Elantra N or Civic Type R? If you want to support the channel, visit our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/downshiftmedia Follow Downshift to see what's coming next! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dwnshftMKE/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/downshiftmk... TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@downshift_med... Website: https://downshiftmedia.us/ -- Yes, this is the 2022 Hyundai Elantra N. it’s the newest N car and I think it might be the best one yet. That’s because this has 4 doors, unlike the Veloster N AND you can get it with a manual unlike the Kona N we’re also testing in ATL here Now, just because it has more than 3 doors, doesn’t mean it’s completely uncompromising, but before that let’s start where we always do…under the skin… This is going to sound like a broken record, but under the hood is the same 2.0T 4 cylinder that powers the Veloster and Kona siblings It’s good for 276hp and 289lbft…but that’s not even the full story… Those are the max power figures for manual equipped cars. Cars equipped with the DCT get NGS which is good for an extra 10 hp, but it comes with a catch…You only get that extra power for a few moments and then you have to wait until for the system to “recharge” itself, so this is really intended for launches. To me, i’ll gladly leave the extra power for the three pedal set-up. The standard power you get is perfectly punchy, fits the character of the car and idk how they’ve tuned the turbo, but it seems like I have power whenever I want it I also seem to have power all the way up the rev range. Low end torque, but there’s still good horsepower to take over at the top end. I know, I’ll always prefer a manual transmission just simply for the added engagement and connectedness I feel to the car…That’s the reason I would go with the Elantra or Veloster over the Kona HOWEVER, the DCT is not without drama. As far as automatics go, it’s crisp, sharp, and is really satisfying to use Especially when you consider the sounds that fly off this thing. Crackles on downshifts, sharp and aggressive upshifts, and when you lift off the throttle the car will make all sorts of noises to make your inner 8 year old sing This car has great power from the engine and good theatrics from the transmission, but as always it’s how the car uses the power to make it go. That power goes to the front wheels through an LSD…it gets the power down really well and i never really feel like I’m wasting torque There’s a little torque steer off the line so still the only car that somehow magically eliminated torque steer is the CTR Sure, it’s wrong-wheel-drive and if you’re looking to do skids then something like the new 86 might be more your speed, but if you’re looking to convert power into performance and lap times, then this is a great partner Which leads me to steering.. This can make or break a sports car, hot hatch or whatever. Accuracy is important and a quick steering rack can make the car feel lighter or more agile, but we really want is communication. I need to know what my tires are doing in the corner: can they take more steering load, can that take more braking into a corner, or power out of a corner as I’m starting to unwind The last thing, then is the chassis and suspension. A soft chassis can undo all the great work the steering or engine does, and the same goes for a poorly tuned suspension… And what we have here is good news on both counts. Usually, the tendency is to overspring the dampers and make the car really really tight which is fine on the track or if you’re at autocross..but it leaves my manboobs bouncing on the street and that’s no fun for anyone The good news here is the chassis is really rigid. There’s a lot of lateral and torsional stiffness built into the body so they don’t have to overdamp the suspension to account for a floppy body A lot of the added stiffness comes from the rear bracing that you can even see in the trunk and makes for the foldable back seats to become almost irrelevant But there’s always those people that want to go harder, and for them you have adaptive dampers to firm up the ride if you want ….on a sub $35,000 car! The interior won’t fool you into thinking its a Mercedes, but it’s 30 grand The design is fitting of the personality Simple, black, subtle details Weird blank area to the left of the cluster Digital cluster Big screen Touch ACP, AA (wired) Performance readouts Adjustment spider graphic Under the screen you have hard buttons And hard buttons to control climate Beneath that, storage and wireless charger Then shifter Steering wheel Blue buttons Red button No flat bottom Seats Comfy Bolstered Light up Manual Sunroof (only with auto) Rear seats Spacious Trunk Size Bracing