipping up and down the W Road on weekends, apparently driven by college students headed home to do laundry or to poach from mom’s pantry.
My 11-year-old son has already said he wants a Golf GTI as his first vehicle, so maybe the pendulum is swinging. There’s a chance that today’s youth will eventually come to see SUVs as old-people’s vehicles.
The new, 2018 Hyundai Elantra GT A/T is a good example of the hatch-designer’s art. Restyled for 2018, it has smart lines, a spacious interior and gets 32 miles per gallon of gas on the highway. And in base trim with a six-speed automatic transmission the Elantra GT can be had for a reasonable $20,350, although our White Ceramic tester rings up at $27,460.