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 1 through 10 of 195.00

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  Excellent workhorse for the price - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By 4356pats - January 19 - 1:00 am

  Ive had this car since 2008, and have put it to the test. It has 112,000 miles on it, including a 6-day drive from the east coast to the west coast, back to Denver, and back to the west coast. Never driven a car that is this reliable. Its not fast, its not flashy, but it goes and keeps going. It has literally never left me on the side of the road except once, for a punctured tire. Practical, perfect for a young person, perfect for a small family. Its likable, it has character, and its surprisingly comfortable and sharp.

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  Has been a great car, bought used with 35k miles - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By ksh1981 - May 17 - 3:15 pm

  This car is a well-built machine. Solid, fun to drive, reliable, modest (well, very modest on gas), A/C and heat are great. I bought the car used from a dealership in 2011, with 35,000 miles. My jeep completely had died and I was desperate. But since then, (it is now May 2014).. no problems. None. Ive driven long-distance, I commute to work Mon-Fri, and also worked weekends carrying people and 100s of pounds of equipment up to 2 hours away. In all weather, the car did great. This past winter, the battery finally went. 2 degrees F will do that to a battery! Took the car to Sears Auto..new battery...back to normal! If you think you are "settling" for a Hyundai...think again. Test drive one.

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  Some Issues - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By ocd4deals - October 5 - 9:53 am

  I bought my Elantra brand new. Since owning it we have replaced each headlight at least twice and each foglight twice. We had to replace the first headlight on day 2 of owning the car. We had the dealer replace it whie it was under warranty but after 36k miles we were on our own. This was the most frustrating until we had issues with the brakes locking up the rear driver side tire. Upon doing a brake job we found that the brake bracket wasnt up to factory specs so when installing brake pads. the pads had to be filed down. With the seizing of the tire we have had to replace the hub assemly, bracket, and caliper. But other than these 2 issues the car has run great and we are at 78k.

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  GREAT CAR OVERALL - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By happy1989 - January 22 - 2:03 pm

  I elantra back in 2008 it now has 136000 on it iv only put one set of tires and breaks and one senser in it other then that just oil changes the car dose have a little bit of road noise but is solid i have to say i trade my chevy in for this car and im happy i did i will be keeping this car till it hits 300000 miles witch will be at my rate in 2 more years

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  About as good as it gets - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By wiccanferret - November 7 - 5:20 pm

  Weve had this car since it was new and it now has 52k miles on it. Despite what other reviewers have said, you wont find a car that has lower maintenance costs. So far, the only things Ive had to worry about, as per the owners manual, were oil changes and an air filter. Thats it. Oh, and the battery went out after 4 years, which is better than your average stock battery, especially considering the Texas heat this year. This car couldnt be cheaper to run, period. The gas mileage is decent (35 mpg) and the power and handling are phenomenal for this class of car.

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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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  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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  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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  fabric of cloth seats are awlfull - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Danny McCuiston - March 18 - 9:29 pm

  We just bought the car, we like the dealership every one there was helpful,now for the only bad thing about the car that weve found is the fabric on the seats, if you drop one drop of clear clean water on the seats it looks like a big dirty stain. We took it back for them to get the spots out 80% came out and we are afraid to try anymore cleaning,we cover the seats and arm rest with towels and that is embarrassing. If you have children the seats would be ruined with in a week. I hope Hyundai will improve the inside quality,if they do I will probably buy another one next year from the same dealer. A newer one but for now we will just be ashamed of the seats.

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  Gets the job done. - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Macnewbee - February 25 - 8:40 pm

  I dont think I would ever say to anyone, "Oh yeah, I love my car." Having said that the car itself, for what it is, is great. I paid 13,500 for it. Ive driven it 32,000 miles since I bought it 9 months ago. Id say 30K miles were spent on I-95 to and from work at 80 miles an hour. The car does what it needs to do everyday- starts and stops. There has been hesitation in the engine on more than one occasion. Something to expect out of a car with 100K on the engine, not a brand new car. I asked the maintenance people about this and they said that should be expected out of a Hyundai. The car came with features that would cost 30K on any other car. For the cost, the value is great.