What does smart mode mean on Elantras? How to use sport mode properly?

Side note! I finally fixed the audio settings, and it sounds much better :cry:.

Smart mode is actually pretty cool. It adapts to how you press the gas. For example, when Iā€™m driving on the highway with light throttle, my smart mode indicator changes to light teal, which I think means eco, running at low revs and the highest gear. In stop-and-go traffic or if Iā€™m pressing the gas harder, the indicator turns blue, which seems to be the normal mode. When I floor it, it turns red, indicating sport mode. The throttle response is lighter, and it holds higher revs. It adjusts to your driving style to give you either a sporty experience or save gas.

@Williamson
I use smart mode sometimes, but it seems like the MPG is about the same as in normal mode. Itā€™s nice that it switches to sport mode when needed though. I have the N-line.

ElantraEnthusiast2 said:
@Williamson
I use smart mode sometimes, but it seems like the MPG is about the same as in normal mode. Itā€™s nice that it switches to sport mode when needed though. I have the N-line.

N-Line brothers!!! I notice a big difference if Iā€™m driving for a long time; otherwise, itā€™s sport mode for me everywhere.

ElantraEnthusiast2 said:
@Williamson
I use smart mode sometimes, but it seems like the MPG is about the same as in normal mode. Itā€™s nice that it switches to sport mode when needed though. I have the N-line.

In many cars like the N-Lines, ā€œnormalā€ is basically eco. Thereā€™s nothing more fuel-efficient than normal.

Using smart mode just tells the car to switch between normal and sport as needed. So smart isnā€™t more fuel-efficient than normal.

Some cars do have a real ā€œecoā€ mode in addition to normal and sport, but smart wonā€™t be more fuel-efficient than eco.

@Mary
Yeah, I thought smart mode just switches between normal and sport on the N-Line. Someone told me in the comments that it also has eco mode, but thatā€™s probably for the regular Elantra.

ElantraEnthusiast2 said:
@Mary
Yeah, I thought smart mode just switches between normal and sport on the N-Line. Someone told me in the comments that it also has eco mode, but thatā€™s probably for the regular Elantra.

I had a 2020 ā€œnormalā€ Elantra, and it was the same as my 2024 N-Line. It might be different for the 2024 non-N-Line.

ElantraEnthusiast2 said:
@Williamson
I use smart mode sometimes, but it seems like the MPG is about the same as in normal mode. Itā€™s nice that it switches to sport mode when needed though. I have the N-line.

The drive mode isnā€™t going to magically save you fuel. It might help a little in specific situations, but at the end of the day, how you drive has a much bigger and more reliable impact.

@Williamson
I drive in smart mode all the time. It switches between modes quickly and smoothly. I can go from low MPG highway driving to full throttle overtaking instantly and back to eco in seconds. It makes for smoother starts in the city too, since the DCT can be a bit jerky, while still giving me that sporty feeling when I need it.

Smart mode monitors how you drive and the road conditions in real time. It then adjusts your Hyundaiā€™s settings for the best balance of efficiency, comfort, and performance. That sounds a bit exaggerated to me, but thatā€™s from the Hyundai site. I find I get better gas mileage in smart mode compared to normal mode.

I prefer to always be in smart or sport.

The sport mode you choose is the actual sport mode, while shifting to the left engages Shiftronic. This lets you manually control the automatic transmission and shift gears using the + and - signs. Moving to Shiftronic will give you the same high RPMs you experience in sport mode. So really, drive in smart or normal, and use the left shift for manual control over your gears when you want to accelerate or downshift.

Pushing the button changes it to sport mode. Moving the shifter over also technically does, but shifting it to the left is meant for manual control, hence the + and - signs. To start manual shifting, just push it in one of those directions, and the gear number will show up on the dash.

@Hyundaifanatic
Sure, but the manual shift is more of a suggestion to the car than allowing you to pick a gear freely. At least thatā€™s been my experience. But it makes sense since itā€™s not a semi-auto.

@Jason
Yeah, it wonā€™t let you go all the way to 8000 RPM or stall. Itā€™s even more limited in the regular Elantra since there are no actual gears to shift.

From how I use smart mode, if you press the gas all the way, the RPMs will go higher like in sport mode. When youā€™re cruising or going slowly, it goes into eco mode, which you can see in one of the dash settings if you play around with it. Using S just puts it in manual, so if you shift at high RPM, youā€™re basically in sport mode but controlling it yourself. Iā€™m no car expert, but thatā€™s my experience.

Smart mode puts the engine into sport or normal mode. Once you hit a certain RPM, it switches to sport.

Interesting opinions! I have a Sonata hybrid. Eco is ecoā€¦ slow to respond, shifts everything. However, it gets 52 MPG. When I check my options, I have eco, smart, sport, and custom. The differences arenā€™t just in engine performance; it also adjusts steering input to be lighter or heavier. Custom lets me change engine and suspension settings independently to get the performance I want. The N line should have similar options unless it stays in performance mode.

So i have a 24 Elantra SE on smart mode and sometimes it turns white. Any explanation?