To love or to loathe?
Korean carmaker Hyundai was, back in the 90s and early 00s, frequently the butt of jokes thanks to their rather hapless, bland, nondescript vehicles, that sold almost entirely on the merit of value. But that’s a long time gone, and since then the company’s made huge leaps and bounds forwards in terms of aesthetic appeal, technological advancements, and of late, driver engagement too.
And when the current-generation Elantra debuted a while ago, we quite liked how it looked and how it drove, particularly with the turbocharged engine. While the drivetrains have been carried over with the facelift, the face has not, and boy is it a hard one to put a pin on.
To describe the updated Elantra as ‘angular’ and ‘edgy’ would do it a disservice. Hyundai appears to have thrown out all the curves on its face and updated it with sharp lines and prominent angles. The Elantra now sports triangular headlights (that feature LED illumination, too) that break into the signature ‘cascading grille,’ underscored by triangular foglights too.
The bonnet has also gained a more complex surface, while the profile features new, more prominent wheel arches, nope and new alloy wheel designs. But move to rear and there are more prominent changes to behold: The taillights have ditched their internal curves and gone for yet more angles, with a very distinctive positioning light signature to them. But to accommodate them, Hyundai’s had to ‘clean up’ the bootlid, and in doing so have moved the number plate, reverse lights and rear fogs down to the bumper, but have also added a widely-spaced ‘Elantra’ script under the rear Hyundai badge.
The cabin features only rather minor updates, which is no bad thing since the Elantra’s cabin has always been a comfy place to rack up the miles in. The air-conditioning controls now receive a redesigned panel, and the instrument cluster features several small revisions to keep it looking fresh. What is perhaps more pertinent are the infotainment options: A 5.0-inch touchscreen is now standard-fit on US-market entry-level cars, while moving up the ranks will bag a larger 8.0-inch unit that fills up the space nicely.
What will entice family buyers will be the Elantra’s upgraded safety credentials, which have received a significant boost, though it’s unclear if the upgrades will be available in markets outside the US. State-side, new Elantras now offer AEB, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring and lane-keep assist, and driver-drowsiness warning.
In the US, the Elantra continues to offer the same powertrain options as before, which include the engines that we get. The lack of new powertrains suggest that when the 2019 Hyundai Elantra arrives in Australia later this year, it’ll also soldier on with the same engines (2.0-litre N/A petrol with 122kW/192Nm, or 1.6-litre turbo-petrol with 150kW/265Nm, with either 6MT/6AT for former, and 7DCT for latter).
Specific pricing & kit have yet to be released by Hyundai Australia, though we expect them to do so a bit closer to launch. In any case, the 2019 Hyundai Elantra certainly doesn’t appear to be a straightforward choice anymore, with its newfound aesthetic definitely set to polarise. Love it, or hate it? Let us know in the comments below.
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