If I were in the market for this type of car, this would be a deal-breaker for me. It needs to kind of spool up or gather itself together, or something, and lurches forward or back awkwardly. You gently depress the throttle to move the car forward or backward and it doesn’t want to do it. But in town schlepping – looking for a parking spot, for example – is vexing. On the highway, when overtaking or cruising, no problem. The problem is that it simply doesn’t respond promptly at low speeds. Hyundai has done a nice job of refining this engine and it takes a back seat to no one in this market segment.Īlas, the dual clutch transmission that comes with the N Line is seriously flawed. This is a lively automobile, with gobs of takeoff grunt and excellent reserve power. My test N Line Ultimate version, however, has a turbocharged 1.6-litre, and bangs out just over 200 horsepower – it makes a difference. There are heated and ventilated front seats and a heated steering wheelīased on the Elantra sedan platform, the garden variety GT is powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder that develops about 160 horsepower. Things that distinguish the Hyundai Elantra GT N Line include a tasteful leather interior, with well-designed front seats. I’d like to report that it’s an improvement over the CVT but such is not the case. The only exception is if you go with the N Line model, which has a seven-speed dual clutch automatic. Hyundai has not been immune and its Elantra GT has a CVT as standard equipment, unfortunately. They say it’s in the name of drivetrain efficiency but it’s more like simple economics: a CVT is less costly to manufacture than a traditional gearbox. What’s worse, the CVT malady has gone viral and virtually every manufacturer has embraced this technology whole-heartedly.