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Are you looking for an unpretentious sedan that can get you from point A to point B and has some features? The Hyundai Elantra XD —the official “lottery ticket” car—might be for you.

Launched around 2000, the Hyundai Elantra XD was the car that gave us the image of Hyundai we perceive today, alongside the Hyundai Accident… I mean, Accent. The Elantra was intended to be the premium car from a manufacturer known for vehicles costing just a bit more than a washing machine and equipped similarly, with the acceleration of a washing machine. Trying to make a premium car while selling microwaves on wheels is like being in an African village with shoes made from cans. You’d be the most impressive.

However, the Hyundai Elantra XD stood out for its low-cost ambitions and legendary reliability. When I say legendary, I mean it operates on the principle of “it doesn’t break down because there’s nothing to break down.” It had agricultural engines borrowed from the UTB 650, interiors grayer than the country’s economy, but at least there were some buttons to catch your eye and, hopefully for the dealers, your money.

Nevertheless, the Elantra came with the first Korean wave that put Hyundai on Europe’s map. Built on a common platform with the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, and Hyundai Coupe / Tiburon, this sedan is still on roads even in 2024. Not too many around, but still. 

Elantra or Dacia Sandero?

Obviously, when you’re in this budget range, you must consider the elephant in the room. Or rather, the eastern european in the room in the case of the Sandero. Both are cheap to buy and run. The Elantra comes with slightly more features, while the Sandero has higher ground clearance and smaller engines. You might laugh at this argument and the fact that the Elantra starts at 1600 cc, while the Sandero came with a tarmac-tearing 1.4 engine, but when you’re in this price range, every penny counts. Otherwise, it’s hard to believe that the Hyundai Elantra XD would be an aspirational car. It’s hard to believe there’s someone saying, “Ah, I wish I had a 2001 Elantra.”

Hyundai Elantra XD Engines

Petrol

• 1.6 Alpha II and Beta G4GR and G4ED of 107 horsepower – The smallest, weakest, and least pretentious engine in the range. It comes from the same series as the other petrol engines, so we’ll discuss common issues later. Anyway, no one will buy this Norton Graham engine trying to carry an Henrik Sebok body.


• 1.8 Beta II G4GB of 132 horsepower – The middle child of a top car from a low-end manufacturer. Like the A6 C5, it’s more expensive than the 1.6 but weaker than the 2.0. Either go cheap or go sporty. In a 2001 Elantra.


• 2.0 Beta II G4GC of 140 horsepower – An antique that lasted until 2010 on the Tucson and Sportage, this engine made waves on the Hyundai Tiburon. But on the Elantra nobody bought it. 

Diesel

2.0 CRDi ” D ” Family D4EA of 113 horsepower – The same Euro 3 antique found on the Tucson, Sportage, and Santa Fe. A robust, slow engine with occasional camshaft sensor issues. At least it comes with a single-mass flywheel, making maintenance cheap enough to afford even a night out once a month. Granted, a night as in drinking on a park bench, but it’s a night out nonetheless.

Hyundai Elantra XD Reliability Issues

• All petrol engines are essentially the Beta engine in various flavours. This means common issues and a noise worthy of a diesel engine with an irregular idle. At least it’s a robust, naturally aspirated petrol engine that doesn’t fail because there’s nothing to fail. And that famous knock is from the VVT timing chain which needs to be replaced every 60,000 miles / 100,000 km. 


• The interiors are stolen from the Bullring market, from the back stalls. But who cares if a button or glove compartment occasionally falls off?


• It’s a fairly rare car these days, so parts will be harder to find than a minimum-wage worker’s initiative.

Hyundai Elantra XD Verdict

If you don’t care about cars and want a cheap sedan to transport your butt from place to place, get a Sandero. Or a Hyundai Accent. But if you want a sedan that sits halfway between incredibly cheap and almost premium, then the Hyundai Elantra XD is a good choice to consider. It might not be the best car of the 2000s, but at least it paved the way for other great cars that followed, and for that—Hyundai Elantra III, respect!

What engines do I recommend? The 2.0 petrol with an LPG system is an excellent choice for those who want a semi-low-cost-semi-premium-semi-barge-semi-sports car. For the rest, I recommend the 2.0 CRDi with 113 horsepower.