Southern Maryland News - Southern Maryland Automotive Trends
Hyundai Elantra is modern, user-friendly, comfortable
The all-new 2017 Hyundai Elantra features a bold aerodynamic design, a comprehensive suite of safety features, modern interior styling with classabove features, and a number of user-friendly technologies. It continues to be one of Hyundai’s all time best-selling models, known for its significant value advantage in a highly competitive compact car segment.
Assembled in both Montgomery, Ala., and Ulsan, South Korea, the new Elantra distinguishes itself from the compact car class with segment-first premium features such as a handsfree Smart Trunk and Clari-Fi music restoration technology, plus additional convenience and safety items. The 2017 Elantra is available with a full suite of the latest advanced safety technologies including Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keep Assist System, Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection and Blind Spot Detection with Rear Cross-traffic Alert and Lane Change Assist. The Elantra is expected to receive a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and a 5-Star Safety Rating from the National Highway Traf- fic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
CONFIDENT EXTERIOR
The new Elantra projects confidence with sculpted body forms complemented by smoothly contoured lines that reveal the underlying inspiration of Hyundai designers. Inspired by the concept of dynamic precision, Elantra’s architecture was a perfect platform for collaboration between Hyundai designers and engineers to blend advanced styling with functional aerodynamics.
From the front, the new Elantra is defined by Hyundai’s signature hexagonal grille that projects a distinctive character when combined with its modern lighting signatures, including available HID headlights with Dynamic Bending Lights and unique vertical LED daytime running lights, which are firsts for Elantra. Elantra’s sporty lower front fascia integrates functional front wheel air curtains, a component derived from the Sonata Hybrid that helps manage air flow from the front of the vehicle and around the wheels to minimize turbulence and wind resistance. In addition, underbody covers, an aerodynamic rear bumper bottom spoiler and rear decklid designed with an expanded trunk edge contribute to Elantra’s 0.27 coefficient of drag.
Elantra features a sleek bodyside character line that accentuates a sweeping side window silhouette and striking side profile. Available premium features such as 17-inch alloy wheels, all-new LED door handle approach lights, side mirror LED turn signal indicators and LED taillights with high tech graphics add a level of sophistication and detail to this class-above compact sedan. The 2017 Elantra will be offered in eight exterior colors, five new to the model. Elantra’s overall length has increased by just under an inch and its proportions are further enhanced by increasing its width by 1.0-inches, presenting a more athletic stance and stable appearance.
MODERN INTUITIVE INTERIOR
On the inside, Elantra continues to depict a modern, driver-oriented design optimized for intuitive control, improved interior roominess, high-quality materials and premium technology features. The contemporary interior design integrates premium soft-touch materials in key touch points and hightech details to create an inviting and comfortable interior environment for all passengers.
The wide design of the instrument panel provides a feeling of spa- ciousness and is available with a 4.2-inch color TFT LCD instrument display for improved driver visibility and functionality. The rest of the center stack is laid out in a horizontal design with buttons and controls placed in logical groups by function, and a slight seven degree tilt toward the driver for optimal ergonomics. Available premium convenience features such as a segment-first integrated memory system for the power driver seat and side mirrors, dual automatic temperature control with auto defogging system and auto-dimming rearview mirror further enhance driving comfort, along with advanced ergonomic front seats. The front seats feature high-tension lightweight seat frames for improved performance in collisions, and a multi-firmness seat pad to help reduce driver fatigue over long distances.
In fact, all of Elantra’s seats, covered in either cloth or available leather, are made of SoyFoam, an environmentally friendly seating foam that substitutes petroleum based polyol with hydroxyl-functionalized soybean oil and optimizes the formulation/process to maximize mechanical performance. For added comfort and convenience, passengers enjoy available heated front and rear seats with a versatile 60/40 split-folding rear seat. Elantra also offers class-above total interior volume with improved front and rear headroom.