Last month we confirmed that Hyundai has started accepting booking for the new Elantra at all dealerships across India, with the launch expected to be scheduled around mid-August. We now have official confirmation from the Korean car maker that the d-segment Elantra will be launched in India on 13 August.
The new Elantra is based on the fluidic design philosophy that has changed Hyundai's fortunes in the past few years. Just like the previous generation Sonanta, the Elantra was also sold in India about a decade ago; however, it didn’t do too well back them. With the fluidic theme it will be a different story all altogether; but the competition is a lot stiffer as well. The sedan will now compete with the Skoda Laura, Chevy Cruze, VW Jetta, Renault Fluence and Toyota Altis.
The Elantra is available only with petrol engines in global markets; however, in India it will also get a better tuned version of the 1.6-litre diesel engine used in the Verna fluidic. The petrol Elantra is powered by 1.8-litre unit producing 147bhp and 181Nm of torque, while the diesel 1.6-litre churns out 126bhp and healthy 260Nm. Both petrol and diesel models will be available with six-speed manual gearbox, while the automatic transmission will be offered on top-of-the-line variants. Hyundai cars are generally features loaded and so will be the Elantra. Two airbags and ABS will be standard across all models; top-end will have six-airbags, cruise control, electric front seats, push start and many more features.
