2019 Hyundai Elantra due in Australia before year’s end

Hyundai has revealed the midlife update for the current generation Elantra small sedan, which will arrive in Australia in December 2018. Using heavily revised exterior styling and a higher quality interior, the 2019 Hyundai Elantra is much bolder than any Elantra before it.

Important active safety equipment updates have been made in the North American market as well, as well as new features such as LED headlights are now available. Australian specifications are yet to be announced, though little drivetrains are expected with the 2.0-litre petrol and 1.6-litre turbo SR drivetrains to continue.

“Refinements to both the interior and exterior were initiated on the 2019 Hyundai Elantra to maintain its emotional design character and include affordable and desired features,” said Scott Margason, director of product planning, Hyundai USA.

“The hood, front fenders, fascia, grille and headlights as well as the rear fascia, trunk and tailights each have been redesigned to convey a catchy and confident image. On the rear of the vehicle, the license plate has been relocated to the lower fascia to further enhance the new body sculpture.”

Stylistically, the 2019 Hyundai Elantra is more of a drastic update than most mid-life facelifts are in modern times – the front and rear styling is completely new, and the interior has been given an update as well. The handsome if bland styling of the pre-facelifted model has been turfed for a much edgier design than on any Elantra before. The front is now much more angular, with sharp triangular headlights and a larger grille, while like the larger Sonata sedan, the rear bootlid was been completely redesigned by moving the plate surround to the bumper and introducing new angular LED tailights.

The interior update is not as drastic as the exterior, though it does appear much richer in material quality than before – the climate controls have been redesigned, as have the dials, with an extra layer of finishing compared with the previous Elantra. On the North American model previewed in pictures, some faux carbon fibre trim features on the new air vents and dials, which makes the cabin appear more richly finished than the current model. Hyundai’s latest infotainment now features in 5.0- or 8.0-inch forms – expect the latter to be standard in Australia.

In addition to the car’s styling and interior upgrades, Hyundai has also upgraded the Elantra’s active safety suite to sit with other models in the range. Features such as autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, driver attention alert, blind-spot monitoring and rear traffic alert are now available on US-spec models, and hopefully such features are made available to Australian customers – at least in the form of an optional package, like the lower models in the i30, Kona and Tucson ranges.

Mechanical changes for the US market are limited however, with the 2.0-litre petrol and 1.6-litre turbo petrol engines continuing unchanged for now – though Australian specifications are yet to be announced. New technology such as LED headlights and wireless phone charging is expected to be standard equipment on at least higher-grade models.

The 2019 Hyundai Elantra will go on sale in Australia before the end of 2018, with local pricing and specifications to be announced before then.

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