Having been introduced in Korea, the sixth-generation Hyundai Elantra has now made its way on to American soil for an official unveiling at the 2015 LA Auto Show. The C-segment Elantra, which is now a tad larger in size, is expected to compete against the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla.
Design-wise, the Elantra features Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture design all around. In front, complementing that hexagonal grille are HID headlamps with Dynamic Bending Lights. Vertical LED daytime running lights are located on both ends of the bumper, while the Korean models, have the DRLs located in the headlamps itself. Wheel air curtains derived from the Sonata Hybrid are also present at the front end.
In the back, the Elantra gets LED rear lamps, an aerodynamic rear bumper spoiler and a rear decklid with an expanded trunk edge which adds to its low 0.27 drag coefficient. On the side, the sedan features LED door handle approach lights, side mirrors with LED turn signals and 17-inch wheels.
Sitting beneath the hood of the base SE and Limited trim, is a 2.0 litre Nu MPI Atkinson four-cylinder engine that produces 147 hp at 6,200 rpm and 179 Nm at 4,500 rpm. The SE comes with a sole six-speed manual transmission, while the Limited trim receives a six-speed automatic gearbox as an alternative to the manual.
A new turbocharged 1.4 litre Kappa GDI four-cylinder mill is reserved for the Elantra Eco trim, which will only be available in the States by the end of the first quarter of 2016. Paired to an EcoShift seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, it produces 128 hp at 5,500 rpm and 211 Nm of torque from 1,400 rpm to 3,700 rpm.
The Elantra is lighter and more rigid than the fifth-gen model. Now with 53% more advanced high-strength steel used, the torsional rigidity is 29.5% stiffer and with 25.3% greater bending strength, all of these contribute to better NVH and handling. Suspension-wise, the front gets macpherson struts with coils and gas-infused absorbers and a torsion beam rear axle. Motor-Driven Power Steering (MPDS) is standard as well.
Inside, soft-touch materials are used. The driver is greeted with a 4.2-inch colour TFT LCD instrument display and a drive mode select button comprising Eco, Normal and Sport, located on the centre console. In addition, it features heated power seats with memory and side mirrors, dual-zone climate control, an auto defogging system and an auto dimming rear view mirror.
Front seats are fitted with high-tension lightweight steel frames and a multi-firmness seat pad. All front and rear seats are available in leather or cloth, made from SoyFoam – an eco-friend seating foam that replaces petroleum-based polyol with hydroxyl-functionalised soybean oil. The Elantra’s interior gets a total of seven airbags, including a new driver’s knee airbag.
The sedan comes ready with iPhone/USB and aux input jacks and satellite radio. A standard seven-inch Display Audio touchscreen with rearview camera is featured, while an eight-inch one with navigation can be opted for. Also stock is an eight-speaker Infinity system that includes a centre speaker and a subwoofer and Harman’s patented Clari-Fi music restoration technology.
The Elantra gets the usual safety systems – electronic stability control, vehicle stability management, traction control, ABS and a tyre pressure monitoring system. Other safety tech includes Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Lane Change Assist, Blind Spot Detection with Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Lane Change Assist and Lane Keep Assist.
Hyundai’s Blue Link system is also available for the US-market Elantra. Features such as remote start, climate control activation, remote lock and unlock, car finder, enhanced roadside assist and stolen vehicle recovery are a few of the functions. Three packages can be opted for, this includes a Connected Car, Remote and Guidance pack.
GALLERY: 2017 Hyundai Elantra at the 2015 LA Auto Show
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A very worthy competitor to the civic, only time will tell which one comes up on top….
gorgeous tail lamps…
dct vs cvt; civic could eat dust..
eat dust ? civic 1.5t produce 178hp & 201hp
its 1.0 engine produce almost the same as the 1.4 of the Hyundai.127hp vs 128hp.
Civic won, for its smaller engine, cheaper to run,
less rtax,low maintenance.
Drivetrain side, DCT more problematic.
DCT more suitable to higher performance car, not daily car.Yes its fast.
But… Is the Hyundai DCT really that fast ?
really that smooth? or really reliable ?
wait & see.
Its a great car with lots of goodies, it is a better buy than Corolla but not a Civic.
Corolla a reliable car, but its still using old NA engine,less goodies yet expensive.
Good job for Korean car.But please, make its handling better.
As long as it is a kimchi, it won’t have RV.
Its a big possibility that they can gain RV,
if Toyota still being greedy of safety & other goods (other than bodykits).
I would buy this Elantra if its priced around 90-100k , rather than Vios.
ONLY good thing(s) about honda; manuals and great RV..
Koreans paper spec always looks good but horrible in reality. Like some 2.0 NA hp and torque figure so good this & that, but in actual it is fuuken underpowered and noisy.
Before having a real car to benchmark, I’ll just trust Honda more.
Ford Mondeo ?
1.4 Turbo 7 Speed DCT? don’t think it will come to bolehland.
Design nice, but quality dunno how if Inokom rebadge.
All that and still cheaper than Malaysia price
Too ambitious to position itself to complete with Civic/Corolla, the Japanese iconic model. Should position itself along with Preve or Chery A3 instead.
Toyota & Honda = Premier League
Hyundai = Division 1
Turbo engine on C-segment, Honda Civic & Hyundai Elantra.
Toyota? not yet,no rumour at all for turbo engine.
yet, Corolla dont have that kinda goodies as the Elantra.
Hard to admit, but Hyundai moving into Premier league
Premier League
-Civic
-Jetta
-Elantra
–
–
-Corolla (at the bottom coz no turbo engine)
–
-Malaysia’s Corolla (no turbo,less safety,less goodies,expensive but got Sam Loo approval)
haha.. bro, are u listing the current corolla with the “new” civic which is not even in malaysia? it is true that new civic has turbo engine, but will it come to Malaysia market? Honda always announces newer gen Civic earlier than Corolla like it used to be.. but who knows Toyota will announce new Corolla with turbo engine later? and for your info, they already had new gen turbo engine, pls google it.. and the same question who knows it will or will not come to Malaysia market?
Haha.. even the sales of hyundai higher than honda. 8 million cars per year. Lagi mau cakap ini macam.
Gone are the days mate to consider the kimchi below par with Sushi…
If the quality and service is maintained its a great buy.
yeah…if…good luck
just low ball those at RM80K and will stand a chance with 5 years warranty
Compete against Civic Altis?? No thankz but at least they chg the comedy interior dashboard of the current model
The front of the car reminds me too much of the new Peugoet. Otherwise, overall a conservative design.
-BigBalls-
1.4 turbo more powerful than Civic 1.5 Turbo
Are u dumb? Cicvic 1.5turbo making 174hp while this one only 128hp
You still don’t understand Koreans paper spec power?
1.4 turbo engine and dual clutch transmission….
This pairing sounds familiar and it failed badly….hmm seems to be on a German brand. If this launch here, it will have equally or worse RV like the German brand.
As a elantra owner, my complaint are the soft absorber easily bottom out, poor handling and body roll during cornering and high speed, not-so-refine engine (noisy).
However, my biggest disappointment is the poor service center and management. At least in Penang island, it is down to only 1 service center, it was 3. Sime darby needs a major improvement.
When will arrive Malaysia
Still stuck at your old 6 speed ahh…come la bring on your new 8 speeder meh..