Hyundai Elantra drives into India this festive season

You saw it at the 2012 Auto Expo and you may have also seen the test mules doing the rounds on the Indian roads for the past few months. Now, the stunning looking Hyundai Elantra will actually make its way into the Indian showrooms this festive season as HMIL gears up for its big launch. 

The Elantra may not have had a noteworthy history in India – but neither did the Sonata or the Verna. But just the way the fluidic design philosophy changed the fortunes for those cars, the Elantra too is expected to make a comeback with a big bang. As we saw at the Auto Expo, the new design does turn heads – but the fight will be interesting as the competition line-up in this entire segment is rather good-looking viz. the Cruze, Jetta, Fulence, Civic, Corolla and Laura. The Elantra’s design does take a heavy inspiration from the new Verna’s face and the Sonata’s tail, but the receding roofline and the tall boot makes the Elantra appear bulky and brawny as compared to its other sedan siblings. 

The car will also boast of a good-looking interior which has a quirky arrangement for the A/C vents, the knobs and the switches but its sums up together quite well. Expect brown and black trim inside the car, similar to what you get in the new Sonata. Also on offer will be a long equipment list including parking sensors with a reversing camera, electrically adjustable and ventilated front seats, climate control, cruise control, heated ORVMs, push-button starter, sun-roof etc. 

Under the hood, the Elantra will get 1.8-litre petrol engine that puts out 150 PS of power and 177 Nm of torque. However, little is known on what diesel option Hyundai will look at for the Elantra in India, since the global model is only available with choice of petrol mills. Hyundai does have the Verna’s 1.6-litre CRDI U2 engine in the bag which produces 128 PS of power and 265 Nm of torque – enough to take on the competition and be frugal while doing so. But we won’t be surprised if Hyundai offers the same engine with a higher state of tune. There is also word of a 1.8-litre diesel engine that could power the Elantra – but the details are too sketchy at the moment.

Hyundai India is expected to start the marketing and promotional activities of the Elantra sedan by July, followed by a commercial launch between August and October 2012. With the Verna priced between Rs 7.5 to 12 lakh and the Sonata demanding between Rs 19 to 22 lakh, the Elantra will slot right in between with a price range of Rs 11 to 18 lakh. Stay tuned as we bring you more information on the upcoming Hyundai Elantra.