 So far I am impressed with the looks and comfort of the Elantra.  I got 35.9 mpg on a distance drive which is below our '01 Civic(41mpg) and '00 Saturn SL2 5-spd(40 mpg) and about equal to an 01 Sentra 2.0 L.  It feels more like a Camry in quietness except for road noise.  The handling seems very similar to the Camry---not sporty but good.  Will it be reliable4---time will tell!