With the ever-increasing demand for SUVs, consumers and manufacturers are primarily focusing on SUVs. So much so, the sedans that retail for the same price are almost neglected by the consumers, and therefore, the manufacturers.

Take the Hyundai Elantra, for instance. Sure, it seems like a nominal upgrade over the Verna, but, in its entirety, it is an extremely capable executive sedan with an extremely spacious back seat. However, the ailing segment resulted in sales numbers as low as double-digits for the Elantra last year. So, given the opportunity, Hyundai not only upgraded the Elantra with a BS-VI approved engine but also gave it a mid-cycle facelift.

So, with the facelift, Hyundai has upped the ante in almost every aspect, making the Elantra a nice proposition once again. So much so, Hyundai has gone ahead and made many changes to the car, making it look like a generation upgrade to the uninitiated.

As you can see above, it gets an all-new nose, and triangular seems to be the theme here. Speaking of which, the triangular headlamp looks sharp and intimidating. The quad projector setup with the eyebrow DRL is a nice and clean setup. Hyundai’s cascading grille has gained a few pounds here too, as it’s much larger once again. The fog lamp insert is also triangular in shape, although, the fog lamps are now conventional reflectors. Sad to see the projector fog lamps go away. In profile, the changes are more subtle, with the major change in the design of the alloy wheels. The rear now gets Z-shaped LED taillamps, which are still wraparound but look substantially better than the ones in the previous model.

Specifications

The new Hyundai Elantra shares less with the model it replaces. However, it is only marginally different in comparison to the earlier model. The new Elantra, in terms of overall dimensions, measures 4,620mm in length, 1,800mm in width, and 1,465mm in height. Other than that, it boasts a ground clearance of 170mm and a fuel tank capacity of 50-litres. Moreover, it has a boot-space capacity of 458-litres.

Under the hood, the Elantra does away with a diesel engine as of now. While a diesel might make its entry at a later date, the Elantra now carries forward as a petrol-only sedan, in its BS-VI guise. As for the petrol, it’s a 2.0-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated unit, good for churning out 150bhp and 192Nm of torque. It comes mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.

Mileage

With the absence of a diesel engine in its line-up, the Elantra is now collectively less fuel-efficient than before. As for the petrol, however, it delivers 14.6 km/l with the manual gearbox and a slightly lower 14.59km/l with the AT gearbox.

Features

With the update, for the first time, Elantra now gets the company’s Blue Link technology with an embedded SIM card. Therefore, the Elantra facelift’s main talking point is that it’s a connected car. And, surprisingly, it’s the only connected car in the segment, as of writing this blog.

The interiors are now dual-tone so that it looks spacious than before. The instrument cluster and the steering wheel is all-new, which is borrowed from the Venue. Same goes for the switchgear. The touchscreen is now 8.0-inches in size, and, of course, it gets Apple Carplay and Android Auto connectivity features, apart from the Blue Link software. It also gets an electric driver’s seat with bolster adjust, front-seat ventilation, front parking sensors, a tyre pressure monitoring system, and wireless phone charging.

Colours

The Elantra, as of early-2020, comes in five shades, namely, Marina Blue, Polar White, Typhoon Silver, Phantom Black, and Fiery Red. We got our hands on the Fiery Red Elantra, and, suffice to say, it looks quite radical.

Brochure

All the details regarding the Hyundai Elantra, namely, the engine, specifications, variant wise equipment, colours, dimensions, interiors, and exterior details are extensively covered in the brochure.

Variants and Prices

As of early-2020, the Hyundai Elantra is available in four variants, with two variants for the petrol-manual and two variants for the petrol-automatic. The prices start at Rs. 15.89 lakhs for the 2.0 S MT variant going all the way up to Rs. 20.39 lakhs for the 2.0 SX (O) AT variant (both prices ex-showroom, Delhi). For the variant-wise on-road prices, visit us at autoX.

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