Hatchbacks have seen a major resurgence in popularity over the past several years, especially thanks to the Honda Civic Type R’s introduction to the North American market. European-style hot hatches have grown increasingly popular. That’s why we’re so excited to be able to offer the Elantra GT here at Cocoa Hyundai. In Europe, it’s known as the i30, a subcompact hatchback sedan that slated well as an alternative to the Elantra here in America. But there are plenty of other great options throughout the market that make great competitors for our favorite.
For instance, we thought we’d see how well the 2020 Hyundai Elantra GT fares against the 2020 Kia Soul, arguably one of the most recognizable and iconic subcompact hatchbacks on the market. Some people don’t think about the Soul as a hatchback as its shape more closely resembles a crossover, but a glance at the table down below shows just how similar these two sedans are to one another.
We don’t think there’s any question left as to whether or not the Kia Soul is a subcompact hatchback sedan after the info in that table. Let’s take a look through at the different highlighted specs, starting in the first row with power. A 14-horsepower advantage isn’t a huge leg up, but it is an advantage nonetheless. Even still, the Elantra GT manages to achieve superior highway fuel economy in the form of a single mile per gallon. Again, not going to be a very noticeable advantage, especially considering both models have a combined rating of 27 mpg.
Even the third row, which looks at space (big clue as to the Soul’s status as a sedan), is incredibly close. You’d hardly be able to notice the extra 0.7 cubic feet of space, other than fitting an extra grocery bag or something when necessary. The final row highlights plainly just how similar the two sedans are to one another, depicting their equal seating capacity.
But there are plenty of other things that set these two sedans apart regardless of how similar their specs are. Look around our website to find out about all of the great features and content the Elantra GT has to offer, or give us a call if you’d like to try one out for yourself!
