From a 1984 LeSabre to a 2019 Elantra (Value Edition)
I've drove my Buick for a while as it was given to me from my parents so let's start with how the upgrade came to be with the car that me grateful for it. This old LeSabre's AC system had died with it's 3rd compressor & the passenger seat would no longer move due to the motor in it being stripped out from being used & drove so much. It has over 100,000 miles, the engine still runs well due to it's regular oil changes & the main stuff being keep in good shape. Although the windows still roll down, the passenger window no longer responds to the driver's window commands & rear view mirror falls off every summer in the harsh Oklahoma heat. I've saved my money for 7 years & in that time I've bought a house as well. Both cars have a garage to call home, but it's my father's teachings that allowed me to get the Elantra. This beautiful car is my first "new" car & I learned how to bargain with my father to get it. It's been good to me for this first year, but even it will age to the point of becoming the Buick, until then though this car has brought me happiness! This car was bought for $19,000 from the bargaining deal & it's been nothing but fun for me, but how much fun? Here we go! It has an AC system that freezes me out, but has seat-warmers to balance it out. The rear defrosters is something the Buick lacked (it lack a LOT in comparison ok? It's old, but reliable still!) & it's nice to not have to scrape it in the cold! The back-up camera & blind spot detectors will keep my daughter & any passenger within safe on every trip if my eyes don't catch the risk. Put that paper map away, hook up the phone & get either google maps or apple maps to get you anywhere you want! Phone call? HA! Ignore it & drive or answer if you must, but please keep the call short for your safety. Multiple phones? 1 hooks up to the USB for the music, maps & charging, but if you've got a multi-port car charger, it has dual (2) other 12 volt for the main piece, so easily 9 devices if my husband & our kids need it (not that we do, but he likes the multi-usb port chargers b/c his family is big) That Cruise control is a thing & getting a ticket for speeding is what it's keeping you from...I USE IT b/c life isn't the Daytona 500 race & I'm not a wannabe NASCAR driver ok? The sound system is like a personal mini-theater & the windows vibrate when you turn it up & especially if the song has a lot of bass, so...be mindful of that, especially if you've got kids & don't want to have your ears ringing. The Elantra has an ICE warning when the temp drops under 40 for the bridges & with both the tire pressure gauges hooked into the main computer & an the ABS braking system backing it up, bad weather doesn't stand a chance against it, but it's the driver who must keep those in good working condition, so maintenance-checks are a must & the owner's manual has the break-down for most of it. 5 interior lights, trunk lights, door pockets, center console & a trunk-to-backseat door make this thing road trip ready & it has spare tire in the trunk so remember to keep the spare aired up too. Mine came with a sunroof & I'm still getting used to that, but it's a nice extra when letting out the heat in the summer, remember that hot air rises & cold air sinks, so that extra window makes cooling it much faster. I think the 1 feature that makes this car stand out though is 1 that I appreciate when parked at night & it's the "Welcome Lights", but you've got to turn them on while the car is running so they'll work. When you unlock the car, the "Welcome Lights" light up your door handles! You can actually find the door handle now, even if the garage is dark, you can find them & they stay on for 5 ot 10 seconds! No more "Where is that stupid handle?!" This is a push-button start, but has a physical key inside the fob to unlock/lock the door if needed, but the car WILL NOT START unless you have the entire fob with the physical key inside the fob, so keep that sucker in a safe place. This is NOT a start-stop engine car either, so that means when you stop, the engine remains running & the AC/heater will keep you comfy & I've noticed that other vehicles that do have that start-stop engine will shut the AC/heater down so this car makes it worth the money. It has a LATCH system built in to keep children in car seats safe & I'll be using that for the first time ever in September of this year, so I'll hopefully get to update this with my experience on it, but for now, it has the instructions for it in the owner's manual so please use that to help you out. Anything maintenance-wise can be found in the book, but for the computer system, you will have to take it to dealership to get it worked on as they've got the proper machines to work on it with. The manual has the main part breakdown showing where everything goes in the car, so KEEP & READ THE MANUAL! This car recommends NO ETHANOL-MIXED FUEL (is says so in the manual too!)! That means the gasohol (5 to 15% ethanol mixed gas) IS NOT RECOMMENDED! Find gas stations with 100% gas to get the most miles out of this car. It'll work with the gasohol, but I've noticed I lose about 50 mile on my Miles til Empty gauge. The gasohol mix had it reading 323 to 350 miles til empty, but the 100% always shows 423 to 430 miles til empty! BIG DIFFERENCE! QuikTrip has stations with the 100% gas marked in red & on a separate hose so there's my little tip on fuel to keep the car happy & a station recommendation for y'all as I live in the Oklahoma & that's the main stations around the Tulsa area. Sometimes you may have to use the Premium to get the 100% gas & the car will still run on it. The Elantra also has a sport, economy & normal drive modes within the HUD menus, but I personally don't use anything but normal since I know how I drive but hey, that'll be an experiment for my second year of ownership with this car. I'll go ahead & wrap it up here, but know that the Elantra has brought me much joy with all its new bells & whistles & I'm extremely happy with it. The LeSabre is still in use, but the Elantra is my main car now & LeSabre is my "nice, cool day" ride.
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