They’re good cars dammit!

There are dozens of us! DOZENS!

There are dozens of us, but I’m looking at a Kona because its under 168" long and so saves me some money on the ferry. Almost all of the hatchbacks are over that length, just barely, including the Elantra GT. The one that isn’t? The king of the compat hatches, the Golf.

It sucks because the Elantra GT N Line really was a budget GTi. Equipping it with the manual gave it summer tires and helped it perform even better. And the auto was a slick shifting 7 speed with paddle shifters. They can be had for cheap used now thankfully. Screw crossovers though. The Kona is an ugly Juke like…

Sorry, not trying to single out of course, we’re all guilty including myself!  Honestly, Hyundai didn’t put much effort in either, I don’t recall ever seeing any advertisement for it in the years it has been available.

As far as actually buying one, the Elantra GT N-lines were rare as hen’s teeth on dealer lots. I did an inventory search last year, and there were none anywhere near close to me in stock. I had to expand the search to a 250 mile radius and there were only two in stock in that large search area.

GT N line was going to be my next car, too. I was hoping to buy one new. FFS, American car market! How did a purported country of individualists end up drowning in a sea of automotive sameness?

And there’s the answer for it’s demise. It seemed good to most, but not good enough to be the first choice. And given how little I’ve seen about it, even on this site, it seems like the writing was on the wall.

That’s a bummer because it’s a really awesome car. Glad I picked mine up while I could.

And “Never smoked in”.

“Ran when parked”

This thing would be perfect for my daughter... You know, a safe, slow vehicle.. A good starter car.

1st Gear: You get a bailout! You get a bailout! Everybody gets a bailout!!

The only correct answer

+1.  Something more recent though?  Are the early ‘00s still expensive?

4Runner, just buy the 4runner. If you get one a bit older you can get a manual version too, or get a V8 one if you really need tow power. Also, Raph, WTF is that suggestion? When have you or will you ever see a Trailblazer SS/Saab 9-7X Aero off road, like WTF man?

do what many jeep owners do buy a 4runner.

What’s this little round bit cut into the tailgate for? A leftover from the spare tire mounting point on the full rear door? It seems too low for that though.

no way