While freak snow days are common in Denver, Colo., it’s quite uncommon to get over two feet of snow all in one day, which is what happened on March 14. For the entire week leading up to that day, there were warnings online and all over the news about the “snowpocalypse” that was looming in the distance and the weather reports said that it was going to snow all weekend. Come Saturday, there was barely an inch of snow on the ground and I laughed, thinking that the weather reporters got it all wrong.

But I was wrong, very wrong. When I woke up the next day, snowflakes whisked about in the air from every direction and the landscape was so white it was hard to look at it without sunglasses on because of the snow cover. And out in the parking lot sat the trusty 2021 Hyundai Elantra Limited that I had on loan for a week. But could it really stand up to this mess if I attempted to drive it?

Fortunately, the Hyundai Elantra Limited has a remote engine start

Since the snow was piled up so high, I knew that just driving the Hyundai Elantra around in my parking lot could cause it to get stuck, so I waited until it stopped snowing to get my driving impressions. First things first, I will say that having a remote engine start feature that comes standard on the SEL trim level and above (automatic transmission only) is a life-saver when it’s 20 degrees outside and snowing.

The car starts quickly and it stays on for 10 minutes – which is great for when you’re spending that time brushing the snow off of the car – while heating the cabin up to a comfortable 72 degrees. If you don’t get in the car within the allotted time, it shuts off automatically. As an added convenience bonus, you can be inside your house or apartment and start the car without having to point the remote directly at it; just hit the “lock” button, then the “remote start” button, and wait until the car is warmed up.

The heated seats don’t work very quickly and there’s no heated steering wheel

On the negative side of the Hyundai Elantra’s convenient tech features are the heated seats. Don’t get me wrong, they work just as they should and get hotter than you would expect, but it takes a long time for them to do so.

In some cases, I was able to clear the car of snow, get into it, and then make the short drive to my destination before the seats actually warmed up. I really shouldn’t complain about them, or the lack of a heated steering wheel, but sometimes, it’s the little details that count when you live in an area with cold weather.

Yes, you can still drive in the snow with a front-wheel-drive car

If you currently live in a snow state, then you’re probably well aware that all-wheel-drive cars are helpful when getting through the snow and front-wheel-drive cars do just fine with a proper set of tires. That point was proven to me in spades when I took the 2021 Elantra out for a drive with snowy slush lining all of the streets.

I even drove through some pretty high walls of snow that were piled up in parking-lot driveways and the Elantra drove through them like Hummer driving through a stack of plastic cups. It was easy to get around town with a lot of white stuff on the ground thanks, in part, to the Kumho Majesty Solus all-season tires that the car was equipped with.

Despite the fact that the car is driven by its front wheels, it never skipped a beat when driving over slippery surfaces. In fact, I actually trusted it more than that the Toyota Tacoma TRD I drove in the snow a few months ago. Needless to say, the Elantra did survive the “snowpocalypse” and I wouldn’t hesitate to drive it in inclement weather the next time around.