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2011 Hyundai Elantra 
The midsize sedan game is one of the most competitive areas in the automotive industry. There are so many players and not much room on the all-star team and as of now, the only Hyundai that has ever made its way onto this exclusive team is the wonderfully styled Sonata, a vehicle that has become the benchmark in terms of sedan styling. The newest redesign from Hyundai comes in the form of the new Elantra. It might not be a sports car, but this machine is in no way boring. It looks brilliant, packs a decent motor, and can offer best in class fuel economy. Hyundai’s goal with this new vehicle is to continue to dominating the sedan game and with two strong players, they just might. The new Elantra was just unveiled to the public and we have prepared a little preview of what you can expect in the new sedan. UPDATE 12/19/10: It’s configurator time again! That’s right, boys and girls; Hyundai has just released a new configurator for the 2011 Elantra, which means that you can once again put your ’Configurator Caps’ back on and treat yourself to a fancy car and trim building exercise. Who knows, you just might end up liking your work too much you end up buying the car in the end. Hit the jump to read on. Full story Hyundai confirms Elantra coming to U.S by end of year
This is a big day for Hyundai. Today is the first day of sales for the new Avante in South Korea. Now, we just have to wait until the end of the year for the sedan to come to the United States under the Elantra name. The car first debuted at the Busan Auto Show in Korea last spring and it features a strikingly brilliant design inside and out. It borrows some of its looks from the Sonata, which Hyundai calls “wind craft”. It should make a big splash in the U.S market and prove to be tough competition for the Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus. The length of the car has been enlarged by one inch and the axles are now two inches further apart. The Avante is powered by a 1.6-liter Gamma direct-injection inline-four with 138 horsepower and 123 pound-feet of torque. The car will get around 38.8 miles per gallon combined. No word on what motor the U.S version will have. Hit the jump for the press release. Full story Hyundai Unveils Elantra Interior
Hyundai has finally taken the wraps off of the new Elantra’s interior. We have seen rendering and spy sports, but we haven’t seen an official picture of the vehicle. That is, until now. Hyundai has released one image of the new car’s dashboard. Known in Korea as the Avante, the new sedan will get the same design language as the Sonata. The car is expected to go on sale in South Korea in the early Fall and we will likely have to wait a few months to get it here. The Korean version of the car will get a 1.6-liter direct-injected Gamma-series four-cylinder motor with a new six-speed automatic transmission. Hyundai claims that the motor will be able to put out 138 horsepower, while being 10 percent more efficient than rivals, such as the Mazda 3 and Ford Focus. The North American version could get a 200 horsepower turbocharged motor. Look for the final product to debut in late September at the Paris Motor Show, while the North American version should be here in late 2010 or early 2011. We hope that the styling stays the same because this car looks stunning. Hyundai reveals interior rendering of 2010 Elantra
A few months after teasing us with the exterior of the new Hyundai Elantra – they purposely tinted out the sedan at the Busan Motor Show to keep nosy auto journalists like us from taking a peek - the Korean manufacturer recently released teaser images of the other side of the coin, that is to say the car’s interior. Now, the image is nothing more than a conceptual rendering of the interior and, similar to how we were wowed by the Elantra’s new sleek and aggressive design, the rendering of the interior left us in the same state of mind. Wow. Not too shabby for a model that has long been used to taking on a conservative approach. That, of course, shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who heard from Hyundai that the new Elantra would be completely revamped from its predecessor. Guess they weren’t kidding on that end, huh? In any case, expect to see the Elantra – or as it’s called in Korea, the Avant – to begin doing its dealership rounds in its homeland sometime before the year ends. Whether it hits America is still a matter to be discussed, but with reports saying that the Elantra would be built at Hyundai’s facility in Alabama, we’re keeping our hopes up that the new sedan will find its way on American soil sometime in the near future. Video: Chicks dig the new Hyundai ElantraThis Hyundai TV spot from the Great White North is living proof why an ad like this wouldn’t even cut it in the US. To give you the jist, we have a sultry hot vixen walking up to a Hyundai Elantra and then proceeds to leave her lip mark on a piece of paper together with her digits. Cut that to the scene of a blond vixen who also goes up the Elantra, picks up the paper that’s wedged into the wiper blades, takes a look at it, smiles and enters the car. You’d be pretty naïve if you didn’t pick up the sexual tone of the ad, especially after the owner of the Elantra seems to be a little bit curious about the woman leaving her phone number. Check it out and you’ll be reminded once again why most of our ads here in the US can’t do what ads in other countries seem to get away with on a consistent basis. 2010 Hyundai Elantra/Avante
We’ve lost count on how many sedans Hyundai is unveiling these days. A week after debuting the new Accent/Ventra at the Beijing Auto Show, the Korean-based automaker went back to its homeland to debut another one of its mid-level sedans, the next-generation Hyundai Elantra (Avante in the Korean market). Similar to the styling cues of the lower level Accent, the Elantra took a page off of the design of the Sonata and, in addition to the aesthetic similarities, the new Elantra also comes with a 1.6-liter direct injected inline-four engine that produces 138 horsepower and about 123 Nm of torque with a six-speed automatic transmission. The new Elantra/Avante is set to go on sale here in the US sometime in the next year while people from the automaker’s homeland will get to see it a little earlier. The Elantra/Avante will be heading off to showrooms in Korea later this year. Hyundai even provided an animated video to go along with the vehicle’s unveiling. Check that out, along with the press release, after the jump. Full story 2010 Hyundai Elantra
In short, Hyundai Elantra can be described like this: a cheap, economy car. And if you’re looking for more than this, then you should keep looking. Its true the car is no Genesis, but hopefully Hyundai will do something about it. While not impressive, the 2010 model adds a few changes: improved EPA fuel economy, chrome grille and rear chrome trim and black interior choice. The 2010 Elantra comes in three trim levels: Blue, GLS and SE, with prices ranging from $14,145 to $17,845. The 2010 Hyundai Elantra is offered only with a 2,0 liter four-cylinder engine that develops a total of 138 hp and 136 lbs-ft of torque. A manual transmission is offered as standard, but a four-speed automatic one comes as an option. Fuel economy is 26 mpg city, and 35 mpg highway. At the safety chapter, Elatra offers six standard airbags, ESC, Traction Control and Brake Assist, but also a fully independent suspension, front and rear stabilizer bars and motor-driven rack-and-pinion steering. UPDATE 07/01/2010: Hyundai released a rendering of the revamped interior of the 2010 Hyundai Elantra. Check it out after the jump! Full details in the press release after the jump. Full story 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
We recently received a 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring into the Top Speed test fleet. Starting at only $17,800 this Vivid Blue beauty is easily one of the most stylish Korean cars we have seen in a while. The Korean design team has hit a home run with the new car’s flowing curves and strong character lines that highlight the Elantra Touring’s broad stance and stretched wheelbase. We love the dual finish 17 inch rims and appreciate that Hyundai equipped our car with a B&M sport shifter to send the 138 HP and 136 lb-ft of torque from the 2.0 Liter DOHC CVVT ultra low emissions four cylinder engine to the front wheels. The Elantra Touring gets as much as 23 MPG in the city and 31 MPG on the highway.  Our car came equipped with the $1,500 Premium Sports Package that not only included those rims we liked so much, but also a large power sunroof and heated seats. The audio system consisted of an AM/FM/XM radio complete with in dash CD player and auxiliary input for MP3 connectivity. Despite the car’s compact footprint, there is tons of storage space inside of the roomy interior; in fact it has the most interior volume of any five door model in its class, 125.5 cubic feet to be exact. The Elantra Touring represents a return to the compact five door segment for Hyundai and offers class leading standard safety technologies like Electronic Stability Control with Traction Control, ABS with Electronic Brake-force Distribution and Brake Assist as well as the peace of mind that comes from having six standard airbags. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with the Elantra Touring, not only was it attractive but it was fun to drive as well. If the automaker from the free half of Korea can continue to build cars of this caliber and offer them at the same competitive price points, the rest of the manufacturers around the world will have to take an even closer look at Hyundai as their newest competitors. Continued after the jump. Full story 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring prices announced
Hyundai has just announced pricing for the 2010 Elantra Touring. Set to go on sale in the third quarter of 2009, the 2010 Elentra Touring will be priced from $15,995 for a very well-equipped entry-level GLS model and will go up to $18,995 for the top-of-the line SE model. Standard equipment on the 2010 model includes: air conditioning, power windows, heated mirrors, power door locks, remote keyless entry with alarm, four-way adjustable driver’s seat and plenty of storage compartments. The optional Popular Equipment Package on the GLS adds roof rails, a telescopic steering wheel, steering-wheel-mounted audio controls, trip computer, eight-way driver’s seat with lumbar support, dual illuminated vanity mirrors, sliding sunvisors, seatback pockets, retractable cargo cover, fog lights, illuminated ignition and a premium cloth interior with cloth door panel inserts. Press release after the jump. Full story Initial thoughts: Hyundai Elantra Touring
We recently received a 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring into the Top Speed test fleet. Starting at only $17,800 this Vivid Blue beauty is easily one of the most stylish Korean cars we have seen in a while. The front end is made up of aggressive curves that create sharp lines that keep your eyes glued to the little five door hatchback. Not only is the body attractive but also tasteful thanks to the vehicle’s design team using just the right amount of chrome trim to dress up the car without making it look gaudy. We especially love the $1,500 Premium Sports Package that includes a set of 17 inch, dual finish rims. In theory it sounds like a very tacky item, but the Elantra is able to pull it off well, quite possibly because of that blue body.  Inside the Elantra, the Premium Package benefits spill over in the form of a power sunroof and heated seats, which is interesting considering that they are still wrapped in cloth. One thing that is impressive about the interior of the Elantra Touring is that despite the vehicle’s rather small footprint it is extremely spacious on the inside. The audio serves up tunes in the form of AM/FM/XM radio with an in dash CD player and a very convenient AUX input for any MP3 storage device that you may own. The trunk offers a hidden shelf underneath the floor and plenty of storage with the back seats up and a whole lot more when they are down. Continued after the jump. Full story | Find us on Facebook | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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