1998 Hyundai Elantra Consumer Reviews

Amazed by this car

Written by: Jim D on 02/09/2005

Vehicle

1998 Hyundai Elantra 4 Dr STD Sedan

Review

Bought the car in 2000 with 24K on it. Other then normal wear and tear parts, I have spent less then $300 on repairs to this car. It has over 90,000 miles on it now and has been through the hard New England winters and still runs great. I will be looking to get a new one whenever this one dies.

Favorite Features

Not bad on the budget.

Suggested Improvements

It does not like to go up hill.

13 out 13 people found this review helpful

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Not bad for the buck!

Written by: fce on 05/01/2004

Vehicle

1998 Hyundai Elantra 4 Dr GLS Sedan

Review

Not a bad little car. I bought it for commuting with 105000 miles. It had a bad auto transmission. As far as I know this is the major downfall of this car. I have junk yard connections so I put the trans. in myself. It is only a 2 hour job at most. Bam! I got a decent little car. The car drives solid, no rattles, it even handles pretty good.

Favorite Features

Great MPG about 33 - 35 highway. Interior is very nice and durable. 1998 with 105K and the interior looks new.

Suggested Improvements

Better transmission, Neutral drops will kill it quickly. Always make sure this car is stopped before changing gears. Or just get the 5 speed. Minor suggestion is the cup holder design, If you can not have a cup in it if you have something plugged into the cigarette lighter.

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

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elantra best economy car

Written by: bluedragon on 04/12/2004

Vehicle

1998 Hyundai Elantra 4 Dr STD Sedan

Review

its fun to drive easy on the wallet has the power when needed.

Favorite Features

good on gas

Suggested Improvements

a little more hourse power

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Had1

Written by: had1 on 02/24/2004

Vehicle

1998 Hyundai Elantra 4 Dr STD Sedan

Review

Got this car with 59000 miles on it for my daughter. Based on reviews I thought it should hold up for ok for a first car. The car has 80000 miles now with no mechanical problems! We just went shopping for her second car, she wanted to "move up" a little. After driving four other manufactures cars guess what she bought... 2002 Elantra!

Favorite Features

Best value on the market (if you plan to keep it, poor resale)

Suggested Improvements

No headlights left on alarm, headlights go off when the car shuts off but parking lights stay on. (fixed on 02 models)

1 out 1 people found this review helpful

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98 Elantra

Written by: Treebeard5 on 12/07/2003

Vehicle

1998 Hyundai Elantra 4 Dr STD Sedan

Review

This has been a reliable vehicle. It lacks the comforts of more expensive vehicles, but for the money its not a bad buy. No mechanical problems, just general maintenance including belts, hoses, battery, tires, etc. Would buy Hyundai again.

Favorite Features

Suggested Improvements

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Great for the money

Written by: HAC on 12/05/2003

Vehicle

1998 Hyundai Elantra 4 Dr STD Sedan

Review

The car is reliable, economical, sound and safe. Have performed routine maintenance and the car still performs almost like new. Was involved in a collission (was rear- ended) and damage to the car was very limited, while the other car was severely damaged. Extremely safe car.

Favorite Features

Suggested Improvements

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At first we were afraid

Written by: AprilW on 09/18/2003

Vehicle

1998 Hyundai Elantra 4 Dr STD Sedan

Review

At first we had a lot of problems with this car. I think a lot of it had to do with the dealership more than anything--we had to take it back 4-5 times before they fixed what was wrong. Ever since it was fixed, though, we haven't had a problem with anything except the usual maintenance. We had to have a tune-up pretty early, plus other things that would typically last a little bit longer.

Favorite Features

The style of the car is nice. We've had no major problems with the car and we have over 76,000 miles on it. We have a 5-speed and that gives it extra spunk.

Suggested Improvements

Better spark plugs; train Hyundai mechanics better!

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Fun Car/Reliable

Written by: vinney on 12/18/2002

Vehicle

1998 Hyundai Elantra 4 Dr GLS Sedan

Review

I bought this car new in 1998 and my wife loves it. She would rather keep it than give it up. This car has the 5 speed that gives it some extra pep. I enjoy driving it so I can race some of the teenagers that think there civics are fast. I usually blow there doors off and I have nothing but stock.. The only issue that I had was regular maintanance. Battery, brakes, wipers and tires.

Favorite Features

Driving this is fun. Cornering is a blast. Showing the teenagers up is great.

Suggested Improvements

The interior plastic crubles after baking in the sun for a few years. This is the push buttons for the back seats to fold down.

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Great Car

Written by: Derek Benoit on 07/17/2002

Vehicle

1998 Hyundai Elantra 4 Dr GLS Sedan

Review

I bought this vehicle new andI was weary of Hyundai's reputation but decided to take my chances after a surprising test drive. This was also before they offered the great warranty. I have never regretted my decision. My Elantra now has 135,000 miles on it w/o any problems at all! The only items I have had to replace in over 4 years are considered normal maintanence such as wiper blades, tires, brakes, and a battery. The car has never failed to start, and has driven flawlessly in a number of extreme conditions as I live in the northeast. I just passed the strict Massachusetts emissions test w/o a problem at all.

Favorite Features

The interior of the car is extremely well designed. The exterior is also still quite fresh after over 4 yrs. Reliability is top-notch; never had any issues. It is very fun to drive, with lots of power. Still has ice cold A/C.

Suggested Improvements

the body dings a bit too easily. I also wish it had a bit more headroom as I am 6'1" and feel a little too close to the roof sometimes.

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If you can spend the money...upgrade

Written by: Warren Burton on 06/14/2002

Vehicle

1998 Hyundai Elantra 4 Dr STD Sedan

Review

The car is 4 years old with 70K miles and wont pass smog by a large margin...this is a warning to you all. Of course the "great" new Hyundai warranty does not cover emissions at this point. The car accelerates so badly you almost get killed every time you have to merge on to the freeway. Using the airconditioning cuts what little power you have in half. Stay away from Romero Motors in Ontario California as they are a bunch of crooks and do not back up the products they sell.

Favorite Features

The interior is roomy for a small car. Big trunk. Clunky but charming exterior.

Suggested Improvements

Talk to Toyota or Honda...better yet steal their engine and transmission designs and just copy them. It's like they spent all the money fooling you on the parts of the car you can see and got real cheap about the parts that matter, like emissions, engine, trans etc.

1 out 2 people found this review helpful

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