2019 Hyundai Elantra

Hyundai wants to grab a chunk of the Hugely Competitive Compact Sedan market in the US and to do that, they have ventured in with the 2019 Hyundai Elantra. The Elantra received its first major update in 2017 but for 2019, the Elantra packs in a lot more features to appeal to the Mass Market audience.

Starting at $17,500 for base SE Manual Transmission Variant and $18,500 for the base Automatic, the Elantra comes in 5 Trims and tops at $24,000 for the Sport Trim. A 6 Speed Automatic or a 7 Speed Automatic Transmission is available in the Elantra depending on the trim chosen.

Hyundai is offering the 2019 Elantra with a 1.4L 4 Cylinder Turbocharged Engine in the Eco Trim which belts out 128hp and 156lbs-ft of Torque while the other trims come with a 2.0L 4 Cylinder Naturally Aspirated motor that generates 147hp and 132lbs-ft of Torque.

Over its years in existence, the Elantra has always been one of the leaders in the segment in terms of the Features offered in it. With the 2019 version, it has upped its game and Hyundai is offering the Elantra with features like Wireless Charging Pad for Electronic Devices, Best in Class Warranty of 5Years/60,000 miles, Amazon Echo and Google Home Connectivity and a lot more.

Trim	SE	SEL	Value Edition	Eco	Limited
MSRP	$17,100(est.)	$19,400(est.)	$20,400(est.)	$20,950(est.)	$22,600(est.)
Key Features	·         2.0L Naturally Aspirated MPI Engine	·         Adds these features from the SE Trims	Adds these features from the SEL Trim	Adds these features from the Value Edition Trim and 1.4L Turbo Engine	Adds these features from the Eco Trim
	15” Steel Wheels with Wheel Covers	16” Alloy Wheels	16” Alloy Wheels	15” Alloy Wheels	17” Alloy Wheels
	Projector Headlights	Auto Headlamp Control	Hands Free Smart Trunk Release	Dual Charging USB Ports	LED Headlights and LED Tail Lights
	Daytime Running Lamps	Heated Side Mirrors	Proximity Key Entry with Push Button Start	LED Daytime Running Lamps	Automatic High Beam Assistance and Headlight Control
	Rearview Camera with Dynamic Guidelines	Blind Spot Collision Warning and Rear Cross Traffic Alert	Power Tilt and Slide Sunroof and one touch auto up driver window	7 Speed EcoShift Dual Clutch Shiftronic Transmission	Auto Dimming Rearview Mirror with Home Link
	Driver Blind Spot Mirror	Bluetooth Telephony with Voice recognition	Dual Auto Climate Control with Auto Defog		Heated Side Mirrors with Turn Indicators
	6 Speaker Audio System	6 Speaker Audio System with Sirius XM Satellite radio	Door Handle Approach Lights		Infinity Premium Audio with 8 Speakers and subwoofer
	5” Touchscreen Audio System with Bluetooth Telephony	7” Touchscreen Audio System	Dual Illuminated Vanity Mirrors		Power Adjust Driver Seat
		Apple Car Play and Android Auto	Heated Front Seats with Rear Cup holders		Heated Front Seats with Wireless Charging Pad
		Steering Mounted Cruise Control	Dual Illuminated Vanity Mirrors
		Tire Pressure Monitoring System	Blue Link Connected care and Remote Pkg
		3.5” TFT Monochromatic Cluster Display

We Recomeend :

Unless the “Eco Friendly” Conscience in you suddenly awakens you to get the “Eco” Trim, we would suggest the “Value Edition” Trim as it suits the bill well.

Of course, the Tech Savvy and Bling Friendly guys would go for the top end Limited Variant with the LED treatment and those fancy features like Wireless Charging and Premium Audio but the “Value Edition” trim is a more VFM package.

The 2019 Elantra impresses, blending comfort, efficiency and even some sportiness. The standard Elantra's 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle 4-cylinder engine feels peppier than its 147 horsepower indicates, and its available 6-speed automatic transmission with Drive Mode Select is a willing partner –KBB.com

Engine and Transmission

The 2019 Elantra on sale in the USA comes in with 2 Engine options and 3 Total Transmissions options. A 2.0L Atkinson cycle based Naturally Aspirated 16V Inline 4 Cylinder Multi Point Injection motor does duty on all trims except for the Eco Trim. This motor delivers [email protected] and 132lbs-ft of Torque at 4500rpm.

The Eco Trim has a smaller 1.4L Engine with Gasoline Direct Injection that delivers a slightly lower power figure than the 2.0L motor in lieu of better Fuel Economy Figures. It delivers [email protected] and 156lbs-ft of Torque between 1400-3700rpm.

Models	Hyundai Elantra SE	Toyota Corolla L Sedan	Honda Civic LX Sedan	Mazda 3 Sport	Chevrolet Cruze LS	Volkswagen Jetta
MSRP	$18,100	$18,700	$20,250	$20,240	$20,400	$20,240
Engine	2.0 L inline-four	1.8 L inline-four	2.0 L inline-four	2.0 L inline-four	1.4L Turbo Inline 4	1.4L Turbo Inline 4
Transmission	6-speed Automatic	CVT	CVT	6-speed Auto	6 Speed Automatic	8 Speed Automatic
Horsepower	147hp @ 6200 rpm	132hp @ 6000 rpm	158hp @ 6500 rpm	155hp @ 6000 rpm	[email protected]	[email protected]
Torque	132 lb.-ft. @ 4500 rpm	128 [email protected]	138 lb.-ft @ 4200 rpm	150 lb.-ft. @4000 rpm	[email protected]	[email protected]

Transmission duties on the base ‘SE’ Variant is performed by a 6 Speed Manual Transmission while a 6 Speed Shiftronic Automatic Transmission does duties on the “SEL”, “Value” and “Limited” trims. Hyundai has also developed a 7 Speed EcoShift Dual Clutch Transmission for the “Eco” Trim.

As we can see here, the Elantra manages to out run its competitors in terms of the pricing for the Automatic Variants with not a big compromise on power and performance. The Conventional Automatic inside the Elantra also helps it to live without the “Rubber Band” effect, which is prominent feature in CVT’s.

Acceleration

The Standard 2.0L Engine in the Elantra has been a decent performer over the years. Also, with the Hyundai shedding a lot of its weight for the Current generation, the Elantra has good acceleration till the 60mph mark and matches the competition well with its Quarter Mile Figures.

Models	Hyundai Elantra Sedan	Toyota Corolla Sedan	Honda Civic Sedan	Mazda 3 Sedan	Chevrolet Cruze Sedan	Volkswagen Jetta
0-60 MPH(sec)	8.3	9.4	8.2	8.0	7.7	7.7
Quarter mile(sec)	16.4	17.2	16.3	16.2	16.3	NA
Emission (Tons/yr of CO2 Emissions @ 15K mi/year)	10.2	9.8	8.4	11.2	5.6	5.2
Curb Weight (lbs.)	2767	2840	2742	2899	2870	2959

As we can see, the Light Weight Honda Civic leads the overall performance figures mark but the Elantra doesn’t lag behind much owing to a low weight and better transmission.

Ride and Handling

Considering Hyundai’s of the past had a soft suspension tune for providing Super Ride Quality, they had a bad reputation of being a Bad Highway Tourer or High speed mile muncher owing to the wobbly and unstable rides at high speeds.

Hyundai seems to have addressed this with the Current Generation Elantra. The New Elantra offers the same comfort as before but blends in sportiness with its stiffened suspension. The Torsion Beam Rear Suspension adds the Stiffness in the suspension, that many owners were looking for and strikes a nice balance between ride comfort and stability.

The Steering has been worked on as well and it now offers way more feedback on the highways than any previous Elantra ever did. The Steering is light at low speeds but still doesn’t match the feel of the Honda Civic or the Mazda 3. We however feel that most consumers will be satisfied with the Plush Ride of the Elantra in the cities as that is where its strength lies.

Braking

Hyundai has been constantly emphasizing about the effort it has put in improving the braking of the Elantra. We have to say that the efforts have paid off. The light weight of the Elantra and the improved brakes makes the Sedan go form 70-0 in an astounding 182ft.

Models	Hyundai Elantra Sedan	Toyota Corolla Sedan	Honda Civic Sedan	Mazda 3 Sedan	Volkswagen Jetta Sedan	Chevrolet Cruze Sedan
Brake Front (in.)	10.3	10.8	10.2	10.7	11.5	10.8
Brake Rear (in.)	9.7	9.1	9.8	9.5	10.8	10.4
70-0 MPH (ft.)	182	183	180	179	191	NA

Talking of the Brakes themselves, the SE and the Eco Trim get drum brakes at the rear while all other trims get Discs on all wheels. There isn’t much difference between the braking performance of the SE trim and others (with all 4 discs ones) at City Speeds but the All Disc variants do offer a bit more confidence and stability when decelerating from High Speeds.

As we have seen earlier, the 2019 Elantra has somewhat compromised power for Fuel Economy figures and the weight reduction in the current generation has helped the cause of the Elantra.

One interesting point to note is that while the Manual Variant of the Elantra delivers an overall MPG of 29, the Automatic delivers 33MPG which is saying something about the Engineering gone inside of the 2019 Elantra.

Models	Hyundai Elantra Sedan	Toyota Corolla Sedan	Honda Civic Sedan	Mazda 3 Sedan	Volkswagen Jetta Sedan	Chevrolet Cruze Sedan
MPG (city)	28	28	32	27	30	30
MPG (highway)	37	35	42	36	39	40
MPG (combined)	32	31	36	30	34	33
Fuel Tank Capacity(Gal.)	14	13.2	12.39	13.2	13.2	13.7

The Honda Civic still manages to be the Mileage King of the Segment but with Chevrolet Introducing Turbocharged Engines in its Cruze, the Elantra has to settle in for the 3^rd spot here. However, with a 448 Mile Range as compared to the 452.1 Mile range in the Cruze, the Hyundai isn’t in a bad spot at all as it ranks higher above all other Sedans in this comparison other than the Cruze in terms of the overall range.

The Interior is much more sensible. Not much has changed inside -- there's a new center stack with revised air vents and climate controls, in addition to a new storage tray. The instrument cluster and its surrounding trim received updates, as well. It's a good look that doesn't stray too far into the realm of weirdness –Cnet.com

Layout, Seating and Comfort

The Interior Layout mostly remains unchanged from the previous year model. The Interiors do feel big from the inside but it still doesn’t match the space offered in the Honda Civic.

The Seats themselves offer good support and enough bolstering to not tire you out on long drives. The Seats are heated and the Center Arm Rest adds to the convenience of the Cabin.

One of the best aspects about the Interiors of the Elantra has to be its driver centric dash layout. The Controls for the Audio, Climate and the others are actual buttons unlike the touch screen systems used in the competition. This makes it easily accessible for the Driver while on the go without offering much distraction from the road.

Models	Hyundai Elantra Sedan	Toyota Corolla Sedan	Honda Civic Sedan	Mazda 3 Sedan	VW Jetta Sedan	Chevrolet Cruze Sedan
Passenger capacity	5	5	5	5	5	5
Front (Head/Shoulder/Leg) (In.)	38.8/56.2/42.3	38.3/54.8/42.3	39.3/57.0/37.1	38.3/54.8/42.3	38.5/55.9/41.1	38.9/54.8/42
Second (Head/Shoulder/Leg) (In.)	37.3/55.0/35.7	37.1/55.0/37.4	37.1/55.0/37.4	37.6/54.4/35.8	37.2/54/37.4	37.3/53.7/36.1

Seating 5 inside the Elantra won’t be big of an issue. However, the Rear Glass Area isn’t as big as compared to the front and it may seem a bit claustrophobic. The 60/40 split seats also expands overall storage and adds to the practicality aspect of the Sedan.

Cargo Capacity

The Hyundai Elantra always had one of the best Cargo Spaces of the Segment. It continues to trail behind the Segment Leader-The Honda Civic but has enough space for handling your weekly shopping luggage or your short weekend drive needs.

Models	Hyundai Elantra Sedan	Honda Civic Sedan	Mazda 3 Sedan	Toyota Corolla Sedan	VW Jetta	Chevrolet Cruze Sedan
Cargo Capacity (cu ft.)	14.4	15.2	12.4	13.0	14.1	14.8

 Nifty Features like the Hands Free Trunk Release that opens the trunk automatically when the proximity key is sensed by the trunk for 3 seconds, adds to the Convenience of keeping luggage when your hands are full without lifting a Finger.

Infotainment System

Perhaps, one of the biggest changes done to the 2019 Elantra has to be in its Infotainment System and the features offered.

The 2019 Elantra now gets Hyundai’s State of the Art AVN System with an upgraded processor that enhances the speed of the System. The base SE trim gets a 5” Screen for the infotainment while the higher trims have a massive 8” System.

Other Interior features include

• Bluetooth Telephony with Voice Recognition
• Android Auto and Apple Car Play connectivity
• 8 Speaker HD audio system with Sub-woofer in the Top Trim
• Rearview Camera with Dynamic guidelines
• Dual Automatic Temperature Control with Auto Defogging System
• Qi Wireless Charging Pad for compatible Phones

The 2019 Elantra is, frankly, a wild departure from the more demure 2018 model. The front end is a menagerie of triangles, from the headlights to the heavily sculpted lower fascia. A strong character line extends rearward toward slightly more sensible taillights, which are still more heavily styled than before. At the absolute minimum, it will help differentiate the Elantra from the rest of the compact-sedan crowd –CNET.com

Design

Stand in front of a 2018 and a 2019 Elantra parked next to each other and you won’t be able to tell which one is which. Hyundai has completely changed the Exterior look of the 2019 Elantra and have made it sharper and edgier than before.

The Headlights are now of a Triangular pattern and house LED inserts which to some minds may resemble a certain “Japanese” brand. The Fog Lamps have also being given the Triangular Treatment while the Front Grill, called the Cascading Grill is now reminiscent of the design being followed by Hyundai’s all over the world.

There are new Tail Lamps in the Rear while a Big Hyundai Logo sits in between the Tail Lamps in the new redesigned Trunk Lid. Underneath the Logo, you will also find the ELANTRA name written in Bolder Words which again kind of reminds of Certain Japanese Brand.

Dimensions and Weights

The Exterior Dimensions and Weights of the 2019 Elantra have been tweaked from its previous year model. The Overall length has been increased to 181.9 inches from the 179.9 inches, we saw in the 2018 Model.

The Elantra also has one of the lowest weights in the segments owing to the use of Aluminum in the Chassis of the Elantra by Hyundai. This has in return given the Elantra a higher fuel economy figure and a better performance as compared to its previous generation “avatar”.

The Other dimensions still remain the same which makes the Elantra one of the most Manageable Cars to drive in the city.

Model	Hyundai Elantra Sedan	Toyota Corolla Sedan	Honda Civic Sedan	Mazda 3 Sedan	VW Jetta Sedan	Chevrolet Cruze Sedan
Curb weight (lbs.)	2844	2840	2724	2899	2767	2870
Length(in)	181.9	183.1	182.3	180.3	185.1	183.7
Width(in)	70.9	69.9	70.8	70.7	70.8	70.5
Height(in)	56.5	57.3	55.7	57.3	57.4	57.4
Ground clearance (in)	5.3	6.7	6.3	6.1	5.6	6.4
Wheelbase (in)	106.3	106.3	106.3	106.3	105.7	106.3

The Elantra has the lowest ground clearance in the Segment and this means that you will have to be extra careful while taking the Car over speed bumps. However, the low ground clearance gives the Elantra an advantage in achieving better aerodynamic efficiency and lower drag than the others.

Exterior Features

• Sharp, Triangle Design LED Headlamps
• LED Tail Lamps
• Redesigned Front Grill
• Hands Free Smart Trunk Release
• New 17” Alloy Wheels
• LED Daytime Running Lamps
• Redesigned Rear Trunk
• Shark Fin Antenna for Radio Connectivity
• Triangular Design Front Fog Lamps

The 2018 Hyundai Elantra was an IIHS Top Safety pick. Picking up from there, Hyundai has added some great Safety Equipment as Standard for 2019.

The Body shell has Energy Absorbing Columns which absorbs a lot of impact in case of a collision. Front seatbelt pre tensioners and force limiters are also present in the 2019 Elantra along with Rear LATCH for Children. 

 Some other Safety features present in the Elantra include

• Forward Collision Waning
• Active Lane Control
• Lane Departure Warning
• Auto Emergency Brake Assist and ABS with EBD
• Cross Traffic Alert
• Rear View Camera with Adaptive guidelines
• Tire Pressure Monitoring System with Individual Tire Pressure Indicator
• Vehicle Stability Management and Traction Control with Electronic Stability Control
• Dual Front, Driver Knee, Side Curtain and Side impact Airbags

Hyundai Elantra Sedan vs. Toyota Corolla Sedan

The Japanese are good at making Reliable and Dependable Cars. The Toyota Corolla is a Testimony of the same with its record breaking sales figures. The Corolla has been a segment champ in terms of Reliability, Cost of Maintenance and Resale value. However, the Corolla isn’t a Lively Car and certainly not one, which makes you feel enthusiastic when you drive. The Elantra has some amazing features in its sleeves and is certainly one of the best Handling Cars in the segment. The Engine in the Elantra has more power than the Corolla and the “Eco” trim in the Elantra offers something, for the Environment friendly guys as well.

Hyundai Elantra Sedan vs. Honda Civic Sedan

The Honda Civic is another one of the best selling cars in the segment as it offers a mix of great handling and superb practicality. The Civic has the Elantra licking its feet when it comes to the Space offered inside the Cabin and in the Cargo. The Honda however has an all touch interface for the AC and other controls.

The Hyundai still comes with Buttons and Knobs for most of its controls which makes it easier for the Driver to control the settings. The Elantra also looks Sleeker and sharper in its current “Avatar” and also beats the Honda in terms of the Features it has to offer.

Hyundai Elantra Sedan vs Mazda Mazda3 Sedan

The Mazda 3 was always known for its good looking interiors and great driving dynamics. The Engine inside the Mazda is one of the refined in its class with a good driving character.

Mazda however is yet to refresh the Mazda 3 sedan for 2019 and the Mazda is starting to show its age. The Elantra manages to look better than the Mazda and has matched the driving dynamics of the Mazda, to some extent. The Hyundai also has a great looking Interior and is packed with features that even the Mazda fails to provide the customers.

Hyundai has added some much needed freshness and life in the Compact sedan with the new 2019 Elantra. The Elantra now looks much Edgier and sharper than its previous edition with its Triangular Headlamps, Bold New Grill and a New Trunk and Tail lamp design.

It also incorporates some fantastic equipment on board and a whole plethora of Safety Tech to match the latest safety norms.

To add to the growing demands of the Environmentalists, an Eco Trim in the 2019 Elantra quenches the needs for those demanding a more Fuel Efficient motor and lower emissions.

To sum up then, Hyundai has done its bit to “WOW” buyers with the new Elantra. It’s got a “Love it or Hate it” design which certainly can’t be ignored. It also has a good engine and with the amount of Features inside the Verna, we certainly feel that the Hyundai Verna does present a strong case for itself.