Hyundai has taken the wraps off the 2019 Elantra, a mid-life facelift for the executive sedan that gets a sharper look and a longer equipment list.
The exterior of the new Elantra gets styling updates in the form of re-shaped headlamps with LED DRLs, a revised grille, a more muscular-looking bonnet, triangular fog lamps and new-design and larger alloy wheels (from 16-inchers to 18-inchers). While the side profile is near identical, the rear of the refreshed sedan gets a new bumper with housings for the reversing lights and rear fog lamps and tapering tail-lamps that extend further on to the boot. The license plate has also moved from the boot to the rear bumper. The overall styling, especially at the front, seems to be reminiscent of the new Sonata.
In terms of safety kit, the new Elantra gets active safety features such as a blind-spot monitoring system, forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning with active lane control and a rearview camera with a cross-traffic alert system.
The highlight in the cabin of the Elantra facelift is the addition of a new 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system that gets Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard on higher-spec trims. Lower variants make do with the previously available 7.0-inch unit.
Engine options for the facelift, which is due to launch in the American market later this year are the same as the outgoing model. These include a 149hp, 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol, a 130hp, 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol and a 204hp, 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine.
For India, Hyundai is expected to bring the refreshed Elantra to the market sometime next year, where it will rival the Skoda Octavia, Toyota Corolla and the recently revealed facelift for the India-bound Honda Civic.
Besides gearing up to bring out the new tall-boy AH2 hatchback (expected to be called the Santro with a suffix) during the upcoming festive season, the Korean brand is also working on two SUVs for the Indian market – the recently spied compact SUV (codenamed QXI) and an even smaller, Renault Kwid-rivalling micro SUV – both of which are expected sometime next year.
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Uday Singh
Suraj Viswanathan
