Good heavens, another car with a clutch pedal—this is beginning to feel like physical therapy. That’s what M/T signifies: manual transmission. This one has six speeds, actual toothed gears that engage a driveshaft. The shifter is notchy and precise, with a lockout to prevent accidentally selecting reverse while attempting to banzai away from a stoplight. Hyundai even provides a traditional e-brake lever between the front seats, for those handbrake turns we see in old movies.

Upstream of the clutch is a 2.0-liter regular-gas-burning Four with a twin-scroll turbocharger tuned to make up to 286 horsepower and 289 pound-feet of torque. These are impressive numbers in a smallish car, but to access the power requires stirring the engine to 4000 RPM and then some. (You’ll know you’re there because the world begins to pass by quickly and the two big-bore exhaust outlets sing an increasingly raucous song.) There’s no throttle lag and the driver can select rev-matching to assist with downshifting.

Hyundai also offers an automated 8-speed dual-clutch transmission, for $1,500 more, which lets the driver tap into the powerband more easily. Such gearboxes vastly outnumber manuals in sports cars because triggering a paddle on the steering wheel takes less time than stomping on a pedal and yanking a lever through a foot or so of arc, and results in quicker acceleration. Purists, however, particularly those not attempting to set lap records, are willing to trade a few tenths of a second for the feeling of involvement that comes with a pedal and a lever.

Like the basic Elantra, this N model drives its front wheels, but torque steer doesn’t seem to be a problem. Either that or any shortcomings are covered up by the N’s torque-vectoring front differential and electronically reactive, multi-link-and-struts suspension. The car is agile and precise, with communicative steering, up-sized disc brakes for plenty of stopping power, and a firm ride. Let’s not overlook the front seats, either, which are shaped and upholstered to cope with significant cornering g-forces.

One of the benefits of converting an “economy” sedan into a sports car is that—if it’s done right—the result should offer the best of both worlds. Hyundai did it right. Under the tasty dressing is a roomy, comfortable, relatively inexpensive (to buy and to operate) four-door sedan with all of today’s convenience, safety and digital features. Also a few items that we might classify as small luxuries, such as two-zone automatic climate control, automatic high beams, an induction phone charger and lighted door handles. Oh, and some cool colors, too.

Economy is in quotation marks above because almost nothing about this car feels cut-rate except possibly the price. Compared to the entry-level Elantra, at $21,000, the Elantra N might seem spendy at $32,945, but taken by itself, it feels like great value. Hyundai doesn’t nickel-and-dime us with a long menu of pricey options, either. There are just two versions of the N model, the M/T and the dual-clutch automatic, at two prices, and each is well equipped. Take it or leave it!