From the September/October 2026 issue of Car and Driver.
0–150–0 mph: 43.6 seconds
Base: $37,845 | As-Tested: $38,345 Power and Weight: 286 hp • 3364 lb • 11.8 lb/hp Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, 245/35ZR-19 (93Y) Brakes, F/R: 14.2-in vented disc/12.4-in vented disc
To set the scene of the Elantra N pulling up against the rest of the field, just picture the classic moment in any Marvel movie, Western, or World War II biopic, where the plucky hero leaps into battle only to find the opposing forces are bigger and have more guns. Way more guns. Bigger guns. You know they’re going to lose, but not without a valiant effort.
The Elantra N was outflanked in nearly every metric. Its turbo 2.0-liter inline-four makes 286 horsepower. Each pony saddles 11.8 pounds (the worst weight-to-power ratio of the bunch), but this is the most cost-effective choice on hand, with a price that’s around the sales tax of a McLaren.
Getting a good run out of the dual-clutch-automatic Elantra was easier than in the manual we had last time, but not by much. We brought back the Elantra to see if the recommended octane-learning procedure for premium gas, which takes a fair amount of pre-run driving, makes a difference. Once at the start line, we adjusted the Elantra’s prelaunch rev limiter for the launch-control system, then selected N drive mode and switched the stability control to Sport. It took several practice runs to dial in the perfect launch rpm. On unprepped pavement, it’s almost always lower than you’d expect, and after a few spinning starts at 3200, we settled on a much more conservative 2500 rpm, which minimized wheel-spin without bogging. From there, it was just a matter of holding down both pedals and releasing the brake. On the far end, the Elantra screeched to a stop in 675 feet, a distance that would take it about halfway up the Empire State Building, if you prefer to be in a New York state of mind.
The octane-learning experiment yielded inconclusive results due to too many variables, but the numbers don’t lie: The dual-clutch automatic Elantra N laid down a number that would have smoked the Honda Civic Type R from 2023 and beat the manual-equipped Elantra N we tested last time by 3.4 seconds.
Back to 0–150–0 Speed Test 2026
Like a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn’t know her calling at a young age. Like many girls, she planned to be a vet-astronaut-artist, and came closest to that last one by attending UCLA art school. She painted images of cars, but did not own one. Elana reluctantly got a driver’s license at age 21 and discovered that she not only loved cars and wanted to drive them, but that other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant somebody had to write about them. Since receiving activation codes, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classics, car culture, technology, motorsports, and new-car reviews. In 2020, she received a Best Feature award from the Motor Press Guild for the C/D story "A Drive through Classic Americana in a Polestar 2." In 2023, her Car and Driver feature story "In Washington, D.C.'s Secret Carpool Cabal, It's a Daily Slug Fest" was awarded 1st place in the 16th Annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards by the Los Angeles Press Club.