2011 Hyundai Elantra

Hyundai is worried. The company has seen an alarming increase in the use of asterisks by the auto industry and has embarked on a mission to stamp out the problem, starting with its new 2011 Hyundai Elantra.

Asterisk abuse often occurs in automotive advertising when fuel economy figures regularly come with fine print caveats. There will be none of that with the new Elantra. Hyundai is assuring that every 2011 Elantra gets the same impressive fuel economy -- 29 mpg city, 40 mpg highway -- no asterisks necessary.

Driving the point home at a recent press event, Hyundai picked on the Chevrolet Cruze, noting that in order to get its touted 42 mpg* highway, you have to pay an extra $1900 for the Eco model ($2825 if you want it with an automatic transmission). Shots were fired across Ford's bow, with the smaller Fiesta targeted for requiring a $2765 premium for a Super Fuel Economy package to match the Elantra's 40 mpg highway number.

Hyundai's marketing spinsters were also more than happy to highlight that the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Mazda3 also lag behind the new Elantra in fuel economy as well, and none can beat the Hyundai's starting price of $15,550. Only the Cruze Eco and Civic Hybrid can meet or beat the Elantra's fuel economy, but they start some $3000 to $9000 higher. The wild card is the 2012 Ford Focus, which also promises 40 mpg highway, although its pricing is expected to start higher than the Elantra.

More impressive than the Elantra's price and fuel economy are the compromises Hyundai didn't make to get to those numbers. All models -- regardless of trim, features, or transmission selection -- get the same fuel economy. There's no special weight reduction or feature deletion for miserly models. And the new Elantra is no penalty box. It's an inch longer and rides on a 2-inch-longer wheelbase than the outgoing model. Despite the car's growth spurt, Hyundai was able to shave roughly 62 pounds off its curb weight.

source