Hyundai revealed the facelifted Elantra sedan in the international arena by the end of August 2018 and what came out of the shell did throw waves of surprise in a positive way. Unlike the Model Year updates we normally deal with, Hyundai did up the ante with the 2019 Elantra and it was indeed a radical departure mainly in the exterior scheme of things.
With Hyundai expanding the sedan’s presence across the globe, we can expect it to arrive in India during the course of next year and it gives a definitive hint of how the upcoming products will look like we reckon. The South Korean automaker is well-known for fiddling around with the design elements of its vehicles and the new Elantra is a no exception.
The recent global models like Kona and Santa Fe have become rather unconventional styling and the facelifted Elantra does stand true to that theme – only in an appreciable manner signalling the way for the future. It comes with a bolder package courtesy of the brand new front fascia with triangular-shaped headlights, restyled front grille, new bonnet structure, revised front fenders and aggressive bumpers up front and the rear.
Other main highlights are newly designed trunk with integrated rear spoiler, sportier alloy wheel design, stylish yet sleeker LED tail lamp graphics and so on. The 2019 Hyundai Elantra facelift does gain a range of interior updates as well including new instrument cluster and switchgear, a five-inch AVN infotainment with eight-inch display screen, updated processor, overhead cam view for navigation, etc.
In global markets, it also gets a suite of assistive and safety features such as Driver Attention Alert, Forward Collision Avoidance Assist, Pedestrian Detection, Lane Change Assist, SmartSense systems with Lane Keep Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Blind Spot Collision Warning and more.
Currently sold in a total of nine trims between Rs. 13.65 lakh and Rs. 19.79 lakh (ex-showroom), it competes against Toyota Corolla Altis, Skoda Octavia and upcoming Honda Civic in India. The facelift will likely command a slight increase in price and it will face compelling rivalry from the re-entering Civic.
In the wake of Octavia RS receiving good reception among Indian customers, Hyundai may mull over introducing the Elantra Sport as well in our opinion. We do not expect any significant mechanical changes expect for BSVI compliance in the 2.0 petrol and 1.6 diesel powertrains.