Hyundai
Hyundai Elantra
Aggressively styled, heavily equipped and cheap to buy, with the same warranty terms and used-car caveats as the rest of the brand.
The seventh-generation Elantra is the most visually aggressive compact sedan sold in the US, and whether that is a selling point is entirely personal. Underneath the sheet metal it is a rational choice: more rear legroom than a Civic, a long standard equipment list, and transaction prices below the Japanese competition.
Hyundai's IVT is a continuously variable transmission with a chain rather than a belt, tuned to simulate stepped shifts under hard acceleration. It is unobtrusive in normal driving. Like every CVT, it wants its specific fluid changed on schedule rather than treated as lifetime-fill, and shops that ignore that on a high-mileage car create the failures that give the technology its reputation.
Two brand-level items apply here. Second owners get 5 years/60,000 miles of powertrain coverage rather than 10/100,000, and models from roughly 2011 to 2021 sold without an engine immobilizer carry a theft vulnerability that affects insurance pricing in several US metros. Get an insurance quote on the specific VIN before you commit.
Generations
What changed, and which years share the same hardware.
Sixth generation (AD)
2017–2020
Conservative styling with the 2.0L Nu four and a 6-speed automatic on most trims, plus a 1.4L turbo Eco version. Some 2.0L Nu engines were covered by Hyundai's extended engine warranty program; verify VIN coverage on used examples.
Seventh generation (CN7)
2021–present
Radically restyled on a longer, wider platform with a genuinely spacious interior. The 2.0L Smartstream four with an IVT replaced the outgoing engine, and hybrid and turbocharged N Line variants joined the range. A 2024 facelift toned down the front-end creasing.
Model years
Reliability, reported issues and annual running costs, year by year.