2022 Hyundai Elantra N First Drive Review: A Devotion To Performance

Sonoma, CA – Hyundai sure knows how to create niche segments, and it proves it once more with the Elantra N. We’re not exactly sure what its competition is, as it’s much more extreme than a Volkswagen Jetta GLI and a Honda Civic Si, but a tad less brutal than Volkswagen’s Golf R, Honda’s Civic Type R and Subaru’s WRX. 

To give it the coveted N letter, Hyundai engineers completely overhauled the humble Elantra in the areas that matter. The car gets chassis stiffening at key locations, larger sway bars and additional torsion bars for reduced flex in the corners. Hyundai doesn’t mess around: one of these bars takes up the entire opening behind the rear seats, so forget fitting large objects into the trunk.

The no-compromise attitude carries on with entirely retuned suspension components complete with adaptive dampers and stiffer springs. The car comes standard with a limited slip differential – since it’s front-wheel drive – and gets a set of 360 mm front brake rotors and 314 mm rears.

Calipers are also larger, while tires are Michelin Pilot Sport 4 performance sets wrapped around model-specific wheels, which, it must be said, look absolutely gorgeous.

Power comes courtesy of the Veloster N’s 2.0-liter turbocharged four. It’s good here for 276 horsepower and 289 lb-ft of torque, up 29 lb-ft from the Veloster. It can either be mated to a six-speed manual gearbox or a dual-clutch automatic unit. Selecting the latter yields Hyundai’s N Grin Shift (NGS) technology.

Hit the big red button on the steering wheel, and you’ll get an additional 10 horsepower for 20 seconds. The transmission will also shuffle through the gears quicker.

As if none of this was enough, Hyundai made sure to send the Elantra N to the Nürburgring for some good old chassis and suspension tuning. This is serious stuff.

Crackles, Bangs and Grins: How Does This 276-Hp Elantra N Sedan Perform and Handle?

Before we get into it, here’s a look at the Elantra N’s impressive performance specs:

The moment we climbed the first elevating left corner at Sears Point, after the straightaway, it was obvious Hyundai had done its homework. The Elantra N not only exhibits chassis composure that could very well have a German badge on it, its super loud exhaust, complete with highly amusing backfires only adds to the driving fun. 

Power delivery from the forced-fed four-banger is relentless, with a surge of low-end torque and an ability to rev all the way to redline as if there’s no tomorrow

The level of grip generated by the limited slip differential when exiting a corner at full throttle can’t be denied, and it does a fantastic job of mitigating torque steer as well, even on a wet surface like the one we were driving on. 

Yet, while the Elantra N is immensely stable at high speed, if you dare lift off the throttle while entering a corner too fast, it’ll kick its rear out the way only the best hot hatchbacks in the business can. Meanwhile, power delivery from the forced-fed four-banger is relentless, with a surge of low-end torque and an ability to rev all the way to redline as if there’s no tomorrow.

Brakes were fantastic too, with a firm bite to them and no unwanted quivering from left to right when committing hard. The dual-clutch transmission if fine, but we say get the manual for maximum fun.

We spent the entire day beating the snot out of this little rascal without much apology, yet the Elantra N never showed any real signs of weakness. It just took it all in, showing Hyundai’s commitment to performance, but more importantly, that it totally understands what enthusiasts want. 

Here’s a closer look at the 2022 Elantra N’s specs and interior.