2013 Hyundai Elantra GT

This stigma accounts for the lack of competition for this affordable family truckster and it also accounts for the fact that you don’t see the words “station” or “wagon” anywhere in the vehicle description but at the end of the day - the Elantra GT is what Americans 20 years ago would have called a station wagon. Fortunately, the Elantra GT is engineered in such a manner that it avoids the aspects that caused the negative reputation for “wagons” here in the US. It is as fuel efficient and as nimble as the rest of the Elantra lineup while offering tons of cargo space for objects of all sizes. It also avoids being so tragically unhip as the old school soccer mom wagons of the 1980s that drove so many people away from 5-door cars.

My test subject for this review was the 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT in Titanium Gray shown throughout this article. Options included the Style Package, which adds 17” alloy wheels, the sport suspension setup, the gorgeous panoramic sunroof, leather seats, a leather wrapped steering wheel, aluminum pedals and more. The total price of the test vehicle was $22,015. The only options not included that are available come as part of the Tech Package that adds navigation, daytime running lights, a backup camera system, dual zone climate and push button start.

The 2013 Elantra GT is a 5-door hatchback so it should be obvious that the biggest changes from the sedan come out back, where the back end is completely redesigned. In addition to the hatch, the GT rear end has its own unique lower fascia sculpting and taillights that are smaller and slightly more aggressive than the sedan’s rear blinkers.

Even though there is plenty of space on the “liftgate”, the license plate has been moved down to the lower fascia area with large, red reflectors that are not present on the sedan mounted on both sides. The rear hatch also wears a low profile spoiler that adds that little extra bit of sporty appeal to the rump of this compact 5-door. Like the sedan, the exhaust system is tucked up under the lower fascia, nearly out of sight for a nice clean look. Overall, while more aggressive than the sedan, the rear end of the Elantra GT is less fluid than the 4-door models with unique hard lines being created by the large rear opening.

Along the sides, the 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT very closely follows the design of the sedan with the only major difference being the obvious change in the profile caused by the elongated rear roofline of the hatchback design. Like the sedan, the roofline is very fluid from front to back with a hard body line running through the doors and into the taillights but the extra greenhouse space has allowed Hyundai to add an extra, smaller quarter window just behind the rear doors that add just a touch more visibility for the driver when attempting to change lanes on the highway or back out of the driveway.

The front end of the 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT has received the most distinct yet subtle revisions compared to the sedan. The headlights and grille are a similar shape on both versions but the GT packs HID projection headlights and a much sportier grille filler featuring a blacked out center section for that extra sporty appeal. The grille opening above the black center section is larger than that found on the sedan while the lower portion of the GT front end has downward angled bars that give it a more aggressive look than the upward angled bars on the sedan. This Elantra is frowning because it’s an aggressive model – it is a GT, after all. Finally, the lower front fascia of the GT has fog lights that sit in the same relative location as the sedan but on the 5-door, these extra lights are set in a contrasting housing rather than the molded units of the 4-door Elantra. Click on their website www.hmhid.com for more information.