Hyundai Elantra

Overview

If you’re in the market for a stylish, well-made and decent performing compact sedan, then you ought to look at the new Hyundai Elantra. Still, in its sixth generation, the Korean carmaker decided to give the 2019 Elantra a facelift in order to maintain its competitive edge. In Malaysia, it goes up against the Honda Civic and Kia Cerato – the latter being the Elantra’s close cousin. However, it’s important to note that this is just a cosmetic update by Hyundai, with pretty much every other aspect of the Elantra remaining as it was prior to the facelift.

Interior & Features

Hyundai has made a couple of changes in the styling of the Elantra facelift’s interior to make it seem more upmarket. The most blatantly apparent ones include the brand-new steering wheel and HVAC controls. Otherwise, the rest of the interior looks almost identical to the pre-facelift Elantra. This is no bad thing as the sixth-generation model brought with marked improvements in cabin material choices and build quality. Meanwhile, the comfortable seats continue to offer good back and under-thigh support. And though space, in general, is good, the rear still lacks adequate headroom for tall passengers.

The new Elantra features keyless-entry with push-button ignition, leather seats, parking sensors with reversing camera, leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel, rear air vents, and a 7-inch touch-infotainment system with support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Exterior

The most obvious difference between the old and new avatar of the Hyundai Elantra is the styling. While there was nothing wrong with the way the pre-facelift model looked, the 2019 Elantra looks even better. The attractive front fascia is dominated by Hyundai’s new updated “Cascading grille” which is flanked by a pair of pointy headlights. These sharp units feature a projector halogen setup and incorporate smart-looking LED DRL surrounds. Above that, you’ll find a creased bonnet that slopes gently towards the front grille and below them, the sculpted bumper houses triangular foglights and narrow air vents. Meanwhile, Hyundai hasn’t fiddled with the side profile much. The only new addition here is the revamped design of the 17-inch alloy wheels.

Outback, the Elantra facelift brings with it a new and larger trunk lid, edgy 3D styled taillights, and a heavily restructured, sporty rear bumper. While the trunk lid may be large, the actual trunk itself isn’t. Its 407-litre capacity is noticeably lower than either the Civic’s or the Cerato’s. In terms of its exterior dimensions, the 2019 Hyundai Elantra stands at 4,620 mm X 1,800 mm X 1,450 mm X 2,700 mm in length, width, height, and wheelbase, respectively.

Ride & Handling

The 2019 Hyundai Elantra gets modern MacPherson struts at the front and regular torsion beam arrangement at the back. These have been tuned to be partial mainly towards ride comfort rather than taut chassis dynamics. Of course, this suspension setup results in an almost unfettered ride as the Elantra takes on bad roads in its stride. Aggressive corner carving isn’t this car’s forte, but there are no compromises as far as high-speed stability is concerned. Hyundai has also worked on improving the steering response and its off-centre behaviour, but it still isn’t communicative enough to be enjoyable.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

The 2019 Hyundai Elantra comes packing a 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated four-popper from the Nu series of motors. This one delivers 150 hp at 6,200 rpm and a peak torque of 192 Nm at 4,000 rpm. Equipped with a traditional 6-speed automatic and different driving modes, the Elantra’s peppy engine enables it to do the 0-100 kmph run in 9.5 seconds, and a top speed of 205 kmph. As for its fuel economy, that number hovers around the 13.5 kmpl mark.

Braking & Safety

The Elantra’s primary anchors come in the form of ventilated rotors up front, while the rear gets traditional solid discs. They provide sufficient stopping power and are further assisted by ABS, EBD, EBA, and downhill brake control (DBC). Other safety nannies include front, side, and curtain airbags, electronic stability control, hill-start assist control, and vehicle stability management.

Verdict

The facelift 2019 Hyundai Elantra is only sold in one trim level in Malaysia – the 2.0L Executive which costs 109,888 ringgit. And despite its certain shortcomings, this is one of the better C-segment sedans for the price.