2011 Hyundai Elantra

Mainstream compact cars are the oatmeal of the car world. They’re high in fiber, low in taste, and great at reducing cholesterol and carbon footprints, but not very good at raising endorphin levels. At least that’s what focus-group participants told Hyundai market researchers. Buyers apparently lamented the boring nature of the workaday Corollas, Sentras, Civics, Mazda3s, and their ilk — hotrod versions like the Civic Si and Mazdaspeed3 notwithstanding. So Hyundai decided to shake things up a bit by scrunching the Sonata’s highly successful “fluidic design” onto this smaller platform.

Surprisingly enough, Phillip Zak’s scaling efforts were far more successful than most. (Does anyone think the Dodge Avenger wears its Charger cues comfortably?) Of course it helps that the Elantra is one of the larger compacts, riding on a 2-inch-longer wheelbase (at 106.3 inches, it equals the Civic’s), and stretching 178.3 inches long. That’s about an inch longer than the Civic (and old Elantra), but 2.7 inches shorter than the new Chevy Cruze. On the inside, where it counts, the Elantra trumps the Cruze slightly on passenger volume (95.6 to 94.5 cubic feet). Add in a 14.8-cubic-foot trunk that’ll swallow three golf bags, and overall volume tiptoes over the 110-cu-ft EPA threshold to qualify as a midsize car. (Cruze is right near that same limit, while Civic and Corolla are down in the 103-106 range.) And while Hyundai claims best-in-class front legroom and seat travel, the swoopy roofline compromises the Hyundai’s rear head- and legroom, which trails that of the competition.

Power will come from a 1.8-liter Nu engine that produces 148 hp at 6500 rpm and 131 pound-feet of torque at 4700 rpm (figures drop to 145/130 in PZEV/California emissions states). Backed by a choice of manual or automatic six-speed transmissions, all Elantras will achieve 29 mpg city/40 mpg highway fuel economy. The slippery-sleek skin helps achieve those results with a claimed best-in-class drag coefficient of 0.28.