This is a great time to be a car enthusiast! Yeah, the majority of shoppers are buying SUVs and the like, but there’s still plenty of buyers who find their joy in affordable cars with sparkling performance. For your consideration, the Honda Civic Si and Type R, VW GTI and Jetta GLI, Toyota GR Corolla, and don’t forget the Mazda 3 with the optional turbo engine.

And one of the brightest shining stars is the Hyundai Elantra N. Starting with the Kona N and Veloster N, Hyundai’s N division is like BMW’s M division – a high-performance arm that takes some already nice vehicles and turns them into fire-breathing monsters.

So, any day in an N division Hyundai promises to be a good one. When Hyundai handed over the keys to a 2025 Elantra N we were out the door and on the road in record time!

Fresh looks

While the Elantra N has been around since 2022, last year’s 2024 model got a refresh, and we like it!

Up front the new look helps the N fall in line with other Hyundai products, and features a more horizontal look, with redesigned dual-projector LED headlamps bracing a slimmer upper grille, while a larger trapezoidal lower grille with side intakes makes sure that the turbo engine and high-performance brakes get plenty of cool, fresh air.

The sleek sedan’s profile remains aggressive with a crisp shoulder line, angular cut-ins on the doors, and contrasting lower red side sill moldings for visual pop. The biggest change are the redesigned, blacked-out 19-inch forged alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires – all the better to see the bright red brake calipers!

The rear changes are subtle, still enjoying the large rear spoiler and angled brake lights, featuring a LED strip that runs the width of the back. E L A N T R A are spelled out in block letters, while a revised rear bumper and fascia give a cleaner appearance. Finishing off our tester’s aggressive looks was a handsome Atlas White that really shows off the angular design and turns heads!

Drivers Welcome

Inside, the Elantra already had a sporty and modern interior – a great place to build a driver’s cockpit.

That starts with excellent front sport seats with deep bolsters, cut outs for a racing harness and a little bling, courtesy of the N logo in the seatbacks that lights up. The seat itself looks like a high-end addition, the kind a serious driver would add – but Hyundai already does that for you!

The rear seats are less sporty, but impressively spacious, and offer among the best room in its class. You do lose some flexibility here – first, it’s a single folding seat back (most competitors offer a split-folding design for a choice of people + cargo hauling options). Also, there’s a large cross brace to add structural rigidity the robs you of the ability to carry larger loads. It’s a fair compromise for an all-out performance machine, but if carrying oversize gear is your thing, you might need to look elsewhere.

The rest of the design, is pure common sense Elantra, with some stylistic flair thrown in.

We love the grab handle in the center console that clearly defines the driver’s space (and gives the passenger something to hang onto!) And the display is typical upscale Hyundai with dual 10.3-inch digital displays creating a seamless display that would look at home in an Audi or BMW.

The gauges themselves change color with mode, and when you hit the N button on the steering wheel you even get a dedicated sport cluster with a single large tachometer in the center – very Porsche like! Key performance readouts on the side give info that would come in handy at the track.

But there’s a whole lot more available on N, including a series of performance N displays and controls, including individual control of key performance features, launch control, and you can even swipe the screen and get lap timers for select racetracks!

The info-tainment is angled towards the driver, and standards include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Navigation and a handy wireless charging pad underneath. Big Kudos for Hyundai remembering to give a dedicated volume knob below the screen, and even though it is a touchscreen, dedicated controls below for access to key info-tainment features is a real plus. More kudos goes to the dedicated auto climate control that’s quick and easy to use.

Quick and Easy to Drive
Of course, you could get a lot of this goodness in the standard Elantra, but it’s the performance gear that makes the N the one that captures our heart.

And it’s got a lot of heart, starting with a turbo, 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder pumping out an impressive 276 horsepower and 289 lb.-ft of torque at just 2,000 rpm. And if that’s not enough pushing the red button on the steering wheel that says NGS (Hyundai says it stands for N Grin Shift), and you get a temporary boost up to 286 horsepower. Wheee!

This is a deep throaty-sounding engine, and you have some choices from relatively quiet to loud, snap, crackle, popping that turns heads. It’s a bit raucous on cold start up – our neighbors said they could hear us leaving in the morning! We actually liked the more subdued exhaust choices – with this kind of power, we like flying low under the radar.

And you do fly, with the optional 8-speed sequential automatic, the N zips to 60 in under 5 seconds – factory Launch Control helping out when the going gets serious. It makes the N plenty fast, yet with the fat powerband and quick shifts, it’s easy to enjoy plenty of zip in the daily drive without having to alert unwanted attention. Worth noting, a 6-speed manual is also available – that’s music to any enthusiast’s ears.

Speaking of sound, the N adds a virtual engine sound into the cabin that not only simulates sounds from Hyundai Motorsports, such as TCR race cars, but also has an equalizer function that allows adjustment of details for each range (whine, throat, bass) to personal preference.

And that’s just the start, the N handles as well as it goes, with precise, quick steering. In Sport Mode the steering is made heavier, and we think it’s too much – good news is you can go into the individual settings and get lighter steering paired up with the other sport settings.

We also love the Corner Carving Differential that reduces torque steer – a big deal on a high-power front-wheel-drive car. We found the adjustable suspension setting to be an ideal in ECO and Normal modes – firm and controlled but not harsh, and you still have a more focused Sport setting for track and Autocross duty. Like having your cake and eating it too!

Those massive brakes poking through the equally massive wheels are another high point with great feel and stopping power.

How Much for the Hot Hyundai?
More good news here – the N is an impressive value. You can get into the Elantra N starting at $34,350 with the manual transmission. Plumping for the DCT automatic transmission bumps you up to $35,450. Add in $1,150 for Destination, and we rang the bell at $36,600. Oh, and by the way, the Elantra N features a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty – nice with the turbo motor and advanced tech on board.

We’d call the Honda Civic Type R and Civic Si both competitors – the Elantra fits kind of in the middle. Type R comes in at $47,090 and Si at $32,190. At $10k less than the Type R, the N is a bargain. And while we love the Civic Si, the Elantra stomps it in the performance department.

We’d also look at the VW GTI at $42,105. You get the great European road feel and hatchback practicality, but apples to apples, it’s also $6k more.

With incredible performance, loads of features and great looks, the 2025 Hyundai Elantra N is our favorite affordable sport sedan!