RIGHT SIZE, RIGHT PRICE
Elantra gets better
The Hyundai Elantra is the second- best selling car in Canada. With almost 50,000 examples finding their way onto Canadian driveways, consider the Korean compact to be an unqualified success. While Canadians continue to cling to the Honda Civic in the same way we do our beloved double- double from Timmie’s, the Elantra trounces the Toyota Corolla, Chevrolet Cruze and the Ford Focus. We love it.
Now there’s a new one and it has more than a passing resemblance to the Audi A3. Further good news: It also kind of drives like one.
If you’ve been tracking the progress of Hyundai over the past half- decade or so, this stylish little sedan shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. After a brief period in which the Sonata Hybrid looked a bit like a basking shark, pretty much the entire Hyundai lineup is looking sharp enough to cut yourself on. The Santa Fe is a handsome fellow. Ditto the new Tucson and the extremely competent Genesis sedan.
Starting at $ 15,999, the new Elantra echoes these design improvements in a rightsized package that looks like a smaller Sonata, except prettier. It’s slightly larger than the outgoing car in length, width, and height, but the silhouette remains much the same — a polishing of the previous generation.
The biggest immediate change is the dominating effect of the new corporate grille, flanked by reworked headlights and LED daytime running lights in the lower fascia.
Even more likable is that the Elantra’s lower air intakes serve a purpose; they direct air past the front wheels to improve the car’s aerodynamics.
The Elantra’s coefficient of drag is down to 0.27, nearly as good as the Toyota Prius.
Three- quarters of the Elantra’s sales will be split between the GL and GLS trims, with the former getting 16- inch alloy wheels and the latter 17s. Base trims will come with the expected steel wheels and covers, and the top- level Limited gets the same 17- inch wheels as the GLS. It’s a nicely sized option to match the new styling.
Inside, the Elantra’s interior now closely resembles that of the Sonata. It’s a more conservative approach than the outgoing model and will likely please a greater swath of buyers. Hyundai has kept things simple here, with infotainment controls up high and air- conditioning controls just below. You get proper buttons and there are knobs for volume and tuning.
Hyundai’s infotainment system remains one of the easier- to- use options in the segment and, as usual, the company has also gone heavy on feature availability for mid- level models. Heated seats are standard, and the GL model gets a seven- inch display with rear- view camera, blind- spot monitoring, cross- traffic alert and a heated leather- wrapped steering wheel.
The storage bin and USB for your phone is in front of the shifter, where it should be. However, if you’re the type to use your car as a mobile locker, the Elantra’s incabin storage leaves something to be desired. The door card pockets are too thin to use for regular storage. Further, the elbow padding is a tad thin and takes away from the cushiness of the cabin.
These niggles aside, the Elantra’s cockpit feels roomier and airier. Even though overall wheelbase hasn’t changed, the Elantra also gets a couple of inches more rear legroom. At 407 litres, its trunk space sits neatly between that of the larger Civic and Sentra, and the smaller Focus and Corolla. The seats are nicely bolstered and were perfectly supportive over several hours behind the wheel.
Under the Elantra’s hood is a new 2.0- L engine, which uses the Atkinson cycle, which is, um, a type of engine invented by a guy named Atkinson. Hang on — I’ll go look that up.
The operation of an Atkinson cycle engine involves holding the intake valve open a little longer than normal, allowing a little air to leak out, making for a reduced compression ratio but keeping the space for expansion the same. The effect is basically like raising the seat on your bicycle: Every last joule of energy from combustion is extracted like the last flex of your ankle on the pedal.
The Elantra’s 2.0- L four- cylinder makes 147 horsepower at 6,000 r. p. m. and 132 pound- feet of torque at 4,500 r. p. m. Delivered through a conventional six- speed automatic, the Atkinson cycle’s sacrifice of power and responsiveness seems mostly made up for such tricks as variable valve timing and carefully tuned multi- point fuel injection. It isn’t a lively engine, but neither is it slow. And, if you like a bit of zip in your drive, the updated sixspeed automatic shifts quickly and crisply.
Official fuel economy figures aren’t yet out, but Hyundai expects to see a small improvement over the 2016 Elantra, which gets 7.5 L/ 100 kilometres in mixed driving.
The real story with the Elantra is the improvement in handling and reduced cabin noise. Hyundai has doubled the amount of high- strength steel in the chassis, reinforced welds with added adhesives and quintupled the amount of hot stamping when forming structural parts. As a result, both safety and chassis stiffness are up.
On a twisty back road, the Elantra was a pleasant surprise. Actually, scratch that: For a car designed for comfort and efficiency, this little Hyundai can really scoot. With the three- mode drive- select system set to Sport ( making torque available earlier, delaying upshifts and adding weight to the steering), the Elantra whipped through the curves as if born to do so.
The revised steering isn’t especially feel-some, but you wouldn’t be surprised to find the parking lot at Hyundai’s chassis development centre chock full of Volkswagen GTIs. This car deserves to get the Tucson’s 175- h. p. 1.6- L turbocharged four — or better.
Elantra now comes with improved acoustic wheel- well liners and better carpeting. When the road unkinked and traffic descended, the Elantra proved itself pleasingly quiet, especially when idling for a light.
If the fuel economy figures bear up and the volume- selling GL and GLS models can hold their pricing despite a plunging Canadian dollar, the Elantra should retain its sales- figure podium finish.