2025 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid: It’s Not Just About the Japanese

Demand for electric vehicles is waning pretty much all over the globe. At the same time, many automakers are turning to hybrid technology as a way to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions.

Selection is still fairly limited when it comes to compact cars, however. Honda now offers the Civic Hybrid in sedan and hatchback body styles, while Toyota has the Corolla Hybrid and the fancier, more expensive Prius. The Hyundai Elantra Hybrid is another option, and one that deserves your attention.

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This electrified Korean sedan comes in a single trim level called Luxury and priced from $31,099 (MSRP). It boasts a long list of features along with modern, user-friendly technology.

Distinctive and Refined Cabin

Considering the price, the interior of the 2025 Elantra Hybrid is classy and high-tech with quality materials and a pleasant mix of colours and textures that you won’t find in more plain-looking competitors. The driver-centric cockpit is defined by cream-coloured trim on the dashboard, door panel and centre console, while the passenger’s side is virtually all black.

The eyes are immediately drawn to the dual displays including a fully digital 10.25-inch instrument cluster and a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen. They are ergonomically arranged to maximize visibility all the while reducing driver distractions. The controls are exactly where you want them. What’s more, a great Bose audio system comes standard, as does wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Strangely, the front seats are manually adjustable. That doesn't stop them from being comfortable, but the relatively elevated driving position may not suit taller occupants as headroom is limited. And as far as we’re concerned, we would have liked the seat bottoms to tilt further up in order to settle more snugly into the seat.

Visibility is generally good, not so much when looking into the rear-view mirror due to the angle of the rear window and the raised trunk. The backup camera definitely comes in handy when parking, especially with such great resolution. Similar to Kia and Genesis vehicles, a blind spot monitor pops up on the instrument cluster when a turn signal is activated. It's a brilliant feature that should be adopted by more car companies.

Not Quite as Efficient as Rivals

In the segment, the Hyundai Elantra Hybrid proves slightly more dynamic than the Corolla Hybrid, but much less so than the 200-hp Civic Hybrid. The four-cylinder engine and dual electric motors combine to produce 139 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque, which is arguably more than enough for everyday use. A six-speed dual-clutch gearbox handles power delivery and does an excellent job under acceleration. Upshifts and downshifts are smooth and seamless, even at low speeds.

On rough and bumpy roads, the suspension manages to keep things fairly smooth. It may be a little too soft, mind you, as we found out when driving over speed bumps. Handling is affected in the process, with significant body roll in corners. Nevertheless, steering remains precise.

With its focus on fuel economy, the car defaults to Eco mode, which results in slower throttle response and gear shifts. For this reason, we preferred to use either Smart mode, which automatically adapts to your driving style, or Sport mode, with manual shift capability through the conventional shifter (there are no paddles on the steering wheel).

Fun fact: when you activate Sport mode, the graphics on the instrument panel change to a sportier-looking display with a tachometer. However, in Eco mode with the shifter moved to Sport mode, you get similar graphics but no tachometer.

At the end of the week, we wound up with an average fuel consumption of 5.4 L/100 km, which is pretty good, but not quite as good as the AWD-equipped Corolla Hybrid (5.3 L/100 km) or the Civic Hybrid (5.1 L/100 km) and Civic Hatchback Hybrid (4.6 L/100 km) we tested last year.

A Sensible Choice

The Hyundai Elantra Hybrid may not be available with all-wheel drive like the Corolla Hybrid or in a five-door hatchback body style like the Civic Hybrid, but it does have other tricks up its sleeve including good value and superior warranty at 5 years/100,000 km (versus 3 years/60,000 km for the two Japanese rivals).

The Elantra Hybrid is also big on safety with numerous driver assistance features, while reliability has proven to be excellent so far. In short, if you want a car that's solidly built, uniquely designed and technologically advanced, Hyundai has you covered. You definitely need to take a look at it.