A week in the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring: Day 7 (traveling to and on Skyline Drive)

April 27, 12:03 AMDC Car ExaminerBrady Holt

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The 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring rests at one of the many scenic overlooks of Shenandoah National Park's Skyline Drive.
See more photos of the Elantra Touring at Shenandoah in today's slideshow below the article.

There were two reasons for today's trip to Shenandoah National Park. Not only was the weather unseasonably pleasant, but I was eager to see how the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring that's been staying with me for the week behaves on long trips and on mountain roads. 

But while the seats could have been more "butt-welcoming" -- as one of my two passengers so demurely put it -- the Elantra Touring compact station wagon generally proved to be a decent enough car to cover long distances.

To be sure, the Elantra is generally happiest on mostly flat back roads or in suburban commuting, most comfortable at just around 50 miles per hour. That's where you'll see the best gas mileage and the least engine noise.

But the car's spacious and cupholder-laden interior made it a pleasant enough travel companion from suburban Maryland to Matthew's Arm in Shenandoah -- our starting point for a ten-mile hike to see the falls of Overall Run -- a round trip (driving, not hiking) of about 220 miles.

The Elantra Touring's highway ride proved smooth and steady cruising on Interstate 66 at around 70 mph. The engine is turning at over 3,000 rpm at that speed and gets noisy at those high revolutions, but moderate wind and road noise on the highway drown it out at high speeds, preventing the car from feeling buzzy. It's not the quietest car on the road, but it's wouldn't be described as unrefined, especially by the standards of compact cars.

Driving on the steep portions of Skyline Drive, however, where the car is at over 3,000 rpm running in third gear at around 40 mph, there isn't enough wind and road noise to overpower the engine's boom. The car has enough pep to accelerate or maintain speed on mountain roads, but it gets quite noisy if you ask for a demonstration. 

But as noted, the seats that feel hard when you first get into the Elantra Touring don't improve over 100 miles. At first it's the backrest that feels the hardest; soon afterward it's the seat cushion that's a rock. A firm seat can be more comfortable than a softer one on a long trip, but that wasn't the case here. No one called the seats outright uncomfortable, either in the front or the spacious rear, but some extra padding would have been appreciated. The grippy fabric and acceptable bolstering for the front seats proved useful on the twistier portions of Skyline Drive, however.

Also, the extended highway drive confirmed an impression from shorter trips: the engine works too hard at highway speeds to deliver great gas mileage, as it remains in the low 30s. The Elantra Touring's fuel economy didn't prove to be appreciably better with cruise control set on the highway than it did on hilly Skyline Drive or in stop-and-go suburban conditions. 

The Elantra Touring concludes its visit with the DC Car Examiner tomorrow. Check back for updates on gas mileage and for others' opinions on the car tomorrow, and for a full summary review next Sunday. Also see photos of the Elantra Touring in Shenandoah from today's slideshow.

Day 1: introduction
Day 2: ride and handling
Day 3: cargo management
Day 5: seats, interior details, visibility
Day 7: traveling to and on Skyline Drive