2017 Hyundai Elantra
When we last left the Hyundai Elantra, its styling may have impressed us; but when it came to road manners, we thought it was more of a step back in time for this fastly progressing brand. Well, Hyundai certainly hasn’t gotten to where they are today by ending with a cliff hanger. Well, now there’s a new gen Elantra for ’17. So let’s tune in, and find out what happens next.
The Hyundai Elantra sedan has had its ups and downs since going on sale here in the early 90s. And despite our misgivings over the last generation, sales have skyrocketed of late to well over 200,000-units per year. Sounds like a lot, but that’s about 100,000 less than either the Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. So needless to say, Hyundai is eager to boost their sales further with this 6th-generation 2017 4-door.
Styling is perhaps not as daring as last gen, but it’s still a compact looker and fully in line with larger 4-door stablemates, Sonata and Genesis. Especially up front, where it now shares their larger grille and available signature DRLs.
Same basic platform as before, but it’s had a complete onceover; with a stiffer structure, progressively more isolated suspension, and a modest increase in overall size.
It’s 1.0-inch wider; and just shy of an inch longer, though wheelbase remains the same. 17-inch alloy wheels come with Limited trim, base SEs are equipped with 15-inch “steelies”.
Most appreciably, things are a lot quieter inside, thanks to thicker glass and additional sound deadening materials.
Helping too is a new, standard 2.0-liter I4 that’s a bit more powerful than the previous gen’s 1.8-liter; at 147-horsepower and 132 lb-ft. of torque.
It’s smoother, quieter operation is readily apparent at cruising speeds. A 6-speed manual transmission is available, but only in base SE trim. A 6-speed automatic is fitted to our Limited tester.
A 128-horsepower 1.4-liter I4-powered Eco model is also available for maximum efficiency, up to 40-highway; though truth be told, the 2.0-liter is not bad in that regard either.
2.0 Government Fuel Economy Ratings are 28-City, 37-Highway, and 32-Combined. We averaged a very good 35.6 miles-per-gallon of Regular. Thus the Energy Impact Score is a good one at 10.3-barrels of oil used annually with C02 emissions of 4.7-tons.
Front seats are plenty wide and offer above average for its class comfort. Likewise in the rear, there’s adult-size room and adequate coziness.
Trunk space is fine at 14.4 cubic-ft., but it’s cheaply finished and the deck lid feels very flimsy. However, we liked the hand-free opening smart trunk.
Limited trim delivers a display audio system with 7-inch touchscreen and Apple CarPlay and Android auto. Adding the Tech package ups it to 8-inches and adds navigation and Infinity premium audio, as well as heated seats.
Gauges are clean and simple with a 4-inch color TFT info display. The interior has definitely moved upscale in appearance, with the Ultimate package adding seat memory plus the latest in safety including blind spot detection, cross traffic alert, and even emergency braking.
Useful room is up too, so like Civic and Corolla, the Elantra is now classified as midsize by the government.
But middling is how we found full-throttle acceleration, taking 9.3-seconds to hit 60 miles-per-hour with lots of 4-cylinder wail. But, acceleration does remain steady; thanks to minimal lag between shifts. So the Elantra feels faster than the numbers; which were 17.3 in the ¼ at 83 miles-per-hour.
Things certainly have improved in the handling department. There is plenty of grip at a moderate pace; and a playful amount of understeer when pushed harder. The car reacts quickly to steering inputs; and a nicely responsive throttle enabled us to easily keep it right on the edge, inspiring confidence as speeds increased.
Brakes were another pleasant surprise. Panic stops from 60 took a good 123–feet with minimal fade; along with a nicely firm, short travel pedal.
So with all of the improvements, the Elantra’s value proposition is also stronger than ever, as base SE pricing is actually reduced by 90-bucks to $17,985. Limited trim starts at $23,185.
Far more competent, more refined, and more consistent with Hyundai’s increasingly upscale ambitions; plus an outstanding warranty; all things that help make the 2017 Hyundai Elantra a vehicle worthy of your compact consideration. One that might finally be ready to give Corolla and Civic a real run for your money.
Specifications
- Engine: 2.0 liter I4
- Horsepower: 147
- Torque: 132 lb-ft.
- 0-60 mph: 9.3 seconds
- 1/4 mile: 17.3 seconds @ 83 mph
- EPA: 28 mpg city / 37 mpg highway
- Energy Impact: 10.3 barrels of oil/yr
- CO2 Emissions: 4.7 tons/yr
- Transmission: 6 spd auto
2025 Infiniti QX80
Infiniti’s Flagship SUV Sets A Course For Extravagance
This full-size Infiniti QX80 started out as the QX56, a hastily rebadged version of Nissan’s truck-based Armada full-size utility. That was in the early 2000s when the luxury SUV craze was exploding. It wasn’t as much as a game-changer, as it was “try to keep upper”. Now, this new QX80, Infiniti is promising to “Reimagine the luxury SUV”. Let’s see if Infiniti has turned their imaginations into reality.
Well, if over the top is what Infiniti was shooting for in the all-new 2025 QX80, mission accomplished. There’s an overall feeling of extravagance here that we haven’t experienced from Infiniti in quite some time.
It’s not just the open pore ash wood trim with aluminum inlays, 24-speaker audio, and plush quilted leather seating; there’s also nicely integrated ambient lighting, a massive glass roof, plenty of tech, lots of active driving assistance, and even chilled center console storage. Forward of that is a dual touchscreen setup; the top 14.3-inch touchscreen for infotainment sits next to the digital gauge display in a single housing; while just below, there’s a 9-inch one for climate controls.
You are reminded this is still a body-on-frame utility the moment you have to climb up into the cockpit, but there’s also the commanding view of the road that comes with that. Captain’s chairs are standard for the second row, but a three-place bench is optional with all trims except for top Autograph which comes exclusively with these climate-controlled massaging chairs, along with a touchscreen control panel. The third-row experience is great, too, with heated leather seating, and adult size room for three.
Now, there is a whole new experience coming from under the hood. The last gen’s V8 has been replaced with a new twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 rated at 450 horsepower, 50 over the V8. More notably, torque is up by more than 100 lb-ft to 516. Transmission is a nine-speed automatic, two more gears than last year, with rear-wheel drive standard, four-wheel drive an option. Max tow rating is 8,500-lbs.
And at the test track, it did pull strongly off the line, getting up to speed in a hurry with the 0-60 sprint taking just 6.3 seconds. There is roughly 3 tons of weight to push through the quarter-mile, but that twin-turbo does it well, finishing in 14.7 seconds at 95 mph. Gear changes are incredibly smooth, while not hindering acceleration in any way.
It's an impressive looking utility from any angle.
In panic braking runs, there was some fade and a considerable amount of nosedive, but our average stopping distance of 115 feet is not bad for a vehicle as big and heavy as the QX80. Last gen, the QX80 moved from the Titan truck platform to the global Patrol SUV chassis, which shifted the vibe from budget Escalade to Lexus LX fighter. The attending improvement in ride and handling was the real bonus, and that largely continues for this gen with air suspension and Dynamic Digital Dampers on all but base QX80s. While we could certainly feel all that weight through our cone course, body roll was well-controlled and without significant oversteer or understeer.
It’s an impressive looking utility from any angle, starting right up front with the big “bamboo forest” grille. The overall shape is boxy, but all body panels are smooth; and for better or worse, Infiniti joins the flush door handle fad. Look for its “Artistry In Motion” design theme to work its way down through the rest of the Infiniti lineup. All QX80s ride on 22-inch wheels except for base Pure trim which makes do with 20s.
A full power play includes standard motion-activated rear liftgate and power operation of both second and third row seats, expanding cargo capacity from 22 cu-ft behind the third row to 59 behind the second, and a max of 101.0 cu-ft with both rows folded.
Government Fuel Economy Ratings with four-wheel-drive are not great: 16 city, 19 highway and 17 combined. We averaged 18.6 mpg of premium. That’s a much worse than average Energy Impact Score, using 17.5 barrels of oil annually, with 8.6 tons of CO2 emissions.
Driving such a PUREly LUXEurious SENSORY overload, you’ll probably be expecting people to want your AUTOGRAPH, which we’re guessing is how Infiniti came up with their grade structure; pricing starts with Pure at $84,445 and climbs to $112,590 for Autograph.
The 2025 Infiniti QX80 is a massive SUV that delivers massive amounts of power and luxury. They aimed for the moon here and have clearly blasted themselves into a much more competitive orbit in the big buck, big hauler, sport-utility galaxy.
Specifications
As Tested
- Engine: 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6
- Transmission: 9-speed automatic
- Horsepower: 450
- Torque: 516 lb-ft.
- EPA: 16 City | 19 Highway | 17 Combined
- 0-60 mph: 6.3 seconds
- 1/4 Mile: 14.7 seconds at 95 mph
- Braking, 60-0 (avg.): 115 feet
- MW Fuel Economy: 18.6 mpg (Premium)
