2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring makes travel a real treat

— -- Isn't this a sweet surprise? The 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring could be the best auto bargain going.

The small/midsize wagon seems to fashion contradictions into complementary attributes, rather than settling for compromises. For instance:

Elantra Touring takes up the road space of a compact, but provides the passenger room of a midsize and the cargo area of a middling SUV.

It's simple in presentation to keep costs down, but comes across as elegant and refreshingly restrained.

It's not very powerful, but is loads of fun to fling.

It looks dumpy in pictures, but appealing in the flesh — resembling an elongated, well-proportioned Honda Fit without the Fit's silly spoilers and other plastic dreck.

It offers an automatic transmission, of course, but almost demands that you take the manual, to enjoy the tingling satisfaction of manipulating the B&M Racing brand sport shifter.

It's an economy car, but comes with sophistication lacking in some pricier cars, including independent suspension front and rear, disc brakes all around, standard stability control and alloy wheels.

It has an enticingly long warranty — five years or 60,000 miles overall, 10/100,000 powertrain — that's better than some luxury brands.

And you probably won't need it. The Touring hasn't been on sale long enough to have a track record, but the Elantra sedan on which it's based has a "recommended" rating from Consumer Reports magazine with top scores in reliability and ownership cost. Two-thirds of all Hyundais on sale long enough for a record are recommended by CR.

If you still think Hyundai's the cheap brand you buy instead of what you really wanted, boy, are you out of date.

In addition, most details got unexpected attention. Some examples:

•The top model has an exceptionally well done and useful storage tray under the cargo floor, sitting atop the spare tire.

•Bottle holders in the door panels are angled for easy grab-and-gulp moves while underway. (If the bottle's much smaller than the holder, though, it merely tilts precariously.)