Overview & Reviews

Last year's top-of-the-line Limited trim level has been dropped, but much of its equipment can still be had via an optional package for the midgrade Elantra SE trim. Stability control and brake assist have also been added as standard equipment to the SE.

• Smooth and secure ride, attractive cabin design, roomy interior with adult-friendly backseat, solid construction, responsive handling, low price, long warranty.

• Unrefined engine is noisy at mid-to-high rpm, likable interior is otherwise let down by a few low-grade interior plastics.

User Reviews:

Showing 11 through 20 of 195.00

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  2.5 years owned, so far so good - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By trunkmonkey - February 19 - 9:33 pm

  1st new car, bought July 08, after end of model year. MN driver, 38k+ ODO now. Good car, growly @35-45 MPH. Sluggish & rough when started in -10 to +5 degrees, until warm. Factory tires, got stuck in own driveway in 5 inches snow! Now new Coopers, well see. W/o ESC car would be bad in MN winter, with it pretty good. Handles fine in rain. Summer 36hwy/29city, winter 29hwy/24 city, better than my old Buick but still. Good ergonomics interior-have chronic back issues & no problem on long drives. Smooth ride at cruise speed, no trunk popping - mystified by that complaint. Spilled drinks, no electrical short-but not big spills. Trunk poor drainage on opening. Good cargo space seats down.

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  bad product design - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By jlemon1 - January 24 - 8:46 pm

  Three things that bother me enough to write a review about them: 1. The doors only prop open at these widths w/o slamming closed on you: open so far it would slam into the car parked next to you, and open just enough that you could slide a piece of paper through- good luck trying to get you bags of groceries out of the car w/o the door repeatedly slamming into you 2. Extremely poor visibility out of the back angled windows- I just have to back up, and change lanes really slowly and pray no one crashes in to me 3. When the steering wheel locks, you dont just give it a little jiggle until it comes loose- you have to jerk it violently until you break your ribcage and it still wont budge.

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  I love this car! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By David - November 9 - 2:00 am

  An incredible car, period. A real bargain for this kind of $s. Excellent comfort in front seat, good in back for 2 adults. Interior has best ergonomics of any car. Reach for a cup holder, the wipers, cruise control, etc., everything is exactly where you expect. Reliability is awesome, 0 defects, 0 problems. Car is so quiet seems the engine is off, all you hear is the awesome radio. Engine runs beautifully, smooth as silk. Suspension smooths out the potholes great. Stable ride, acceleration, and steering. Its easy to get up to 80 MPH without noticing, the suspension/steering is so steady & the engine so smooth. My MPG is less than advertised 24 MPG suburban mixed, 29-31 on open highway.

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  Dependable car! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jonathan - November 3 - 2:00 am

  I have owned my car for the last two years now and I have been very pleased with the reliability of the car. The car presently sits @ 24k miles and the only complaints I can think of that come to mind are : For the year in which this car was built, I wish it did better then 27 mpg avg. The other issues are as follows : - Stains are easily visible from simple things such sweat or water spills or water from your coat jacket in which you might wear out in the rain and get into your car with. - CD Player always says LOADING when there is no disc in it and therefore I cant tell what station I am tuning into on the radio. - Trunk seems to come unlatched mysteriously often while parked.

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  Love it - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Livlife - October 29 - 2:00 am

  I have owned my Elantra for over 2 years now and still love it! I am a big guy who drives a lot for work, however I fit well into the Elantra. My kids call it "lightning" and I like the gas mileage. I did change the cheap tires quickly, and also put new brakes/rotors on at 55k. Other than that, I have had zero issues.

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  We love this car. - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Matt - October 11 - 2:00 am

  My wife and I couldnt be happier with our car. You really cant find a better car without spending a lot more money. We get excellent fuel economy (mid 30s everyday, 40+ on back-road road trips), without a bulky hybrid battery and without compromising safety, comfort or performance. The FWD provides great traction we had a brutal winter last year and only got stuck once, when we got high-centered in several feet of snow. The interior is well thought-out, with plenty of cubbyholes and cup/bottle holders - great for road trips. MP3 CD and aux input are nice features. We havent babied this car, but with regular maintenance it still runs and drives like new. Havent had a single problem yet.

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  Dont spill your drinks! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By sls78 - August 31 - 12:19 pm

  Im sure most of us have been there, accidents happen. So I had a drink of soda spill in my center console where you place your cups. This ended up being a very expensive accident, $1200 and some change. The liquid from my drink went through the cup holder and fried the main "nerve" of the electrical system according to the service department. So needless to say since I spilled the soda the bumper to bumper warranty didnt cover it. At this time Im not going to have it fixed trading it in and Hyundai has lost a customer. Why would they put the electrical under the cup holders especially if the holder wont prevent liquid from damaging the wiring.

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  Danger - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By John D. - August 17 - 7:08 pm

  Be careful if You own one. My daughter drove 50 mph. into a guardrail head on and the airbags did not deploy. Thank God She wasnt hurt badly. Hyundai was not concerned with the problem. I will never buy another.

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  Poor resale value/ costly servicing - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By unhappy - August 7 - 4:51 pm

  The is car is fun to drive and comfortable for long distance driving. It has plenty of pep. Unfortunately, I have learned too late (as in before I bought it), that its at least $500 to service every 30K (almost 70K at 60K servicing since you have to shell out extra money for platinum spark plugs). I put on >25K per year so I am hitting these milestones quickly. I had it appraised and after 2 years and 60K miles, it is work only 1/3 of what I paid for it and it will only go down from there. Even more expensive cars cost less to service. I nthe long run, not worth the investment.

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  I love my car! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By KA Seattle - August 6 - 10:38 pm

  I was so hesitant to purchase a Hyundai after owning a 1998 Honda Civic for 11 years. I absolutely love Hondas, period. However, I read all the reviews and did my homework and felt prepared to buy this little gem. I now find it now laughable that Honda and Toyota insist on charging a horrendous amount extra for AC, a sunroof, automatic trans., power steering, cruise control, IPOD compatibility, etc. A $12,000 2008 Civic gets you "maybe" 2 of the above items (read the fine print people!)I only paid about $12,100, 10Kmi, and got all of the above features and this car gets about 32 MPG with a warranty that knocks Honda out of the park. I may just be a Hyundai fan now for life. Well see!