I recently spent a week behind the wheel of a 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited and while it is a great choice for the money at its normal pricing, the current year-end discounts on 2017 models makes the Elantra Limited an incredible bargain – with prices dipping below $20,000 for this loaded package.
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The 2017 Hyundai Elantra offers an impressive list of standard features in every trimline, but the Elantra Limited comes with an array of features which are more commonly listed as standard in luxury cars – all with a price around $27,000 when you check all of the boxes. However, in looking around the internet, you can get upwards of $7,000 off of a 2017 Elantra Limited sedan as dealerships look to make room for the 2018 models.
Before getting into the reasons that the 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited is so enjoyable, here is a quick look at my test vehicle. My 2017 Elantra Limited carried a base price of $22,350 while the Tech Package added $2,500, the Ultimate Package added $1,900, the carpeted floor mats added $125 and the destination fee added $835 – leading to an MSRP of $27,710.
Premium Features Inside and Out
As the Hyundai brand has progressed over the past decade, the Korean automaker has gone to great lengths to include premium features in cars which do not carry a premium price – and the 2017 Elantra Limited is a great example of those efforts.
On the outside, the 2017 Elantra Limited sedan has a sleek, sporty design with LED daytime running lights and LED taillights bolstering the upscale look of this package, while the HID headlights with Dynamic Bending Light of the Dynamic Package provide better light at night and a more premium look. That is furthered by a little chrome around the grille and along the bottom of the side windows, as well as a set of sporty 17 inch alloy wheels. Overall, the Elantra is a sporty compact sedan, but there is just enough upscale feel to the outside to emphasize the premium position of the Limited package.
While the exterior of the 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited has a sporty, upscale look, the interior is where the premium feel of this triimline really shines. Leather front and rear seats are standard, with heated front seats and power control for the driver’s seat – all of which offer plenty of space for an average adult. The leg space in the rear seats is a little tight for taller adults, but this is a great car for a family with a couple of small kids or a commuter with coworkers who are 6-foot tall or less. Thanks to the Tech Package, both front seats of my test car were heated, as were the outboard rear positions, while the standard dual zone climate control system lets the driver and front passenger adjust the temperature to their unique preferences.
Next, the 2017 Elantra Limited comes standard with an impressive infotainment system with a 7-inch touchscreen, a 6-speaker sound system, Apple and Android compatibility, dual USB ports and BlueLink connectivity, but my test car was fitted with the Tech Package. The Tech Package adds an 8-inch touchscreen with navigation, an 8-speaker sound system with a subwoofer from Infinity and a 4.2-inch driver information screen in the gauge cluster, giving the Elantra a similar infotainment look to many modern luxury cars. More importantly, the Infinity speaker system of the Tech Package offers superior sound quality, regardless of the type of music you enjoy – and you can control system with the buttons located on the steering wheel.
Like your average luxury sedan, the 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited with the Tech Package and Ultimate Package features heated leather seats, a premium infotainment system with an 8-inch screen, the premium Infinity speaker system, a driver’s information screen, steering wheel controls and either HID or LED lighting all around the outside…but the Elantra Limited offers this all for just over $27,000 MSRP.
Driving the Elantra Limited
The 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited is powered by a 2.0L 4-cylinder engine which delivers 147 horsepower and 132lb-ft of torque to the front wheels via a 6-speed automatic transmission. Those numbers don’t really sound like much, but that peppy 4-cylinder provides a solid amount of power for the Elantra. Mind you, I wouldn’t call it fast, but this standard engine gets the small Korean sedan up to speed with some urgency and it allows you to cruise on the highway at speeds above any posted limit in the US, so while I wouldn’t call it a sport sedan – I also wouldn’t call it underpowered.
Accelerating and top speed aside, the 2017 Elantra Limited offers a smooth, quiet ride with very little of the road’s harshness traveling through the steering or the suspension, even on Detroit’s rough highways. Although this isn’t a car that most buyers who get for its handling, this small sedan handles tight curves and longer, sweeping curves well, so while it wouldn’t fall into the sport sedan category – this is a small car that you can toss into the corners and have some fun.
Finally – and most importantly to many compact sedan buyers – we come to the fuel economy numbers of the 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited. The EPA rated this package as offering 28mpg around town, 37mpg on the highway and 32mpg combined. In my testing, I found that on a flat highway when driving at the speed limit, you can most certainly see 40mpg without any special driving efforts and because of that, my average was a bit higher as well – with my test car returning 34.1mpg over the course of a week with a slight highway bias.
This isn’t a car that you are going to take racing, but it never feels starved for power and overall, I enjoyed driving the Elantra Limited. If acceleration and high performance handling are a key concern of yours, this isn’t the right car, but if you want a small sedan that offers great mileage, handles nicely for daily driving and is comfortable on all sorts of drives – the Elantra Limited is a great option.
The Final Word
If you are shopping for a new compact sedan and you want the most bang for your buck in terms of premium features, the 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited is an excellent option. While the $27,700 price as tested may scare some people off, there are cars identical to my test car available right now on dealership lots around the country with massive price cuts.
In other words, the 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited is a great bargain, but with the year-end discounts available as 2018 models arrive – it is one of the best bargains on the market in terms of loaded compact sedans.
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