2017 Hyundai Elantra Arrives with Updated Styling, New Safety Features.
Korean automaker Hyundai on Wednesday revealed a redesigned version of its Elantra compact sedan at the Los Angeles Auto Show, removing some of the previous generation’s distinctive edging as designers transition Hyundai deeper into mainstream styling. Assembled in both Montgomery, Alabama and Ulsan, South Korea, the new Elantra distinguishes itself from the compact car class with the addition of segment-first premium convenience and safety technologies, and is expected to receive a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and a 5-Star Safety Rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It’s a fairly bulbous, expressive, almost aquatic-looking thing, and the masses apparently approve because the Elantra remains one of Hyundai’s most popular models.
Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 830 dealerships nationwide. The vehicle’s reveal comes as the brand is gradually overhauling its design ethos, moving away from the edgy thematic that characterized past models and maneuvering squarely into the mainstream market. All Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program, which includes the 5-year/60,000-mile fully transferable new vehicle limited warranty, Hyundai’s 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty and five years of complimentary Roadside Assistance. Featured prominently on the front end of the Elantra’s new design is Hyundai’s signature hexagonal grille accented with new lighting including available HID headlights with Dynamic Bending Lights and unique vertical LED daytime running lights, both of which are firsts for the model.
Inspired by the concept of dynamic precision, Elantra’s architecture was a perfect platform for collaboration between Hyundai designers and engineers to blend advanced styling with functional aerodynamics. Hyundai Blue Link Connected Care provides owners of Hyundai models equipped with the Blue Link telematics system with proactive safety and car care services complimentary for one year with enrollment.
The 2017 Elantra, which hits dealerships in January, will face an immediate challenge: gaining attention from consumers who are abandoning cramped cars for roomy crossovers. Hyundai first revealed the design of the Elantra, sold as the Avante in South Korea, during an event in September at its Namyang technical center near Seoul. These services include Automatic Collision Notification, Enhanced Roadside Assistance, Vehicle Diagnostic Alert, Monthly Vehicle Health Report and in-vehicle service scheduling. Contributing to the model’s 0.27 coefficient of drag are underbody covers, an aerodynamic rear bumper bottom spoiler and a rear decklid designed with an expanded trunk edge.
Elantra’s sporty lower front fascia integrates functional front wheel air curtains, a component that is derived from the Sonata Hybrid that helps manage air flow from the front of the vehicle and around the wheels to minimize turbulence and wind resistance. It’s the latest example of Hyundai’s “Fluidic Sculpture” design language, and as such, it equips a more traditional front end punctuated by a large hexagonal grill. When the Elantra launches early next year, available features include 17-inch alloy wheels, all-new LED door handle approach lights, side-mirror LED turn signal indicators and LED tail lights.
To get some additional wiggle room, Hyundai engineers lengthened the vehicle by 0.8 inches and widened it by 1 inch — a not-insignificant play in the auto business. It’s a similar piece to the one found on the Hyundai Genesis, Sonata, and Tucson, but it also happens to be strikingly similar to the chest plate you’ll see on dozens of cars on the market today. The multi-award-winning franchise has been the most successful ever for PlayStation®, and in 2013 it also surpassed worldwide sales of 70 million units.
Still, the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Mazda3 — three compact sedans that buyers are more likely to cross-shop — all have more space for passengers. Various iterations of Gran Turismo have been created for PlayStation®, PlayStation®2, PlayStation®3 and PSP (PlayStation®Portable) systems, and have always been regarded as the best and most authentic driving simulators ever created due to true-to-life graphics, authentic physics technology and design. At higher trim levels, the Elantra will offer automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection; lane-keeping assist; blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic warning, and lane change assist. His offerings provide the most realistic driving simulation in the industry and a unique medium for automotive manufacturers to showcase their products. Along with improved interior roominess, the compact sedan integrates premium soft-touch materials in key touch points to deliver a comfortable interior environment for all passengers.
Elantra’s overall length has increased by just under an inch and its proportions are further enhanced by increasing its width by 1.0-inches, presenting a more athletic stance and stable appearance. Compared to its competitors, the Elantra offers more passenger volume (95.8 cubic feet), cargo volume (14.4 cubic feet) and total interior volume (110.2 cubic feet) and even bests some luxury sedans such as the 2016 Audi A4 and 2016 Acura ILX. The standard powertrain is a 2-liter, 4-cylinder engine with up to 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque, mated with a six-speed manual transmission or six-speed automatic. The Elantra’s chassis is now reinforced with 53 percent high-strength steel compared to 2016’s 21 percent, which improves rigidity, quietness, ride quality, and handling. Both offer Google’s Android Auto smartphone interface and Clari-Fi technology from Harman, which artificially patches the sonic holes in low-fidelity streaming music, satellite radio and downloaded MP3 files.
Buyers will choose between a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder Atkinson cycle engine mated to either a manual or a six-speed automatic transmission, and a turbocharged, direct-injected 1.4-liter engine that goes head-to-head against the boosted 1.5-liter in the new Civic. The rest of the center stack is laid out in a horizontal design with buttons and controls placed in logical groups by function, and a slight seven degree tilt toward the driver for optimal ergonomics. Hyundai estimates that the Eco option will return an impressive 35 mpg combined, but the 2.0-liter’s numbers of 29 mpg city and 38 mpg highway aren’t bad either.
Hyundai says it will deliver 35 mpg in combined city and highway driving, compared with 33 mpg for the base engine, and 156 pounds-feet of torque as low as 1,400 rpm. Available premium convenience features such as a segment-first integrated memory system for the power driver seat and side mirrors, dual automatic temperature control with auto defogging system and auto-dimming rearview mirror further enhance driving comfort, along with advanced ergonomic front seats. Producing 128 hp and 156 lb-ft of torque, the engine will be available on the Elantra Eco model and is mated to an EcoShift seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission. The front seats feature high-tension lightweight seat frames for improved performance against collisions, and a multi-firmness seat pad to help reduce driver fatigue over long distances. In fact, all of Elantra’s seats, covered in either cloth or available leather, are made of SoyFoam™, an environmentally friendly seating foam that substitutes petroleum based polyol with hydroxyl-functionalized soybean oil and optimizes the formulation/process to maximize mechanical performance.
In addition to passenger comfort, improving interior cabin noise management and reducing road noise were top development priorities for Hyundai engineers. Engineers also reduced the aperture size in the front dash panel by 25 percent, increased the thickness of the front door window glass, and added various sound absorption materials in all pillars, inner fenders and floorpan.
In an effort to further improve NVH characteristics, engineers also applied plastic and rubber bushings to the front sub-frame and increased the bushings size of the lower control arm. This increased utilization results in a 29.5 percent stiffer torsional rigidity and 25.3 percent greater bending strength, which bring improvements in vehicle ride and handling, quietness, durability and driving performance. A component often found in aerospace applications, these structural adhesives also contribute to improved NVH and vehicle dynamics due to extra stiffness in the chassis. Improved ride comfort, handling and stability are achieved through Elantra’s redesigned rear suspension geometry that modifies the angle of the rear shock absorbers and changed the position of the coil springs on the coupled torsion beam axle.
The standard Motor-Driven Power Steering (MDPS) system instantly adjusts to changing driving conditions for greater precision and steering feel while improving fuel economy. All of this results in up to a 2.2 percent increase in efficiency for optimized fuel economy, and an anticipated 29 city / 38 highway / 33 combined mpg (internal estimate for 6-A/T).
Other features of the 1.4L turbocharged GDI four-cylinder engine include an integrated cylinder head and exhaust manifold that improves fuel economy 5~7% at higher engine speeds. The optimized turbine and compressor employs a sophisticated scavenging strategy that improves low-end torque and response, while the electric wastegate actuator improves low-end torque and part-load fuel economy by reducing back pressure.
B-pillar assemblies feature partial softening hot stamping that start with a reinforcement section (150kgf grade) and then transition into a softening section (100kgf grade) to help absorb side impact. A seven airbag system is standard, including a new driver’s knee airbag, along with Electronic Stability Control, Vehicle Stability Management, Traction Control, ABS and a Tire Pressure Monitoring System. New for 2017, the Elantra also offers a wide array of advanced safety technologies, often reserved for luxury cars, to provide another defensive safety layer for its passengers beyond the standard safety system. Lane Keep Assist uses a forward-facing camera to detect lane markings and will alert the driver if the vehicle drifts outside the lane without signaling.
The system will apply corrective steering assistance if necessary, and is another active safety tool to assist Elantra drivers and help prevent accidents. Dynamic Bending Light (DBL) works in tandem with the HID headlights, so they turn-in with the direction of the steering wheel for better nighttime visibility and safety, while the additional High Beam Assist feature automatically dims the high beams when approaching vehicles are detected. Using a radar sensor mounted on the lower front grille, the SCC system maintains a set distance from the vehicle ahead in varied traffic conditions by automatically adjusting vehicle speed as needed. Both multimedia systems are equipped with Android Auto for seamless and intuitive operation of the most commonly used smartphone functions including app-based navigation, streaming audio, voice-controlled search capabilities, plus any approved smartphone apps.
Since smartphone integration requires a wired connection to the vehicle, Elantra provides an available second USB port for charging – the first application on a Hyundai vehicle. The advanced 8.0-inch navigation system features an enhanced display with improved touch sensitivity for touch and drag control, increased screen brightness for better daytime visibility, and a split-screen display showing map and music data.
For additional convenience and connectivity, navigation-equipped Elantras offer pre-loaded apps, voice control functions, and premium SiriusXM features. Real-time SiriusXM® Travel Link® three-month trial period, including traffic, weather, sports, stocks, fuel prices, even movie times, multi-cultural channels and presets recording capability For the first time, Elantra also will offer an eight-speaker Infinity premium audio system, including a center speaker and subwoofer.
This delivers a musical experience closer to the artists’ original intent, with increased dynamic range for enhanced realism, and improved overall fidelity.