This year’s edition of the biennial Frankfurt Motor Show is right around the corner, but Hyundai is already looking forward to the annual Los Angeles Motor Show that’s scheduled to open its doors in November.
The South Korean-based car maker has announced it will travel to the Los Angeles show to introduce the all-new sixth-generation Elantra. The sedan won’t be fully introduced until much later in the year, but an official teaser sketch gives us a good idea of what we can expect from it.
The Elantra will adopt a much more upscale look that will fall in line with Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design language. The sketch reveals the sedan will gain a hexagonal grille whose design is inspired by the bigger Genesis, elongated headlights with integrated LED daytime running lights, and a sculpted hood.
The changes made to the Elantra’s silhouette will be more evolutionary than revolutionary, and it looks like the up-swept belt line will carry over essentially unchanged from the current model. That said, the minor modifications will lower the car’s drag coefficient to 0.27, one of the best figures in its segment.
Hyundai is putting a big emphasis on electronic driving aids in a bid to fend off stiff competition in the United States and abroad. High-zoot trim levels will be available with features like blind spot detection with rear cross traffic alert, and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection. Most models will come with an eight-inch touch screen that will be compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
Enthusiast website The Korean Car Blog reports the next Elantra will launch with a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine tuned to make 175 horsepower. The turbo four will spin the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Additional engines — and, most likely, transmissions — will be offered, but details won’t be published until closer to the car’s on-sale date.
Following its public debut in the City of Angels, the next Hyundai Elantra will go on sale next spring as a 2017 model.
