Big City, Small Car: 2016 Hyundai Elantra

When I traveled to NYC a few weeks ago, my friends at DriveShop were nice enough to hook me up with the new 2016 Hyundai Elantra Value Edition.

I was originally planning on driving the big body to the city but I'm soooo glad I didn't. This was the first time I’ve driven a small car to NYC and I don’t think I’ll ever drive my truck up there again. The compact size made it much easier to maneuver through traffic and the fact that it only cost about $20 to fill up the tank (which we only did once during the whole trip) was a definite plus.

Here are my thoughts about this ride:

The Good: This little car has got some serious get up. When the roads are clear, folks on the NJ turnpike are MOVIN'! Even though the Elantra is one of the most compact vehicles I've driven, I felt like I could keep up with the flow of traffic.

The Strange (but nice): The heating system in this vehicle has two settings: 1. comfortably warm and 2. seventh circle of hell. Winter will be no match for the Hyundai Elantra. I definitely knew better than to keep my coat on if I was gonna be in the car for longer than say, 10 minutes. On the way to NYC, we actually had the sunroof open to let a little cool air into this hotbox on wheels. I’m pretty much always cold so I totally appreciate the toastiness levels, but if you get hot quickly (or are going through “the change”) don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The Blah: The Value Edition package doesn’t include a GPS which I thought was odd given the fact that it had SiriusXM radio and a touchscreen. The lack of direction resulted in a couple of missed turns and brief adventures while I tried to use the google maps feature on my phone. Without GPS, I get lost. A lot.

Overall, I enjoyed the Elantra. Even though I'd consider myself an SUV girl, this would be a perfect everyday car for me since I have to fight traffic for about 70 miles every day. Also, the parking garage at my new office SCREAMS for the use of a compact vehicle because trying to squeeze my truck in these very little spaces every morning is the most anxiety inducing 2 minutes of my day.

What say you? Which do you prefer, compact or big body ?

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