2007 Hyundai Elantra Exterior Review [ 2008 ]
Hyundai Elantra Exterior Review
Exterior - 7.3 (Good)
Reviewers have mixed responses to the exterior styling of the 2007 Hyundai Elantra. Kelley Blue Book writes, "The impressive exterior styling, with its clean lines and sculpted body sides, borrows design characteristics from the larger and more expensive Azera."
Compared to the previous model, the 2007 Elantra is 2.2 inches taller, 2.0 inches wider and 1.6 inches longer in wheelbase. Popular Mechanics thinks it looks "uninspired on the outside." New Car Test Drive, on the other hand, calls it "stylish," saying, "its sculpture is clean, with a high beltline running along at the body-colored door handles. It's got a subtle face, with trapezoidal headlamps having rounded edges, leading down and in to a cup-shaped grille with three simple chrome bars." The base GLS trim includes 15-inch wheels, whereas the top trim sports 16-inch alloy wheels with H-rated tires. Cars.com found the Elantra indistinct, concluding, "Even with fog lights and 16-inch alloy wheels, my test car looked too much like a Toyota Corolla, especially in the back."
About.com concludes the Elantra's "conservative styling could put it under the radar of many buyers," adding that it "looks rental car anonymous, and the taillights, which bear more than a passing resemblance to those of the old Ford Contour, don't do the rear view any favors."
