2025 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid Limited - Review by David Colman

Say HELLO to a combined driving range of up to 700 miles!

David Colman

Photos and Story by David Colman
Special Correspondent
THE AUTO CHANNEL

An old Porsche Club friend spotted me in the parking lot of our local post office just as I was climbing into the cockpit of Hyundai's 2025 Elantra sedan. After exchanging pleasantries, he looked quizzically at the Hyundai. When I explained I was test driving it, he retorted, "Well I didn't think you bought it. It's certainly no Porsche." No, it's not a Porsche, and it certainly doesn't cost like one. In fact, the very top echelon of the Elantra model line, the Hybrid Limited I drove, can be had for just $30,810, an amount that might buy you the down payment on an entry level Boxster.

So fully equipped is the Limited Elantra that the only item missing from the comfort and convenience department was a heated steering wheel. Everything else you might want or need is there in spades, from an integrated (2-position) memory system for the driver's seat, to 3-stage seat heating and ventilation. On top of those niceties, we particularly admired the H-Tex faux leather seats, attractively trimmed in Sage Gray and White. These rated high on both the body support and scrunch-ability scales.

The configuration of the fully digital 10.25-inch instrument cluster, and in particular the graceful way it conjoins the 10.25-inch Navigation screen, makes your view of the action easy to monitor from the driver's seat. The TFT/LCD instrument binnacle is crisp and eminently readable, with large gauges depicting speed and energy consumption when you've chosen Normal Drive Mode. Switch to Sport Mode, and the instrument display explodes with jazzy red illumination. The energy monitor morphs into a highly legible 7,500 rpm tachometer, which is redlined at 6,000 rpm. Drive Mode transformation is accomplished with the simple flick of a switch on the center console.

While you won't be setting any ET records at the Thursday Night Drag Races, the Hybrid variant of the Elantra still posts respectable interval sprint times for a family sedan, with 0-60 mph taking 8.4 seconds, and the quarter-mile requiring 16.5 seconds at 85mph. Top speed is governor-limited to 116mph. Given the Hybrid's paltry 139hp output, its sprint times are all the more impressive. After all, the 3,088 lb Hybrid produces less horsepower than my 1000cc Triumph Speed Triple superbike, which weighs just 500 lbs. The Hybrid Limited we tested pairs a 1.6 liter inline-4 to an AC electric motor producing 43 hp and 125 lb-ft of torque. The combined power plants feed their output to a 6-speed dual-clutch transmission that lacks paddle shifts, but offers a bump stick on the console to permit manual shift control.

We recommend the Hybrid for its decent acceleration and frugal mileage rating (50 MPG Combined City/Highway). But bear in mind that Hyundai offers a pair of alternative Elantra models you might want to consider. The least expensive version is the base SE model, newly reintroduced for 2025, which actually makes 8 more horsepower but 62 lb-ft less torque than the Hybrid. The SE, at 8.1 seconds, outruns the Hybrid Limited to 60 mph as well as through the quarter mile (16.3 seconds @88 mph). The SE retails for just $23,025, but its accommodations, wheels and tires are stripped compared to the far better appointed Limited we tested. The third option available in the Elantra portfolio is the sport-oriented N Line which carries a base price of $29,875. This turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-4 produces more horsepower (201hp) than either the SE or the Hybrid. But even the N Line turbo falls well short of Hyundai's ultra Elantra, the banzai 276 hp, $35,515 "N" street racer. If you're wondering which combo is best for your wallet/need for speed, here's how the power-to-weight ratios work out for the three family models of this sedan. The 201hp N Line totes 15.26 lb/hp, followed by the SE at 20.87 lb/hp. The Hybrid trails the pack at with the most weight for each horse, at 22.07 lb/hp.

But the beauty of the Hybrid Limited lies not in its power-to-weight ratio, but in its overall flexibility as a family sedan. With just a single fill of its 14-gallon fuel tank, the Hybrid is theoretically capable of covering 700 miles before requiring a refill. In the real world you can expect to stretch refueling visits to well over 600 miles. Couple that prowess to a beautifully balanced platform, and you own a Hyundai that manages mileage with abandon. The Limited provides just enough rubber on the road to make both wet and dry driving rewarding exercises. At each corner, you'll find excellent all-season Hankook Kinergy GT radials (225/45R17). With a stout treadwear rating of TW 540, these tires overcame heavy sheets of rain with the same reassuring confidence they dealt with dry pavement. All in all, this Elantra offers a solid, planted, economic choice in the medium size sedan field. And you won't have to apologize to anyone for not buying a Porsche.

2025 HYUNDAI ELANTRA HYBRID LIMITED

• ENGINE: 2.0 liter inline-4, DOHC, 16 valve, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection + AC Motor and 1.32kWh lithium-ion battery pack
• HORSEPOWER: 139 (Combined)
• TORQUE: 195 lb-ft (Combined)
• FUEL CONSUMPTION: 49 MPG City/52 MPG Highway
• PRICE AS TESTED: $30,810

HYPES: Well Designed Inside and Out

GRIPES: Please Heat the Steering Wheel Too

STAR RATING: 10 Stars out of 10

©2025 David E Colman