Drew Dowdell

I call this one, Corvettes in the Midst. Mark Reuss, President of GM N.A. talking Michigan Governor Rick Snyder into a new Chevrolet Camaro.

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Get the Elantra too far out of it's $14,999 + destination bargain basement comfort zone and the gap on interior quality between it and the Cruze or Focus or even Civic and Jetta become rather clear. Even the new Jetta has a higher quality interior than the Elantra. Get someone behind the wheel of a Cruze and the interior quality and power train refinement will tell you why you'll pay $1500 to $2000 more. All two people shopping in this segment who care that the Elantra is 0.3 seconds faster to 60 can go buy an Elantra instead. I'll say it again, Hyundai is more concerned with the "flair" of things like heated rear seats and selling you on that, but then skimping on other small details that don't get bold print in press releases. GM has really put together two of the best interiors in the respective classes with the Cruze and Verano. The Cruze, BTW, gets the woven headliner the previous generation CTS had. NHV would have made Lexus proud 5 years ago. Man, pass around whatever it is that Hyundai gave you to smoke. If you had said Kia, you might have had an argument, but you're only looking at it from the bargain basement perspective. If your finances are so tight that you're only looking at monthly payment, then yes the Hyundai may be right for you; but the better quality car in terms of materials and NHV is still the Cruze. I've not driven the Focus, but I've sat in it, and it's handily beats the Elantra as well inside.

IMHO, you're thinking in the wrong direction. The Verano isn't for people moving up from a Cobalt. It's for people moving down from a TSX or ES350. In that regard, it's in the perfect place to catch people who no longer want a Lexus payment but still want as much of the lux as they can get for their dollar.