Do we expect a huge reduction in the Hyundai Elantra price in the used market? Well, Hyundai Elantra reliability scoring might be the best place to start with.
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Reliability scoring represents the frequency and severity of unexpected repairs for certain vehicles. Higher reliability indicates fewer problems. Thus, reliability scoring can provide great predictions about how much a vehicle will lose from its value across the coming years.
There are many reliability scoring systems in the web, some are widely used while others are not.
In this article, we summarize the results of the J.D. Power Dependability Study and the RepairPal reliability scoring for the Hyundai Elantra. We also provide detailed information about the main pros and cons to help understand the reliability score for this vehicle.
Hyundai Elantra overview
2020 marks the 14th model year for Hyundai Elantra which started in 2007. This vehicle is one of the great examples of compact cars that provides very comfortable riding along with great fuel economy. The vehicle provides two body style options including the hatchback and the sedan.
According to cars.usnews.com, the 2020 Hyundai Elantra was ranked as #7 in the compact cars, #7 in the hatchbacks, and #8 in the small cars.
This vehicle was featured for the great reliability rating, and the comfortable ride experience, the long list of technology features, the great fuel economy, and the ample cargo space for both the sedan and the hatchback body styles.
The Hyundai Elantra seats up to five passengers, gets from 26 to 23 in miles per gallons in city roads, and 33 to 41 on the highways. The vehicle comes with the standard front-wheel drive and provides from 128 to 201 of horsepower.
In the 2020 Hyundai Elantra, the vehicle comes with three engine choices 1.4 liters, 2.0 liter, and 1.6 liters four-cylinder engine. This engine is associated with either a seven-speed automatic or continuously variable transmission. The 2020 Hyundai Elantra has a fuel tank capacity of 14 gallons
In the 2020 model year, Hyundai performed great upgrades including adding the CVT in the base model, adding more standard features, and removing the manual transmission from the sedan model.
According to Kelley Blue Book, the Manufacture Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for 2020 Hyundai Elantra is $19,300. When looking at higher trims, the MSRP can get up to $23,800. Overall, the Hyundai Elantra’s price is considered below the average making it a good choice of affordable compact car.
Hyundai Elantra Reliability
According to the J.D. Power Dependability Study, The Hyundai Elantra reliability received a very good reliability score of 4 out of 5, which makes it in the great category.
The J.D. Power Dependability Study evaluates four main variables when determining vehicle's reliability. These variables include quality and reliability, driving experience, resale, and dealership experience.
Quality and reliability indicate customer’s satisfaction about the vehicle parts—starting from the engine to the infotainment system. The driving experience indicates customer’s satisfaction about the vehicle's functionality, technology and safety. Resale represents the J.D. Power’s expectations about how much each vehicle will lose from its value in the next three years. Dealership Experience is another if customer evaluation about their satisfaction when they visited the dealership starting from the service itself, the dealership facility, and their quality of work.
According to the 2020 results of J.D. Power Dependability Study, Hyundai Elantra reliabiliy breakdown was 87 out of 100 in the quality and reliability category, 79 out of 100 in the driving experience category, 85 out of 100 in the resale Category, and 75 out of 100 in the dealership experience category.
The J.D. Power Dependability Study focuses only on one certain year; however, sometimes we might need to look into certain vehicles makes and models despite the year. That's why the RepairPal reliability ranking comes into place.
The RepairPal reliability ranking looks at the entire make and model without considering a specific year. The RepairPal evaluates four main variables when determining vehicle’s reliability. These variables include the cost, severity, and frequency of unexpected repairs.
In the RepairPal reliability ranking, cost represents the average annual cost of unexpected repairs for a certain vehicle as reported by millions of customers. The frequency represents the average annual number of times the vehicle was brought to the dealership for unexpected repairs. Lastly, the severity represents how many of these repairs were considered major or severe.
According to the 2020 RepairPal reliability results, the Hyundai E;antra reliability was 4.5 out of five, which is considered above average.
Looking at the breakdown of the RepairPal reliability ranking, Hyundai Elantra costs about $452 on average per year on unexpected maintenance. This number is considered below the overall vehicle average of $652.
Hyundai Elantra is expected to be brought to the dealership about 0.3 times Per year for unexpected repairs. Again, this number is way less than the frequency for all other vehicles which was 0.4.
Lastly, about 9% of Hyundai Elantra dealership visits are expected to be four major issues, and this number is also less than the number for all vehicles from all models of about 12%.
Hyundai Elantra Pros
In this section, we will cover the major reasons why the Hyundai Elantra received this high level of the score according to both the J.D. Power Dependability Study and the RepairPal reliability ranking. We cover the main pros of the 2020 Hyundai Elantra model year.
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Hands-free smart trunk release
Hyundai added the hands-free smart trunk release feature to the 2020 Hyundai Elantra and did not keep it exclusive to the higher top models.
This feature comes in handy when loading groceries as the key trunk would pop up automatically when the key is in a certain distance from the vehicle.
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A long list of safety features
While almost all automakers try their best to add as many safety features as possible to their vehicles, the 2020 Hyundai Elantra comes with a very long of safety features.
These features come in all models and trims, including the SmartSense, the lane-keeping assist, the drowsy driver monitor, and the forward collision-avoidance assist. Furthermore, Hyundai Elantra added the rearview camera, the blind-spot monitoring.
When looking at higher trims, there are even more safety features that come as add-ons. For instance, you could add pedestrian detection, and the safe exist to assist and the smart cruise control.
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Fun and smooth ride for all passengers
The 2020 Hyundai Elantra comes with a great design that allows a comfortable ride for the driver and the passengers. The new design has proper placing for the suspension, great responsive steering, and large enough brakes, so passengers do not feel any bumps in the road.
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Cutting-edge technology features
The 2020 Hyundai Elantra comes with a list of high-tech features to impress all drivers. The standard model comes with the Bluetooth, the cruise control, and the steering-wheel-mounted audio.
Certain higher trims come with additional great features, including the Apple CarPlay, the Andriod Auto, the 7 inches or 8-inch touch screen, the eight-speaker advanced Clari-Fi music, and much more!
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Multiple engine option
The higher trims of the 2020 Hyundai Elantra provide extra fun with the great turbocharged engines. For instance, the Sport trim comes with a 1.6L four-cylinder turbocharged engine that gets about 201 of horsepower. The Eco comes with a 1.4 four-cylinder engine that gets about 156 lb-ft of torque and 128 of horsepower.
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Very comfortable seating and luxury looking cabin
While some people might think the Hyundai Elantra is made of cheap material and doesn't have comfortable seating, this is not the case. Although the 2020 Hyundai Elantra comes at an affordable price, the seating is very comfortable with the six-way adjustment for all trims and the eight-way adjustment for certain higher trims.
The vehicle has a great-looking cabin, especially with the illuminated ignition and the leather-covered steering and shift knob.
Hyundai Elantra Cons
While the Hyundai Elantra received a very high-reliability score, this does not mean that the vehicle doesn't have any problem. In this section, we cover the main cons of the Hyundai Elantra as reported by current and previous owners.
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Tight back seats
Although the Hyundai Elantra comes with roomy front and driver seats, unfortunately, the new design did provide the same features for the back seats. Several owners reported tight back seats and did not recommend the Hyundai Elantra for more than four people with kids for longer trips.
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Not the best engine at the base model
While Hyundai Elantra has great engine options for higher trims, the non-turbocharged engine of the base model doesn't provide the best power and could feel sluggish sometimes. Owners indicated that this is not a big problem since people who are searching for small sedans are more interested in safety and comfort rather than engine power.
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Doesn't offer a hybrid option
Hyundai Elantra comes with a great fuel economy. However, most other competitors provide at least one option of a hybrid or full electrical model. Unfortunately, Hyundai Elantra did not offer any.
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Not the best exterior upgrade
Hyundai Elantra preserved the same simple exterior design and did not do a huge upgrade like most other competitors. While some people might find it a plus, others complained it is one of the biggest cons for the Elantra.
Hyundai Elantra Recalls
Vehicles recall are directly related to its reliability. In this section, we cover the main reported Hyundai Elantra recalls. According to cars.com 42 recalls were reported by Hyundai for it the Hyundai Elantra model. Each recall affected certain model years, not the others.
Hyundai recalled certain vehicles from the 2006 and 2007 models due to issues with the hydraulic brakes. It reported that the stop lamp switch has a malfunction that could cause the brakes lights not to illuminate. As a result, if the lights did not illuminate, higher crash chances are expected. To resolve the issue, Hyundai requested dealerships to replace the stop lamp switch for all customers free of charge.
Issues with the hydraulic brakes were also reported for the 2003 Hyundai Elantra. Hyundai recalled certain vehicles which had problems with the rear brakes tubes that were improperly installed. This improper installation could cause a fluid leak that will reduce breaking capability. To resolve the problem, Hyundai requested dealerships to reposition the rear brakes free of charge.
Hyundai also recalled certain vehicles from the 2007 and 2009 model years. These vehicles had issues with improper installation for the electrical connector in the airbags. This improper installation would cause airbags to deploy in the wrong timing increasing the risk of injury for all passengers. To resolve the problem, he and I requested dealerships to install a protective cover over the sensor free of charge for all customers.
Conclusion
The Hyundai Elantra is one of the great small cars that received a lot of high ranking in several comparisons with other vehicles in the same class.
Reliability rating is an indication of whether a certain vehicle will suffer unexpected repairs or not with higher reliability meaning fewer problems.
Many reliabilities are ranking and scoring systems on the web. Two of the biggest and widely used ranking are the J.D. Power Dependability Study and the RepairPal reliability ranking. The J.D. Power Dependability looks into certain model years while the RepairPal provides a more generic look at the entire make and model despite the year.
Both the J.D. Power Dependability Study and the RepairPal reliability ranking showed that the Hyundai Elantra is a great vehicle with a high-reliability score. Hyundai Elantra reliability received a score of 4 out of 5 according to the J.D. Power Dependability, and a score of 4.5 out of 5 according to the RepairPal reliability.
These findings indicate that the Hyundai Elantra is expected to preserve its value across at least the coming three years.
While this might be great news for current Hyundai Elantra owners, new shoppers for used Hyundai Elantra might find it disappointing as they might not afford to buy the used vehicles.