It’s almost impossible to breathe without spending more money than you like in 2024. Everything you once purchased is now a subscription, grocery costs have risen, rent has risen, and prices for new cars? Don’t even get me started. There used to be this race to see just how affordable automakers could build cars, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside in recent years. However, nobody told Hyundai’s product planning department, because the 2025 Hyundai Elantra Blue is now $1,150 cheaper than the 2024 model. On a compact car, that’s a real discount.
The 2025 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid Blue stickers for $26,250 including freight, and just like the one from the previous year, it promises great fuel economy. The EPA rates it at 51 mpg city, 58 mpg highway, and 54 mpg combined, thanks to a 1.32 kWh lithium-ion battery pack working together with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. The result is a spacious and thrifty sedan that we quite admire.
So now I know what you’re thinking — what’s the catch? Well, it’s quite small. While the 2024 model featured dual 10.25-inch screen for the instrument cluster and infotainment on the base Blue trim, the 2025 model downsizes those to an eight-inch infotainment screen and normal gauges with a 4.2-inch screen in between the dials. I reckon I’d give up the screens to save $1,150 on a car priced in the mid-$20,000 range, but that’s just me.
Otherwise, this is the same great little hybrid sedan as it was for the 2024 model year. Sure, a Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE may undercut it by $1,615, but the Elantra includes more stuff like alloy wheels, push-to-start, and a hands-free trunk release. Spec a Corolla to be equivalent feature-wise, and the price delta shrinks to $275 for the more spacious, more comfortable Hyundai. The Corolla does get slightly better city fuel economy, but if you’re doing a lot of highway driving, the Elantra Hybrid Blue has it in the bag.
At the same time, a Honda Civic Hybrid may be better equipped and have a nicer interior, but it’s also a whole lot more money than a Hyundai Elantra Hybrid Blue. The electrified Civic starts at $29,845 including freight, and $3,595 is a huge sum in this segment.
Even with the catch of a smaller infotainment screen, the 2025 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid Blue seems like an excellent daily driver for the money. Hey, if trading off screen size is what it takes to make cars noticeably cheaper, that’s no hardship. With so much talk of doomscrolling and being chronically online, we could all use a digital detox.
(Photo credits: Hyundai, Honda)
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While I am not likely to be shopping for a new car at any point in the rest of my existence, if I was, I would be willing to pay extra for less screens.
Yeah they should take the Porsche approach. “You want to save 100g on a door handle and just have a fabric loop? That will be a couple hundred extra thank you.”
Hyundai working hard to have the worst looking front end in the business. And enough with the black wheels already.
But as others said, if you can get a Corolla hybrid for MSRP (Toyota dealers doing their best to make you think Hyundai dealers are good guys), then I’m buying a Toyota every time.
The BIG catch is you have to walk into a Hyundai dealership.
The catch is you have to support a company that was so cheap it was a major player in a huge spike in car thefts across the country? Yeah, I have a hard time supporting Hyundai because of that, despite me still wanting a Ioniq 5. Yes, no company is perfect, and yes it’s arguable if this was worse than those other companies, but in my mid-sized city, there’s still rampant Hyundai and Kia thefts and recently one of these thieves just killed a guy with one of them.
Heck I’d rather have the smaller screens so that’s a feature not a loss to me.
I, for one, welcome our newer, cheaper, smaller-screen overlords.
Real Question: Is there such a thing as an H/K dealer that sells cars at MSRP? Last time I went shopping, I looked at an Accent with an MSRP of $18k. But the out-the-door price, including all the dealer adds, was $34k. I just laughed and left.
The Hyundai dealership near me sells at MSRP…but good luck on them getting a compact or a hybrid, much less both. Plenty of EVs and gassers, but the hybrids are hard to come by.
Kia dealerships are batshit. I went to try a K5 and ran into this sad truck stop strip bar aesthetic (cheap black primer on the walls, strobe lights on the case of finance-able rims) they wanted to charge me another $20k as part of their “dealer experience.”
What? I’d love to see a breakdown of how you add 16k of stuff to a car that is 18k.
I don’t remember all of it… there was the usual bits about nitrogen-filled tires, and Tru-coat, but the two big kickers were $2000 for window tint and $4000(!) for powdercoated wheels – on a car that had hubcaps!
$2000 for tint. It better of came with a check for $1700 at least.
Is it okay for me to mention the dealer I work at? Venues are the cheapest Hyundais now I think, we have a couple, but a ton of Elantras. But yeah, I know we’re in the minority of Hyundai dealers… and so does ownership, constantly using “sell at sticker” as a marketing point, even during the pandemic.
These cars have become incredibly popular around here in SW Ontario and I think it’s a damn cool looking car – the nose reminds me of the late great Ilyushin Sturmovik.
I find that these and the ionic6 look like cars that have melted. The melted look ain’t working for me.
Hyundai has cracked the code of the highway EPA tests because that 1.6T hybrid powertrain always tests better than it really is by several mpg. If you look at the C&D highway testing it’s always several mpg lower. The 2024 Elantra they had at 48 instead of 56. This is true across models with that powertrain.
Don’t get me wrong 48 is still fantastic but the Corolla actually tested right at its rating
The 1.6L is just a GDI in the Elantra, the Turbo Hybrid is in the Tucson HEV/PHEV and Santa Fe Hybrid on the Hyundai side. Also car and driver’s mpg claims are at 75 mph and don’t match EPA test cycles so yeah 48 at 75 is fantastic
Yes I should have been clearer – what I’m claiming is C&D’s testing more closely matches real highway driving than the EPA cycle
I haven’t driven the new one, but our 2020 Elantra gets damn near 46 mpg highway even with the AC on and is rated for 41 mpg hwy, granted this is with the 2.0L.
There are plenty of the other issues with Hyundai/Kia but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they hit their MPG test results IRL.
To be fair, the same seems to be true for Honda’s hybrids in C/D’s hands.
My dad has a 2017 Niro with an older version of the 1.6/DCT hybrid setup, and that has always met or exceeded its EPA rating, particularly on long highway commutes where it has spent nearly half its time.
I tend to think for average real world driving, H/K won’t chance it on mpg ratings after the lawsuit ~10 years ago from overstated MPG claims. And all the other things like lastwraith referenced.
This is just a really good sales pitch for the Corolla Hybrid.
Hyundai also added SEL Sport trims for the standard and hybrid powertrains so definitely trying to align with the Civic’s trim walk there.
The price gap between those trims on the hybrids is closer to $1600 and can also be mostly accounted for by equipment, but between the standard ICE-only Sports, it’s also over 3k between them, and I think the Hyundai actually has a slight edge in equipment (the old value-oriented way).
the elantra also has a torsion beam rear suspension while the corolla and civic have multi link rear suspension. if you have a short commute or mostly drive in the city probably not something to be concerned about. But on longer drives the bouncy/squirrelly torsion beam rear suspension can be annoying at times.
Iirc the hybrid has always had the multi link rear suspension same as the N-line and full fat N versions vs the base suspension on standard 2.0L GDI models
Hyundai’s website supports your memory. Actually Toyota does it about the same way, the base Corolla LE does have a torsion beam rear and the upper gas trims and all hybrids have multilink.
I hated my wife’s 2011 Elantra for that. We have a bump in the last curve on the drive home. Always felt like the rear was gonna spin out. Never noticed that bump in any of my other cars(except for the two TJs I had)
You said normal gauges and my ears perked up like a dog hearing, “Wanna go for a ride,Boy?”
Great, now we’ll have to spell out G-A-U-G-E-S so Dodsworth doesn’t get excited over false starts.
I’m not sure a smaller infotainment screen is a “catch”.
I’d say it’s a benefit
Well, my beater BMW e46 with a stick has “push-to-start” of a different variety.
It’s an interesting exterior.
Remove the Hyundai badge, slap the badge below the front grille chrome bar, and bingo, it’s a VW. From the sides it looks like a CLA after a crash, and from the rear it looks like some bolted on a Lexus rear upside down.
All in all, not bad. I’d still go with the cheaper Corolla for resale or long term reliability.
I’d also go with the Corolla because it doesn’t come pre crashed. I honestly love that Hyundai did something so daring with the doors, but it just looks so bad!!
The Catch: Its a Hyundai. Whatever money you save on the purchase goes straight to insurance.
Yep, and whatever increase you don’t get on insurance you’ll lose on resale and whatever stupid, hidden thing they cut costs on this time in several years. It was junk engines and immobilizers last decade with a sprinkle of transmissions, lifetime-filled AWD, etc depending on model, what feature or quality material we take for granted today was already cut?
Or that weird glitch Kia is dragging their feet on in the current Sportage that kicks cruise control up to 110 MPH unexpectedly and I saw a couple posts of Elantra’s experiencing it too.
How’s hybrid battery service availability on previous Sonata/Optima hybrids too? (not good)
The old adage remains true…”Buy now, pay later…”
Paint issues, too.
Not just any Hyundai but a Hyundai with the notoriously unreliable 1.6l engine. Get the Toyota or Honda.
Not sure why, but I’ve grown to like the current Elantra, which I found ungainly when it was released. The refreshed front end helps. Still hate the wheels though.
If my plan was to keep the car ’til it’s dying breath, I’d probably stick with the Corolla. But if my plan was to keep it for 7-8 years, I would probably go with this.
Hyundai You Shrunk The Screens!
A hybrid with real rear door handles. This is probably the fist time I have been tempted to look at an Elantra. Too bad it’s not a hatchback…
My girlfriend’s car got smashed by a probably drunk driver in a hit and run last weekend, and we were looking for something to replace it. The catch being that it needed to have a rear hatch. She wanted something that got similar mileage (high 30s/low 40s), had a wide dealer network, solid reliability, and hopefully an anonymous appearance.
If they offered this drivetrain in a hatch, that would have been great. Or if the Corolla hybrid came in a hatch. Or if the Civic hybrid came in a hatch. Sigh.
She ended up putting down a deposit on a base-trim Prius and accepting that it wasn’t going to be the color she wanted, because you have to take what you can get if you want to buy one of those in a reasonable timeframe.
The Civic Hybrid will shortly be available in a hatch, though.
But not in the next 30 days.
If you are willing to sacrifice a few mpg the Mazda 3 hatch is a great car.
Great car, sure, but the cargo space didn’t meet her “will it fit my bike and/or my ladder” criteria
Or just a Civic hatch with a 2.0
Unless she’s a leadfoot she’d easily average in the high 30’s bumping on 40
The Kia Niro has the same hybrid system as the Elantra but it is a hatchback.
It was a thought, but the Kia/Hyundai oil consumption stigma put her off.
Normal gauges is a selling point for me, I’d pay $1,000 extra to get them in place of a screen
I’m glad to see something actually affordable in this segment, but at the same time, it’s almost worth spending another $3,600 for the Civic so you never have to set foot in the swirling torrent of pain and misery that is a Hyundai dealership.
So they made it better?
Though I can’t find any pictures of the real gauges. Real physical objects always look better than flat screens though.
Not a catch, a feature. I’m all in.
I’d say the bigger catch is that you have to look at…that.
Yikes.
I’ll take real gauges over Hyundai’s digital ones any day of the week. This one’s a winner.
I had a Hyundai rental last week, and I hated the digital tach and speedo on it.
Had a rental Tuscon recently. Until that day I really wanted a Santa Cruz. But between that and the pushbutton shifting, I changed my mind.
The only advantage to Hyundai’s digital gauges are the blind spot cameras that turn on with your turn signal, but that’s usually reserved for the highest trim.
Those are cool. But I can live without them.
There are plenty of ways to display the turn signal cams without digital gauges though. Honda does it quite well.
Why not both? (blind spot turn signal cams and real gauges)