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276-Horsepower Hyundai Elantra N Gets a Price That Embarasses Honda and VW

Hyundai just won Top Gear's Manufacturer of the Year award, and it's not stopping to appreciate the victory. Instead, it's going after VW and Honda with the 276-horsepower $32,000 Elantra N.
Hyundai Elantra N 6 photos
Photo: Hyundai
Hyundai Elantra NHyundai Elantra NHyundai Elantra NHyundai Elantra NHyundai Elantra N
That's right, the Elantra N will start at just $32,925. That gets buyers the same 276-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged engine from the KONA N and the Veloster N as well, as a proper three-pedal manual transmission.

Those who want the 8-speed dual-clutch transmission will need to pay a little more at $34,425. They do get the added benefit of NGS mode, though. NGS stands for N Grin Shift, and it adds 10-horsepower for up to 10 seconds.

Regardless of which transmission buyers get, the Elantra N should be a serious giant killer. We just drove the Elantra N-Line, the trim below this one, and it's already impressive. The N gets a ton more performance kit aside from the drivetrain.

245-section width Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires come as standard equipment on the 19-inch alloy wheels. It also gets a special electronic limited-slip diff that Hyundai has developed through its RM project.

It should also be noted that the Elantra is a really nice place to be. That's going to put a lot of pressure on Honda and Volkswagen to improve their offerings. As it stands, the Elantra N offers more power than both the Golf GTI and the Civic Si while costing the same or less.

It's almost got as much power as the Golf R, which is $10,000 more. Perhaps the only direct competition that's more appealing is the Subaru WRX which features all-wheel drive. Still, it's not as powerful as the Elantra.

We haven't even mentioned the fact that Hyundai offers a 5-year or 60,000-mile limited warranty and a 10-year or 100,000-mile warranty on the Elantra. None of the abovementioned competitors comes even close to that kind of value. Honestly, they might be embarrassed at how much more Hyundai is offering for the money.
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