Re: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Hatch Details Released
 

The circa 2003 generation Elantra hatch had about the same space. Curiously, they avoided showing the cargo space or bragging about it in ads for that generation, even though it was roomier than all or nearly all hatches available then.

Re: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Hatch Details Released
 

Taking another look, I now realize how Hyundai is able to shorten the car. Although the GT's cargo area is presumably not much smaller than the Touring's, the passenger space has been tightened up, reducing both the passenger and seats-down cargo volumes. So maybe this is the shorter i30 variant after all.

	Passenger space	Seats-up cargo	Max cargo
'09-'12 Elantra Touring	101cf	24cf*	65cf
'13 Elantra GT	96cf	23cf*	51cf

* Seats-up cargo space per Hyundai. Elantra Touring has 28cf per EPA spec.

And this is all fine with me. The Touring's back seat is downright luxurious in size, more than I need. I'd gladly give some of that up (as long as I don't also sacrifice cargo space) for a smaller car that's even easier to park.

I'd have to say that despite the higher price, I like my Hyundai so much that if mine got stolen/wrecked I'd be hard pressed to do better than the GT as a replacement for it (though I would at least check out the Mazda3 hatch). At least as far as conventional ICE cars go, that is: of course, at $19k it would end up being a tough decision between the GT and the Prius, even taking TCO into account.

On another note, I'm hoping that the new EPS fine-tuning options deliver a bit more road feel. As we're getting used to with so many EPS systems (including the Focus I just rented this weekend), the Touring's is a bit numb. Like big front and rear blind spots, this seems to be an attribute of so many current vehicles that I wish could be made better.

Re: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Hatch Details Released
 

Hi All:

Here is what a huge 13 Elantra GT and Coupe Short Lead looks like:


Everybody that is anybody in the auto journalism world is here :)

Wayne

Re: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Hatch Details Released
 

Hi Aca2983:

While still under the embargo, I can say the Elantra GT is indeed a "Hot" hatch due to the new exterior, utility and HW upgrades from the steering and suspension to Blue Link ;)

Dan, give me a few and I will have some pics of the GT's interior spaces. It "feels" just as large as the sedan from a front and rear seat room perspective but the added utility of the hatch with the fold forward rear seat allowing a flat load floor is where the GT hatch excels.

And road feel? The 3-mode user selectable system is ... I can tell you more after the embargo date.

Of all the capabilities added to the Elantra within the GT, it is the user selectable steering mode that may be the best of all yet few journo’s will write about it until they get behind the wheel for more than just a few hours. It is cool ;)

Wayne

Re: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Hatch Details Released
 

Hi All:

Some more hatch detail…


And can you name the dumb@$$ that would pull out a tape measure at a major short lead launch? Yeah, that was me :rolleyes: :D

Wayne

Re: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Hatch Details Released
 

that lady has some nerve with that metric tape measure!

Nice big hatch, is that 52" deep?

Re: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Hatch Details Released
 

Nice! I like that interior better than the sedan's. Did you get measurement of the hatch's dimensions with the rear seats up? I miss having bottom seat cushions that fold forward like that, that is one thing that my old car did that my new one does not.

Re: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Hatch Details Released
 

Wow, I'm excited to hear more about road feel when you're ready to tell us. :D

Any chance you measured the fore-aft length of the load floor with the seats up? To me that's the most critical dimension for cargo capacity. For reference, the Touring is 36" long, and the old '02-06 Elantra GT hatch was 36-37" -- compared with most hatchbacks which are in the 26-32" range.

I'm kinda disappointed that you have to flip the bottom seat cushions up to fold down the seatbacks. I thought automakers were finally getting away from that tediousness. On the current Touring you don't have to flip up the seat cushions (in fact, you can't because they are fixed in place). Just pop a button and flip the seatback down, and you're done. The resulting load floor is flat if you put any weight on it.

EDIT: I see a substantial liftover at the back of the load floor, which the Touring (being a real wagon) does not have. Maybe they're trying to get the floor as low as possible (eliminating the under-floor storage?), which would also necessitate having to fold the seat cushions out of the way in order to have the folded rear seatbacks line up flat with the rear part of the floor.

Re: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Hatch Details Released
 

Nice. What else can you tell us about Christie S. ?

Re: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Hatch Details Released
 

Personally, I'm in favor of a lower load floor and more clearance vs. under-floor storage and not having to flip the seat bottoms. The Prius is the latter, and I often wish I had another few inches of height with the seats folded. My first car (old Volvo wagon) had flip-up seat bottoms and I never gave them a second thought.