Welcome to Dude Said, Punk Said — a special series devoted to skewering the automotive ramblings of young punk Nick Tragianis with the infinite wisdom of old dude Brian Harper. This week, the duo see how Hyundai’s ‘warm hatch’ — the Elantra GT N Line — stacks up against the freshly redesigned Mazda3 Sport.Nick Tragianis: Its tough to be a regular car these days, what with consumers flocking to pretty much anything with some body cladding, extra ground clearance, and a higher seating position at the expense of driving dynamics, all because they want something a bit more practical than a car. But what if I told you, most of the time, a hatchback is more than enough?The Hyundai Elantra GT and Mazda3 Sport prove you can have your cake and eat it, too. These two arent quite balls-to-the-wall hot hatchbacks, but they both provide a decent dose of cargo space certainly plenty for day-to-day use in an overall package that wont put you to sleep. Brian Harper: Snore! Wheres the passion, kid, the excitement? Youve pretty much described a couple of appliances. No, neither of the two is a hot hatch, though the new N Line version of the Elantra GT replacing the GT Sport for 2019 is certainly warm. The brand-new Mazda3 Sport, meanwhile, is simply one of the best all-around hatchbacks ever produced.These are two great, affordable cars, highly usable with plenty of zip for getting around city congestion, with plenty of comfort and cargo room on longer drives. The Elantra and Mazda3 are direct competitors in size, intent and pricing structure. Its their trim levels that differentiate them. So, make your case do you prefer the added power and boy racer-ish nature of the N Line or the surprising sophistication of the 3 Sport GT?NT: Lets start with the Elantra, shall we? First things first: Its not a North American-spec i30 N. No, that delicious hot hatch is forbidden fruit for us, and will remain so for the next little while. Still, the Elantra GT N Line ($27,199 as tested) is on the right track its 1.6-litre turbo-four is good for 201 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, and thats sent to the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. It also gets sport-tuned suspension bits and bigger brakes, as well as some visual tweaks to set itself apart from the regular Elantra hatch. Its a nifty little package; the Elantra definitely feels zippier than the Mazda thanks to the extra horses and torques, and it handles quite well. Its a pretty good manual, too the clutch is easy to modulate and the shifter is crisp. But it just doesnt feel like its the complete package, unlike the Mazda3 GT ($28,600 as tested). Its bones are familiar the normally aspirated 2.5L SkyActiv four-cylinder puts out 186 horsepower and torque, and its hooked up to either a six-speed manual or automatic. On paper, its down compared to the Elantra, but Mazda makes up for that with displacement the 2.5 is much smoother, and actually fun to wring out with the manual. And although Mazda now uses a torsion-beam rear suspension setup, much to the chagrin of armchair enthusiasts, the new 3 handles no worse than it ever did. Hell, it rides a lot better wind and road noise are barely noticeable, and it soaks up bumps and rough pavement like a champ.BH: Yes, the 3, especially in topline GT trim, has turned out to be quite the package, hasnt it? Big-time kudos to Mazda for not only sticking with the hatchback segment, but building something that people want to own, rather than having to own. (At the risk of unkind comments by yourself regarding my slide into Seniorsville, most of the hatchbacks I was exposed to in my 20s emphasized economy of operation over amenities and comfort my eventual purchase of a VW Scirocco being an exception.) And speaking of the Scirocco, I think the design of the 3 boasts one of the sexiest shapes for a hatchback since Giorgetto Giugiaro penned the VW coupe more than 45 years ago. The two downsides of fashion over function is that the Mazda3s rear hatch window is the size of a mail slot, hindering visibility and thus making the backup camera a necessity; and its thick C-pillars create a somewhat claustrophobic environment for rear-seat passengers. If either is am primary concern, the Elantra GT is the better bet.NT: The Elantra definitely has the advantage in terms of visibility at least, out the back and cargo space, with 705 litres seats up and 1,560 L seats down, versus 569 and 1,334 L seats up and down, respectively, for the Mazda3. Unfortunately, thats about it for the Elantra GTs interior sure, the layout is logical, with everything placed where it needs to be. Sure, the infotainment is easy to use, and physical knobs and buttons control all the vital functions. Sure, the N Line packaging adds nifty red trim bits on the dash and seats. But the overall look and feel is lacking; where the Elantra GT was near the top of the class when it first launched in
Origin: Car Comparison: 2019 Mazda3 Sport vs. 2019 Hyundai Elantra GT N Line