2022 Hyundai Elantra N First Drive: A worthy Veloster replacement.<br />Cheaper, more spacious and just as fun to drive as the dearly departing hot hatch.<br />2022 hyundai elantra n, hyundai elantra n, 2022 hyundai elantra, 2022 hyundai elantra n interior, 2022 elantra n, 2022 hyundai elantra review, elantra n, 2022 hyundai elantra n review, hyundai elantra n 2022, 2022 hyundai elantra n dct, hyundai elantra, elantra n 2022, 2021 hyundai elantra n, 2022 elantra n review, 2022 elantra n interior, hyundai elantra n 2021, 2022 hyundai elantra n line, hyundai, hyundai elantra n review, 2022 elantra, hyundai elantra n line 2021<br /><br />We're saying goodbye this year to one of our favorite hot hatches, the Hyundai Veloster N. It's a sad one, since it offered amazing performance in a unique, compact package. But we can't be too upset, because Hyundai has two options with the same powertrain and similar pricing. The Kona N has already impressed us, and the 2022 Hyundai Elantra N that we're looking at today, does as well. In fact, it's a nicer, more practical car than the Veloster with basically the same performance, and is actually slightly cheaper. It may not be a hatchback, but it’s arguably the better all-around car.<br />And yes, you read that right, despite the Elantra N being a larger car with a nicer interior than the Veloster N, it's cheaper than the hatchback. Not by much. At $33,245, the Elantra is only $350 cheaper, but that's still less! And it's welcome considering that you're not only getting more car, but also that Hyundai is still offering a “cheap” N option.<br />The Elantra N sacrifices virtually nothing in terms of performance compared to the Veloster, either. The turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine makes the same 276 horsepower and 289 pound-feet of torque with your choice of either a six-speed manual or eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. And before the power gets to the wheels, it goes through an electronically-controlled mechanical limited-slip differential.<br />Chassis parts have parity with the Veloster with electronically adjustable shocks and big brakes. The Elantra also has a mechanical hand brake useful for shenanigans. And amazingly, despite being more than a foot longer than the Veloster, the Elantra only weighs 80 pounds more with the manual transmission, or just 49 pounds more with the automatic.<br />Here's a fun fact about these cars: not only does the Elantra N deliver virtually identical performance to the Veloster N while being bigger, it's also more efficient. Between manual models, the combined fuel economy is the same at 25 mpg, but the Elantra's 31 mpg on the highway is 3 mpg better than the Veloster. The automatic Elantra gets 23 mpg combined, an improvement of 1 mpg over the Veloster, and the 30 mpg highway figure is another 3 mpg increase (the auto-only Kona N gets basically the same fuel economy as the Veloster). Since both cars have identical gear ratios, the difference is likely the Elantra's more aerodynamic shape.<br />When
