Thinking of a Hyundai

I was looking for a used Corolla when someone suggested a Hyundai instead.

What do they have in a used car, around a 2000 model, that has the same kind of leg room as a Corolla ( as much as possible ) , auto and AC, gets

35-40 REAL LIFE MPG, and isnt too low to the ground for us older folks? :-)
Reply to
Sarah Houston
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Well, a Corolla won't get 35-40 MPG either unless you drive 50 MPH on level interstates all of the time. The Elantra is probably the closest to the Corolla, but the Accent may not be too bad either.

Matt

Reply to
Voyager

Ok. Are the older used ones as reliable as Corollas?

Reply to
Sarah Houston

There are none. Nor are there any Corollas getting real life 40 mpg. The only car I've driven with 42 mpg was a Smart ForFour and they are not sold in the US.

Elantra would be the model of interest to you. They have proven to be pretty decent cars. The Accent is smaller, but I think it may be too small and it may be hard to find with Auto and AC in the older models.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Hyundai has dramatically improved quality in the last five years, but a 2000 model is now 9 years old.

Reply to
Mark A

I'd recommend a 2001 or newer Elantra if you're interested in reliability. That year began a new model and was another notch up in terms of quality.

I'm still not convinced Hyundai can hold its own with Toyota on long- term reliability. The most recent improvements haven't had time to be old enough to draw a conclusion.

Reply to
hyundaitech

I don't have personal experience with the Accent or Elantra. I have a

2006 Sonata that has been extremely reliable. It has some annoying design issues, but everything works today (45,000 miles) as it did the say I bought in three years ago.

Hopefully, others here can share some first-hand Elantra or Accent experiences. I doubt either of the Hyundai's will match the Corolla for reliability, but they also won't even close to match the Corolla's cost.

Matt

Reply to
Voyager

Sarah I would say no, 4 cylinder Hyundai's back then I believe were famous for chewing up timing belts and if it is a interference type of engine and the belt breaks it will most likely bend some valves requiring the head to be rebuilt or replaced. Meaning the car would not be worth repairing. I put

25,000 mi. yr. on my car that's why I got a Sentra because it does not have a timing belt! My wife has a 2004 Santa Fe and I wished we could have waited until Hyundai started putting timing chains in them. 2006 ?

Reply to
Striker

I beleive that the Smart cars are being sold in the U.S. I have seen a few on the streets including one just today.

Old_Timer

Reply to
Old_Timer

My daughte has a 2000 Elantra that she is still driving and is still happy with the car. She just recenlly told me that a new car is not even on the horizon at this time. The only work the has been reuired on the car in those 9 years are oil chnages, new tires, new battery, new belts, new wipers blades, all the usual things must expect.

Her Elantra still looks shinly and clean as well.

Old_Timer

Reply to
Old_Timer

Yes some models are, but the ForFour is not. In Europe you can also get the Mercedes emblem version if you want a bit more upscale model.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

The engines that famously chewed timing belts are:

1.6, 1.8 -- 1992-1995 Elantra 2.0 -- 1992-1998 Sonata 2.4 -- 1999-2005 Sonata. 1996 and newer Elantras should have no timing belt issues if the belt is changed anywhere near the service interval (4 years/60k miles).
Reply to
hyundaitech

Personally I would go for 2002 or later Elantra

Earlier Elantra? did have some issues Later ones appeared to go up SEVERAL notches in quality and reliability

Then again nothing wrong with the Toyota product either but it is going to be dearer to buy and to run/repair .

We have both in our fleets and to be honest the Hyundais have proven bullet proof -as have the little toyota? here in Australia

where the conditions are MUCH harsher HTH

Reply to
phil-c

Hi Sarah,I bought a 2000 accent for my GF when her Mazda blew a head gasket several years ago.I didn't have time to read consumer reports that said the 2000 was not a good buy.I did a

formatting link
search several days ago and found 3 dealers willing to take my $8000 offer for a base 3dr 2009 accent.I never figured they would go that low.Don't know how much you have to spend but if you look for new and decide on different model you can try the above site in your area.

Reply to
Ohno Nimap

I have a 2003 Elantra with 80k+ miles and have had zero problems - just regular maintenance costs. Best gas mileage is about 34 mpg and that's with the five speed manual stick (automatic might be a little less). After six years the body/paint has held up really well too. Instead of thinking about a "2000 model" why not think in terms of finding the newest model you can afford? My new Elantra only cost $13k. My wife has a 2001 Corolla and the leg room is comparable to the Elantra.

Reply to
Victek

Kind of makes you want to quit driving except for emergengies when one gets close to the timing belt required change. Mine is a 2002 XG350 and for the first 5 years it was a perfect car except for gas milage. (about 18 in town and 25-28 0n the highway) at 2,000 rpm it runs just about 60 mph and my wife's Buick Lucerne gets 22 in town and 30 on the hwy. At 2,000 rpm her's cruises at about 70. I have a friend that has a Toyota Corolla and his doesn't get that so I think the other posters are shooting you the right info. My next new one is gonna be a Chevrolet volt (if GM don't go out of business in the interim.)then we can tell the folks in the middle east to kiss our keesters. If I was gonna get one that old I'd stay with the Toyota or a Nissan.

Reply to
Elmo Finsterwald

I have a 2K Accent GS 5 speed with 120,000 miles planning to take this car in the 1st week of March to change out the timing belt. I bought this car new and had very few problems over the years.

Tom Welch in Mesa, AZ USA

Reply to
PMP4Hire

Is this the second timing belt to be changed? Or the original?

My 2001 Elantra has now reeached the 60K mile, though the manual says it can go for 100k in California, I am inclined to swap it out now.

Reply to
Irwell

More precisely I believe the manual implies that the timing belt will be covered by the 100k/10 year warranty (in California) should it break. Whether it can go for 100k is another matter :-)

Reply to
Victek

The original timing belt was changed @ 61K.

Tom Welch in Mesa, AZ

Reply to
PMP4Hire

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