Viscerally Mundane Unicorn Alert! UPDATED With Statistics!

"Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available" (whoistheleader2)
09/05/2020 at 13:11 • Filed to: hyundai elantra coupe, manual transmission

I think this manual 2013 Hyundai Elantra Coupe might just be one of the rarest ordinary cars I can think of. The coupes sold in absolutely tiny numbers and this one has a 6 speed! Not to mention it is painted a shade of red seldom found on these cars.

You’d have to have been a bit strange to buy one of these. First off, you’d have to know it existed, and that’s no small feat. Then, you’d have to have been willing to buy a midtrim economy coupe with three pedals.

Wow, that interior has not aged well at all. It’s ok until you get to that mess of buttons in the center stack. The low pixel density backlit-blue screens aren’t very appealing 7 years later.

And if I’m being honest, the rest of the interior is pretty grungy looking as well. The bleh gray seats are at least counterbalanced by an interesting two tone dash.

The price to own this remarkable exercise in futility? $7,900. With 65,000 miles on the clock, it has plenty of life left, but I think that is a bit optimistic.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

But still, this combination is legendarily uncommon. All two of the Elantra coupes I’ve seen have been silver so this red really sets it apart. To be honest, I wasn’t sure the coupes even came with a manual.

So, Oppo, taking bets. How many of these do you suppose were sold with a manual? It has to be an absolutely tiny amount.

UDPATE:

There are currently 22 manual Elantra Coupes for sale on Car Gurus. I checked every single one and disqualified three improperly labeled ones. 6 of them were red and 4 of them were blue so a better spread were colors than I suspected.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/lp/search-Hyundai-Elantra-Coupe-manual-sc2_d2143

I didn’t realize this was a one model year only thing but every single car is a 2013. If anything, I expected less to be for sale but it does mean these are extremely rare.

12 of them were less expensive than the one I featured but not by much and they all had more miles. I’m beginning to think this is less of a bad deal than I thought.

DISCUSSION (41)

412GTI > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 13:16

Don’t ask me why but I hate these Elantra Coupes for some reason. I think because it doesn’t look any different than the sedan, just minus 2 doors. At least Civic coupes had a different rear end.

Very cool find though, I can’t imagine too many were made in this combo

shop-teacher > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 13:16

I’m sure it the sales num bers on these are low, but I think it’s a fine little car, that looks reasonably nice inside and out.

ADDvanced > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 13:19

6spd makes it! No manual no care. Good find.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 13:22

I’d DD it! :)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 13:32

I'd rock it. Should have been a liftback with that sloping glass but oh well.

For Sweden > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 13:33

Rally project

sony1492 > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 13:49

This will be more appealing in another 10 years

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > 412GTI
09/05/2020 at 13:53

Yeah, they aren’t really any better looking than the sedans and didn’t really get better mpgs so there wasn’t much point. That, and it was 2013 only. I’ve updated the post with some stats.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > shop-teacher
09/05/2020 at 13:55

I updated the post with the number of manual coupes I found nationwide and it is 22. That means less than half of US states have one for sale at any price including the one I found. I even went through and verified each one as being a manual. i only disqualified three, which is surprising.

Yes, it is a fine little car but it’s not as practical as the sedan and isn’t any better looking or more economical so what’s the point?

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
09/05/2020 at 13:55

Yeah, that would have given it an actual reason to exist. It looks exactly the same as the sedan and is less practical so it never quite made sense.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > For Sweden
09/05/2020 at 13:56

At 7.5k? There’s much faster and cooler things out there. It would make a great Litwood candidate in 15 years. This needs a few more years to start looking attractive.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
09/05/2020 at 13:57

Yeah but would you DD it for nearly 8k? (10k CAD) I don’t think I would.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > ADDvanced
09/05/2020 at 13:58

Considering it is one of 22 manual coupes for sale in the US right now that’s pretty crazy rare for a 7 year old Hyundai. I did the homework.

VW Max > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 14:01

This is the kind of content that I love. Normal yet extremely rare cars. Thanks

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 14:06

Hyundai has consistently offered some oddball combos of car/color/engine with a manual transmission. I had a 2007 Santa Fe with a 2.7L V6 and a 5-speed manual but it was boring gray. On the facelift they switched to a 2.4L with a 6-speed MT which might be the same transmission in that Elantra. I think you could get the manual Santa Fe in dark red with a tan interior. The Sonata through 2014 or so had a manual option that nearly nobody bought as well. Right now it is theoretically possible to get an apple green Venue with a manual transmission. I suspect there will very few manual Venues made period and the green and blue ones will be unicorn status on the used market.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > VW Max
09/05/2020 at 14:06

Then you’ll like some other stuff I’ve written as I share that fascination. I think it really started with me buying a car in an impossibly rare color and escalated from there.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/tag/rare-body-styles-of-mundane-cars

I actually really enjoy the viscerally mundane yet mindbogglingly uncommon. Like seeing a liftback Mazda6. Look carefully.

Kinja'd!!!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
09/05/2020 at 14:11

You could get a Sportage with a manual too!

It’s really odd how the 2000s had all these manual crossovers no one bought.

I have a friend with an absolute base model 2014 Jeep Patriot. Not only is it dark red with a tan interior, it’s a FWD 5 speed. It’s so base that it doesn’t even have power windows or locks! It just has some seats and a single DIN head unit and that’s all. No bluetooth, no nothing. It’s hard to imagine something like that being sold even in 2014, much less now.

You must be a brave soul to have bought a manual Santa Fe. I bet the depreciation on it was killer.

I have not yet seen a manual Venue in person or even a Kia Soul, which only offers it on the base trim and only in black and white color options.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 14:24

Yep a lot of the early 2000s crossovers had manual options. Even the RAV4 had one in its second generation through 2004 or so. I think the market wasn’t ready for the prices the makers wanted to charge so they had manual base models to advertise lower prices. Jeep kept it going til just a few years ago. You could get a Renegade manual Olin all sorts of bright colors for the first few model years.

My current daily is a super base 2014 Forester 6MT but base means something different now - it does have power windows, AC and Bluetooth.

I impulse bought the Santa Fe at a Carmax in 2011 . My wife was getting really fed up with my S10 that couldn’t fit 2 adults plus a child seat. It was $14k with 52,000 miles on it. I sold it in 2015 with 97,000 for $4500 which was the best I could get in a month of trying. Crazy thing is I just saw one just like mine - same year and color and MT - on CL last week asking $8k. This pandemic is making the used car market totally insane.

Jim Spanfeller > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 14:31

Someday, 30 years in the future, there will be a car show where one of these is parked with a sign next to it saying “One of X number of Hyundai Elantra coupes produced with the manual and this shade of red paint” and gen Az1 will shake their heads at us silly Zoomers and complain about how we ruined the economy in the 2040s...

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jim Spanfeller
09/05/2020 at 14:39

Hahahaha, I see my idea about “zoomers” has caught on. Yeah, we be like that sometimes. And we get 20 whole years before we ruin the economy? That’s a relief, I thought the economy was tanking now.

I found 6 cars in this exact configuration for sale in the nation so it’s safe to say you are not likely to ever see another in person. I’m sure 40 years will leave all of 3 in existence but I don’t think they’ll ever be valuable.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
09/05/2020 at 14:46

You lost 10k on it over 4 years? I expected the depreciation to be bad but not that bad. Daaaaaaaaaaang.

The market has spoken and manual crossovers don’t have any sort of real following so they’re being kept alive as base price specials with minimal options available for manufacturing complexity. I don’t see why Kia can’t give the Soul some color options besides a dreary all black interior and choice of white or black paint for the manual only base trim but who knows? It is only the manual only base trim that restricts color and interior options!

Base model modern cars aren’t as base as you would expect. My car’s only option I believe is the color and maybe one other option code and it has bluetooth, OnStar, power windows and locks, TPS, automatic headlights, and other goodies. The truth is no one wants a car without those things. They’d rather buy a used car with more equipment.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 14:49

I probably don’t even notice them if they are around. I do notice a Kizashi for some reason when they are in view.

longtimelurkingtdiguy > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 14:50

Probably the rarest normal car I've driven was a Buick Verano with the 2.0T and the 6spd manual. I think there were like three others for sale in the US when I drove it. I kinda wished I had bought it, but I couldn't work out a suitable deal at the time.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > longtimelurkingtdiguy
09/05/2020 at 14:56

That’s not something I knew existed. Was it a real sleeper with the 2.0T? That’s not a bad looking interior but the exterior always looked a little dopey to me. Still, it’s so rare that it makes an otherwise unremarkable car a little more fun and unique.

The Delta II platform that also underpins my Cruze also handles pretty sharp. They must drive nice.

Kinja'd!!!

By the way, you can get access to posting rights by applying to Party-Vi in this post. It’s a ton of fun posting here.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/i-a-glutton-for-punishment-want-you-to-be-on-opposit-1844164784

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
09/05/2020 at 14:57

They are so extremely rare in any form (unloved 2013-2014 only body style) that I have only ever seen 2 ever. You may just not be seeing them instead of overlooking them.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 14:57

Yeah it was a hit. I probably could’ve paid less to start with if I had more patience but at that point in my life I had a toddler , needed a loan to get a car and needed to sell my bright yellow S10 quickly so I paid the Carmax tax. Still a ton of depreciation because like you said - nobody wants a manual crossover. Especially a midsize one with no sorting pretense whatsoever.

And you are right. Cars have gotten so reliable that the new base model car is a used one with 50k miles on it. Heck my Forester was a CPO for $16k 1.5 years old with 30k miles. New it was like $22k. I’d take that over a $18k base model that deleted content.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
09/05/2020 at 15:03

Exactly. I know I would rather have an 18k lightly used car than an 18k brand new one in most cases. Especially if it is a family hauler and is going to get scuffed and dirty anyways. I don’t mind small and cheap as long as it doesn’t feel like I’m being punished for not shelling out.

Sometimes you just need a car fast and it seems like an acceptable risk in your case except you really got hosed on the resale. Even in 2015 I’d expect a bit more.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 15:09

Something with 105,000kms for that much? No. I could almost get a brand new Mitsu Mirage for that!

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
09/05/2020 at 15:31

Those are like hen’s teeth. I’ve only sat in one, and it was far nicer than I expected.

One of the long-time contributors to Hooniverse bought one a few years back & was still quite pleased with it one year in , although I haven’t noticed any updates on it for a while.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 15:42

I’m really no keen on Hyundia’s interiors. It’s one of the main reasons I didn’t buy a Veloster Turbo, plus it didn’t have heated seats.

longtimelurkingtdiguy > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 15:48

Yeah, i t was pretty quick. I have no idea how it handles, as I only drove it on straight roads and the interstate. It had decent sound deadening, so you could quickly be going much faster than intended without realizing. I think the front looks okay, but I think the taill ights look weird with the eyebrows Buick gave them.

Thanks for the tip about posting rights. I'll look into doing that.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
09/05/2020 at 15:51

Yeah and it would probably have better technology. It just is too high of a price.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 16:23

Funny thing is how regional it can be. Was living in South Texas at the time. Anything used with a manual transmission besides a Mustang/Camaro is a tough sell there . I’d throw the keys to than Hyundai to anyone who needed to run an errand at work and 90% of the time they’d come back in 5 minutes later saying thanks but I don’t know how to drive a manual. I somewhat made up for the hit by buying the Subaru in Houston - it was $4k lower than places like Colorado and Montana where manual Subarus depreciate like Tacomas.

I had a coworker originally from Montana who would buy old Outbacks for like $2k in Houston, drive them back to visit family, sell them up there for $5k and fly back.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
09/05/2020 at 17:26

That is a val id point. They aren't particularly upscale historically though they do seem to respond well to wear and tear. Their more recent products have definitely made leaps and bounds on that front.

shop-teacher > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/05/2020 at 19:25

I think it is better looking. As a big dude, small sedan doors are hard to get in an out of, so the bigger coupe doors would make this an excellent little commuter vehicle for me. That said, while I would really like to have something like this car to tool back and forth to work in , my commute is so short that it’s cheaper to just buy some more gas for my truck, that it would be to buy, register, insure and maintain even a beater.

Its definitely a niche vehicle. It's no wonder they're going extinct.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > shop-teacher
09/05/2020 at 19:29

Yes I don't think there is anyone that thought making them was a good idea. Even the people who bought them probably realized how nice their appeal is. And the Civic coupe is always there as much more of a go to.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > longtimelurkingtdiguy
09/05/2020 at 19:35

Similar impressions I guess. The styling was always unremarkable. Interior looks quite good though.

My Cruze handles well but the soft suspension and body roll combined with surprisingly slow and firm steering for a compact doesn’t encourage you to use it. Still, it won the World Touring Car Championship several years in a row for a reason.

Yeah, Party-Vi will grant you posting rights and you can go to comp ose a post in the drop down menu where the notifications are. Then, you need to manually move the post to the Opposite lock folder and credit each photo using the (c) icon. I can answer any questions you have but it might be a while before he checks in again.

Posting here is so much fun. Especially giving me a reason to take photos of fun cats I see on the street for DOTS posts.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
09/05/2020 at 19:40

There are so many transplants around here that it’s hard to say the regions automotive identity is any one thing though donks are annoyingly popular. Not many manuals but more than in some places. It very much depends on the car and what sort of clientele it attracts.

Cars with any sort of rust are basically worthless here as it is so easy to not have to deal with that. Conversely, buying a car here and driving it into the rust belt = profit. I’d imagine that’s a little of no rust Texas and Subaru crazed north that makes it so lucrative. But Subarus are way less popular outside of the rust belt so they can be hard to find sometimes.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Dead_Elvis, Inc.
09/05/2020 at 19:58

I've always liked the Kizashi but never quite had a good reason why.

Carbon Fiber Sasquatch > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/06/2020 at 02:14

This is the quality content I come here for. Rare combination of body styles and drivetrain in common cars is my shit.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
09/06/2020 at 12:48

If there is one thing that binds us, it is strong opinions on hopelessly rare body style and trim/power train combinations. Thank you and goodnight.