2023 Hyundai Elantra N Review: The Practical Miata Alternative – SlashGear

Inside, the Elantra N’s cabin is a dark and sober place to find yourself. There’s only one interior color scheme — black leather combined with black microsuede — and the blue contrast stitching doesn’t come close to lifting it. I’m not asking for bright ivory leather, but some textured aluminum wouldn’t hurt.

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N-branded front bucket seats are standard, and mighty supportive. They have illuminated “N” plates, just in case you want to backlight your neck, and manual adjustment. Heating is also standard alongside the dual-zone climate control. A leather-wrapped steering wheel and transmission shifter knob also get N-branding, and Hyundai gets bonus points for its quality-feeling metal paddle shifters.

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The front is spacious, but the rear bench suffers a little on legroom thanks to the bowed backs of the front seats. More off-putting is the extent of the hard black plastic: No great surprise, given where Hyundai has allocated its budget here, but still not exactly pleasing to the touch. 

At least it feels sturdy in most places, though if you drop the rear seats down to expand the 14.2 cubic-feet of trunk space — fine, if not outstanding — you’ll find an anti-roll bar spanning the gap. Good for reinforcement, not so much for transporting bulky items.