CHARLEVOIX, Michigan — Pocket rocket is my favorite auto segment. From $33,000-$51,000, buyers are served a choice of fun, utilitarian, affordable cars spiced with goodies like turbocharged engines, manual transmissions, all-wheel drive, hatchbacks, summer tires and head-up displays. Rockets like the Honda Civic Si, Subaru WRX, Mazda3 Turbo, Civic Type R, VW Golf R and OG Golf GTI.

Add to this delicious assortment the stylish, high-tech Hyundai Elantra N.

N for Namyang, the South Korea R&D center where Hyundai’s N performance division was born. N for the famed Nürburgring race track in Germany where the model’s skills were honed. N for Not Boring.

Dressed in a similar, head-turning sky blue and red trim wardrobe as Hyundai’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge-winning car, my $37,095, 276-horsepower tester channels premium supercars costing five times more. Entering the M-32 twisties in Otsego County west of Gaylord, I pressed the red NGS button (for N Grin Shift) in the middle of the steering wheel and the rocket tensed.

Maximum turbocharger overboost added 10 horsepower. The gearbox automatically downshifted to fourth gear for optimal torque at 5,000 RPM. The driveline primed for quick shifts for 20 seconds.

Just like the $150,000 Porsche 911’s Sport Response button.

FOOM! I blew by a Ford Mustang in a two-lane passing zone and disappeared though a series of S-curves, the stiff, adaptive shocks gluing the Elantra N to the road.

Adaptive shocks in a $37k car? That’s right. The better to offer multiple modes (including N Mode) for when the twisties rise before you — or a track day beckons. Like a six-figure Porsche, McLaren or Lamborghini.

Speaking of the latter, Elantra is what an entry-level Lamborghini might look like if the Italian brand made a compact sedan: sharp edges, scalloped door panels, sloped nose. Che bello!

The base, $24k Elantra looks like a car costing much more. The N backs up those looks with serious hardware.

Placed neatly between the $32,690, 200-horsepower/192-torque Honda Civic Si and the insane, $45k, 310-horse/310-torque winged Civic Type-R hellions, Elantra N sports basketball player-friendly rear-seat legroom with a healthy 286-horsepower/289-torque (in NGS mode) that splits the Honda pair.

Given the choice, I normally covet a manual transmission over an automatic. But Elantra N makes a compelling choice for ditching the left pedal. N Grin Shift is only available with the automatic, 8-speed, dual wet-clutch tranny. As is launch control.

Launch control in a sub-$40k compact sedan like a supercar?

You bet, though it’s complicated compared to, say, the 750-horsepower McLaren 750S I tested last summer. On a lonely two-lane in Charlevoix County, I began the countdown:

1) Select N Mode with the programmable right steering button (another nifty feature — N Mode turns off traction control.)

2) Deactivate other nannies, including cruise control and lane-keep assist

3) Activate LAUNCH CONTROL button in the N Mode screen

4) Flatten the brake pedal

5) Flatten the accelerator pedal

6) Waited for revs to even at 3,000 RPM

7) Release the brake pedal. Release the Kraken.

Well, perhaps the Kraken is an exaggeration. Reserve that analogy for the turbo-V8-powered McLaren (which only requires steps 4-7). The turbo-4 Elantra is more like Goomi from “Minions & Monsters.” Where the McLaren explodes into Hyperspace with 2.3-second 0-60 mph launch, the Elantra does an admirable 4.8 (at which time the McLaren is hitting 100 mph).

Still, for you autocrossers, the combination of NGS-for-20-seconds and Launch Control off the starting line is a recipe for quick times. It’s also a good Woodward stoplight trick.

It has its limitations in the Hyundai, however. Whereas supercars Porsche and McLaren can do repeated launches, the heat stress on Elantra N necessitates a 40-second break before activating NGS and Launch Controls again. Supercar prices get you supercar engineering.

All this digital fun in the N comes in an admirably compliant road car.

With a four-hour drive ahead of me on I-75 for a weekend in Charlevoix, I loaded up the Hyundai’s 14 cubic-foot boot with luggage (shy of the 20 cubic feet in a hot-hatch Golf GTI). I punched the ECO button for 27-mpg highway cruising and settled into the comfortable Alcantara-and-leather seats.

Elantra shares the same bones as the equally-stylish Kia K4, but the Korean corporate siblings are notably different. K4 does not offer a performance model (Hyundai and its lux Genesis brand have invested heavily in motorsport) and the K4, recently launched for the 2025 model year, sports Hyundai-Kia’s latest hoodless dash display that is ubiquitous in every vehicle launched since 2022.

Birthed in 2021, Elantra just missed this tech wave. Its last-gen system — while attractive — lags the brand’s state-of-the-art tech. The screen was slow to my touch (requiring a deliberate poke to activate icons) and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay require a USB cable to activate. How quickly we’re spoiled by wireless systems.

Still, the lush graphics and multiple apps (in addition to N Mode’s customization features, I liked the VOICE MEMO app so I could record audio messages while driving) complement the high-tech drivetrain.

Curious, then, that Elantra N does not offer adaptive cruise control — standard on the base model beginning with the $26,570 SEL Sport Premium. ACC is also standard on competitors like the Mazda3 Turbo and Civic Si. Leadfoots like me use ACC extensively in small Michigan towns to stay under the speed limit and keep a distance from cars ahead.

The good news is Hyundai’s regular cruise control has good lane-centering abilities combined with a lenient nanny. On long, straight stretches of I-75 north of Bay City, cruise control centered the car in lane so I could go hands-free up to a minute to relax my arms on my knees (or eat my Kentucky Fried Chicken lunch).

All-wheel-drive isn’t an option, either, which may be a factor for all-season Michiganians. The Subie or Mazda3 Turbo would be your choice there. But the front-wheel-drive Elantra is capable in bad weather and its front, electronic limited slip gives it quick reactions on an autocross course.

On a family outing, my two, six-foot-plus, hot hatch-owning sons climbed into the Elantra — one seated behind the other. “Wow, this is roomier than my Golf GTI,” said the 6’3” son in the back seat.

He was even more impressed when he got behind the wheel and hit N Grin Shift.

2026 Hyundai Elantra N

Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger compact sedan

Price: $36,595, including $1,295 destination fee ($38,345 as tested)

Powerplant: Turbocharged 2.0-liter 4 cylinder

Power: 276 horsepower, 289 pound-feet of torque (286 horsepower; 289 torque with N Grin Shift)

Transmission: 8-speed, dual-clutch, automatic with paddle shifters

Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.8 seconds (Car and Driver); Top speed, 155 mph

Weight: 3,296 pounds (as tested)

Fuel economy: EPA est., 21 mpg city/29 highway/24 combined (manual); 20 mpg city/27 highway/23 combined (auto); range, 335 miles (auto)

Report card

Highs: Lambo Jr. design; supercar tech tricks

Lows: Last-gen Hyundai displays; adaptive cruise control, please

Overall: 4 stars

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