I've test driven Mazda3's a couple of times and liked them a lot.
Last night I test drove a Hyundai Elantra GT and was impressed by it, particularly given the present price with rebate. While the overall feel and quality do not match the Mz3, nor is it quite as fast, I felt it offered great value.
The Elantra GT I testdrove had the following features:
- Leather seats
- Sunroof, powered
- 4 wheel disc brakes
- ABS
- Traction Control
- Side Air Bags
- A/C
- Power windows, door locks, mirrors
- Rear lip spoiler
- 5-door Hatchback
- 15" alloy wheels with Michelin MXV4 tires
- Sport Suspension with heavy-duty stablizer bar & fully independent multi-link rear susp.
- 6 speaker sound system with Kenwood CD (MP3-compatible)
- 2.0L 135hp engine, timed at 0-60 in 8.4
- 5-spd manual transmission.
- 5 yr, 60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty
- 10 yr, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty
List price was a very low $16.7K (US dollars). Until 3/1, Hyundai is giving a $2000 rebate. Dealer threw in an additional $1200 discount, bringing the final price quote to $13,500 even. That's for a brand new 2004 model with less than 10 miles on it.
I was stunned by that price.
This car is definitely a notch below the Mz3 on refinement and performance, but my goodness is it a lot less expensive. After looking over the Elantra GT, I can now understand how Mazda is making a profit on the Mz3.
The sedan version of this car was the winner of Edmunds' best sedan under $15,000 last year, before being supplanted by the Mz3i this year. However the sub-$15K 3i is missing several of the features listed above, such as the hatchback, sunroof, leather, 60K warranty, and more.
Last night I test drove a Hyundai Elantra GT and was impressed by it, particularly given the present price with rebate. While the overall feel and quality do not match the Mz3, nor is it quite as fast, I felt it offered great value.
The Elantra GT I testdrove had the following features:
- Leather seats
- Sunroof, powered
- 4 wheel disc brakes
- ABS
- Traction Control
- Side Air Bags
- A/C
- Power windows, door locks, mirrors
- Rear lip spoiler
- 5-door Hatchback
- 15" alloy wheels with Michelin MXV4 tires
- Sport Suspension with heavy-duty stablizer bar & fully independent multi-link rear susp.
- 6 speaker sound system with Kenwood CD (MP3-compatible)
- 2.0L 135hp engine, timed at 0-60 in 8.4
- 5-spd manual transmission.
- 5 yr, 60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty
- 10 yr, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty
List price was a very low $16.7K (US dollars). Until 3/1, Hyundai is giving a $2000 rebate. Dealer threw in an additional $1200 discount, bringing the final price quote to $13,500 even. That's for a brand new 2004 model with less than 10 miles on it.
I was stunned by that price.
This car is definitely a notch below the Mz3 on refinement and performance, but my goodness is it a lot less expensive. After looking over the Elantra GT, I can now understand how Mazda is making a profit on the Mz3.
The sedan version of this car was the winner of Edmunds' best sedan under $15,000 last year, before being supplanted by the Mz3i this year. However the sub-$15K 3i is missing several of the features listed above, such as the hatchback, sunroof, leather, 60K warranty, and more.