Model Year | 2018 | 2014 | |
Model | Hyundai Elantra GT | Volkswagen Beetle | |
Engine | turbocharged 1.6L I4 DOHC-4v 150 kW@6000 264 Nm@1500 |
turbocharged 2.0L I4 DOHC-4v 154 kW@5300 281 Nm@1700 |
|
Transmission | 7-speed automated manual | 6-speed automated manual | |
Drivetrain | FWD | FWD | |
Body | 4dr Hatch | 2dr Hatch | |
Difference | |||
Wheelbase | 2,649 mm | 2,540 mm | 0 mm |
Length | 4,341 mm | 4,277 mm | 0 mm |
Width | 1,781 mm | 1,808 mm | 0 mm |
Height | 1,466 mm | 1,486 mm | 0 mm |
Curb Weight | 1,391 kg | 1,408 kg | 0 kg |
Fuel Capacity | 53 L | 55 L | -2 L |
Headroom, Row 1 | 993 mm | 1,001 mm | 992 mm |
Shoulder Room, Row 1 | 1,427 mm | 1,405 mm | 0 mm |
Legroom, Row 1 | 1,072 mm | 1,049 mm | 0 mm |
Headroom, Row 2 | 978 mm | 942 mm | 36 mm |
Shoulder Room, Row 2 | 1,407 mm | 1,245 mm | 0 mm |
Legroom, Row 2 | 884 mm | 798 mm | 86 mm |
Total Legroom | 1,956 mm (over 2 rows) | 1,847 mm (over 2 rows) | 0 mm |
Cargo Volume, Minimum | 705 L | 436 L | 269 L |
Cargo Volume, Maximum | 1,560 L | 847 L | -846 L |
2018 Hyundai Elantra GT Seat Room and Comfort: Cons | ||
Year | Comment | |
The front seats are comfortable and supportive in both cars, with Hyundai's likely agreeable for a wider range of body sizes and types. And the rear seat? Here we have another area where the Elantra Touring excelled, but neither Elantra GT has. The culprit this time isn't design, but a decision by those who make the big bucks at the corporate level. Hyundai offers Europeans the i30 (the same car with a different model name) in two lengths. These are marketed as a hatchback and as an estate or touring or tourer or kombi or whatever other label might help sell what Americans call station wagons. With the Elantra Touring, we got the latter, and consequently far more rear seat room and cargo carrying capacity than in any other compact hatchback. But we didn't buy the car. So with the first and second Elantra GT we've been getting the much less lengthy, more athletically proportioned hatchback. As it stands (or rather, sits), the Elantra GT's rear seat shouldn't be condemned as useless unless you're a driver of above-average height with similarly sized passsengers. At 5-9, I fit behind a driver seat set for myself with perhaps three inches between my knees and the seat back and about a half-inch to spare between the top of my head and the headliner (in a two-pedal Elantra GT with the optional sunroof). But people even a couple inches taller than me will feel cramped. The rear seats in the GTI and Civic are roomier. One plus in the Elantra GT's column: its rear seat passengers get air vents. The Civic's don't. In terms of cargo space the Elantra GT is more competitive, but nothing special the way it was with the Elantra Touring. see full Hyundai Elantra GT review |
None of our members have yet commented on the seat room and comfort of the 2018 Hyundai Elantra GT.
2014 Volkswagen Beetle Seat Room and Comfort: Cons | ||
Year | Comment | |
Back in the 1960s VW entreated Americans to "think small." Lately, though, the German manufacturers cars have been getting bigger and bigger. The latest redesign added over two inches to the car's length (now 168 inches) and over two inches to its width (now a midsize-like 71.2 inches. Compared to the 146-by-66-inch, 2,822-pound Mini and the 140-by-64-inch, 2,434-pound Fiat, the 3,340-pound Beetle TDI convertible is a big, heavy car. As noted earlier, solidity and ride quality benefit from this additional bulk. But rear seat room does not. Sure, the Beetle Convertible's rear seat is more viable than the MINI's, but bars to clear rarely come lower. The Fiat is in the same (adults-in-a-pinch) ballpark. In addition to the space shortage, the VW's rear seat back is uncomfortably upright. see full Volkswagen Beetle review |
2014 Volkswagen Beetle Seat Room and Comfort: Cons | ||
Year | Body/Powertrain | Comment |
2013 | 2dr Convertible 170-horsepower 2.5L I5 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD |
The back seat, if you could really call it that, leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe another 3 in. That being said it fits a car seat with my 6' frame in the front seat ahead of it, so it gets the job done. Once the top goes down the interior space seems adequate. see full Volkswagen Beetle review |