It's not perfect, however. The ride is somewhat on the stiff side, and while that's okay with me, the harshness could be a drawback for some people. There's a lot of noise transmitted into the cabin, mostly through the engine bay, since the 1.8-litre, 148-hp "Nu" engine makes quite a bit of buzzy racket when pushed hard.

The 1.8-litre, 148-hp "Nu" engine makes quite a bit of buzzy racket when pushed hard. (Photo: Lesley Wimbush/Auto123.com)

A base-model Elantra starts at under $16,000, but piling on the options can put the price over $24,000–which is more expensive than an entry-level Sonata.

Still, having driven both back-to-back, I can't see any compelling reason to move up to the only marginally larger Sonata. It's easy to forget, given its first-rate build quality and stunning looks, that the Elantra is still an economy car. Saving money never looked so good.