Hyundai Elantra sedan radically changes its image in the new generation
The Korean brand’s four-door sedan has received a “sharp” exterior design, and in the cabin, separate screens have been installed instead of a single display. In its home market, Hyundai will offer the “traditional” model with a new 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine, and a “simple” hybrid will also remain available.
At the auto show in Busan, South Korea, Hyundai unveiled the new, eighth-generation Avante sedan. This is the name used in the home market for the model known as the Elantra in other countries. The previous four-door, recall, has been in service since 2020, with a facelift for the “seventh” Avante/Elantra carried out in 2023.
The sedan has radically changed its image. Hyundai noted that the new design is “based on the Art of Steel concept.” Overall, the Elantra’s exterior is styled in the same angular manner as the Ioniq V that debuted earlier in China.
Key features of the new Hyundai Elantra’s exterior include an abundance of “straight” lines on the body and muscular sides. The sedan features two-tier headlights: LED horizontal strips with adjoining angled sections sit on top, with the main headlight units below. A rectangular radiator grille is integrated into the lower part of the bumper, with a “slot” just above it. The taillights are also designed as LED strips. Additional windows have appeared in the rear pillars. Finally, the model gets semi-flush door handles.
In the new generation, the Hyundai Elantra/Avante sedan has grown. Length is 4765 mm, width – 1855 mm, height – 1425 mm, wheelbase – 2750 mm. For comparison, the dimensions of the previous four-door for the Korean market were: 4710/1825/1420 mm, with a wheelbase of 2720 mm.
The interior has also been completely redesigned. There are new front panel, steering wheel, center console, and door cards. Instead of a single display, separate narrow instrument screen and a large multimedia tablet (12.9 or 14.6 inches, depending on trim) have been installed, with the former display positioned almost flush against the windshield. Transmission control is now handled by a steering column stalk. The multimedia system is Pleos Connect based on artificial intelligence, like in the recent flagship Hyundai Grandeur sedan.
The equipment list for the new Elantra also includes: ten airbags, surround-view cameras, remote smart parking assist, navigation-based adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, and blind-spot monitoring. There is also the Memory Reversing Assist (MRA) system, which “automatically controls steering when reversing, memorizing the vehicle’s trajectory.”
In its home market, the sedan will still be available both with only an internal combustion engine and as a “simple” hybrid, i.e., without the ability to charge from the power grid. The “traditional” four-door is now equipped with a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine producing 149 hp, replacing the previous 1.6-liter naturally aspirated unit (120 hp). The 2.0-liter engine is paired with a CVT. The hybrid version’s setup still includes a 1.6-liter engine, but the system’s total output has increased from 141 to 157 hp.
In Korea, sales of the eighth-generation Hyundai Avante sedan will begin in the third quarter. Possibly by then, a sporty N Line version and a “hot” N variant will be unveiled in the home market. As for the timing of the global premiere of the new Hyundai Elantra, it has not yet been announced.
