[ach1lles]

Let's look at this a little more objectively, shall we?

The Hyundai Elantra has been launched in India at a price of between Rs. 12.99 - 19.19 lakhs (ex-Delhi).

From the previous gen Elantra review:

The Hyundai Elantra has been launched in India at a price of between Rs. 12.51 - 15.85 lakhs (ex-Delhi).

Okay, right off the bat, while the base model remains somewhat similarly priced, the range has moved on from 3L give or take to 6L+! That's twice the range for what is essentially a *very* similar car. It isn't really safer, doesn't carry any new features, certainly not groundbreaking ones like the previous car did, it's not faster, more practical, or even more efficient. IMO it's not even any better looking. Sure, there's a touchscreen infotainment system and build quality and the ride may have improved, but isn't that to be expected from developments of half a decade? What is the new Elantra offering here over the old one, to justify a leap in price?

This car now is more expensive than the previous gen Superb, Accord and the Sonata. This is deeply unsettling. Is it solely because it is much easier to buy a new car as the down payments keep on reducing? I mean, you can get a 20L car now for a down payment of about 3L. That's great for me as a consumer, but does it allow manufacturers to mark up their products that much more?

In every other industry products either offer more for the same price as time goes on, or they cost lesser. The opposite has happened here.

2016: Rs. 19.19L

What you'll like:

• Fluidic design is stylish & contemporary. Will appeal to many
• Priced well - among the lowest in the segment. Offers the most value for money
• Spacious, high quality interiors
• Refined diesel & petrol engines mated to smooth 6-speed automatics
• Suspension delivers a comfortable ride & neutral dynamics
• Loaded with kit! Hands-free boot, ventilated seats, Eco / Sport driving modes, HD ICE etc.
• Top safety rating. Has 6 airbags, ESC, VSM, hill-start assist & more
• Hyundai's reliability, competent after-sales & 3 year unlimited km warranty

2012: Rs. 15.85L

• Fluidic styling makes the Elantra a true show-stopper
• Spacious interiors. Top class quality too
• Comfortable suspension. Especially nice within the city
• Refined diesel & petrol motors mated to smooth 6 speed manual / automatic transmissions
• Loaded with equipment. Ventilated seats, reversing camera, dual zone climate control etc.
• Safety equipment includes 6 airbags, ESP, VSM, ABS & EBD

2016:

What you won't:

• Neither engine offers explosive performance. 1.6L diesel lacks the punch of competition's 2.0s
• Uninvolving to drive. Jetta & Octavia are a lot more fun on the highway
• Conservatively tuned AT can't match the speed of the VW group's DSG
• Some missing features (auto wipers, folding rear seat, glovebox illumination...)
• Shockingly, the Manual SX(O) is lesser equipped than the Automatic SX(O)
• Diesel AT - a popular combo - is available only in the top variant. No choice of trims

2012:

• 1.6L diesel engine can't match the outright punch of its 2.0L competitors
• Uninspiring, conventional Automatic transmission. No dual-clutch technology here
• Rear bench is optimised for 2. Thus, the Elantra is best used as a 4 seater
• Ordinary expressway dynamics. Steering lacks feel at high speed
• No MID, folding rear seat and sunroof

You can read the entire review too, here. Barring a few small things here and there, it really is essentially the same car. The only thing that's gone up is the price. What's weird is we have just accepted this to be how things are now. Infact, one of the "pros" listed for this review is that this is priced well. Even though you don't get keyless entry & go in the SX (AT) variant. I mean come on Hyundai. Jesus.

Anyway, rant over. Thanks for listening.

Originally Posted by GTO

Aditya & me had a tough time listing the likes & dislikes (especially the latter). This is a rare Team-BHP review where the number of likes are more than the dislikes.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

In every other industry products either offer more for the same price as time goes on, or they cost lesser. The opposite has happened here.

Back in 2012 - I was getting a BMW 320D CE for 24.5L OTR (for about 4L more than a top of the line Skoda Laura L&K DSG).
Today, even after paying 24.5L - I won't be able to get a top of the line Skoda Octavia DSG Elegance (with similar features, similar build quality, inferior suspension, same engine, etc.); forget a 3 series.
Bring in the current superb / accord / camry - and they too will surprise you with their pricing!

Times have changed, this whole segment (and others too) have moved upwards in pricing. Blame the depreciating rupee (compared to 2012 levels), changes in tax structure, and increased willingness to pay as drivers of this change.

Yes, not much has changed - but the car was already a very accomplished one, barring the ride/handling - which is one area that has notably improved. The only grouse being the 1.6L Diesel engine - but given it's closes competitor is a good INR3-4L away (the Octavia Style/Elegance 2.0D DSG) with one two features here or there and with only a more powerful engine to boast about (everything else is subjective - you may like the Octy interiors more, for me the Hyundai will rattle less and looks nicer so it gets my vote; etc.) - the car still remains good value in the light of it's competitors.

[Seran Manian]

A wonderful review from Aditya, coupled with very illustrative pictures of things big or small. GIF images give a wonderful effect of Dash board annunciation of Open boot and Open door. Thanks for the pains taken. Team BHP has a well tabulated way to present any review and this one is no exception. Thanks to the team.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

What is the new Elantra offering here over the old one, to justify a leap in price?

Very well summarised ach1lles and I couldn't agree more with your view dude

To be honest, I did not like the 2016 Elantra design to begin with. The previous version was just too gorgeous and had some suave about its stance, which the latest one seems to have skipped. The earlier Elantra almost looks like a crouching leopard and IMO was the design that bettered the Civic after a long time.

Tell me which one of the 2 below would you 'Not Get Tired' of seeing:

2015 - Elantra



2016 - Elantra



I did get an opportunity to TD the Elantra 2.0 Petrol and it was good, until I sat in the Octavia 1.8 TSI. The Czech machine simply Oozes Quality in Quantities

Not that I am in the market today for a D Segment car, but when I am, 2016 Elantra is not going to be on the list for sure.

[Arjun Reddy]

Thanks Adi and Eddy for the full official review. Rated 5*.

I bought the topend manual Elantra at 18 lakh OTR Bangalore in 2013. Spent another 30k on the touch screen infotainment system with map my india maps. The car then seemed super value for money. Considering the topend Verna Auto,was pushing 16 lakhs OTR ( if I remember right ).
Thought the new Elantra has a much more sorted ride and a new mature front ( I seem to prefer the previous gen) it seems that there has been no real value add for the substantial price increase. In fact if you want all the features you need to go all the way to the top end Auto.
Also missing from the top spec car is the solar glass, rear armrest remote buttons for the system, full size spare alloy wheel and a 4 year 100k Kms warranty.

What do get extra for around 6.5 lakh more OTR today compared to my 2013 SX(O) manual.
6 speed auto.
Led DRL
Projector lights
Led Tail lights.
Touch screen infotainment.
Are these extras worth the price is anyone's guess.

There have been no changes in state Vat or Road tax since then.

It is totally a peace of mind car. In the last 3 years and 6 months the services costs have been around 12k and and have spent another 2.5 k on a broken indicator on the side mirror.

[SRM]

This is a nice looking car indeed! What I fail to understand is why has Hyundai started to punish its petrol buyers? First with Creta and now with Elantra. Why does the SX(o) petrol not have features that the SX(o) diesel has? And that too when petrol engines are back in demand. Can't really see this as a strategy, wonder what Hyundai's reasons are.

The only upside is atleast with Elantra they have an SX(o) petrol variant unlike Creta, though only for namesake.

[vikramk]

Hyundai can perhaps up the ante in the D segment if they choose to launch the the Elantra Sport with a 1.6L turbocharged engine that generates 201 BHP and 265 NM of torque. It comes with either a 6 speed manual or a 7 speed dual clutch automatic transmishttp://auto.ndtv.com/news/would-you-buy-a-200bhp-hyundai-sports-sedan-1620476sion. It also has a larger 12-inch cross-drilled ront disc brakes, larger stabilizer bars and a re-tuned steering syhttp://www.autoblog.com/2016/11/01/2017-hyundai-elantra-sport-first-drive-review/stem. It also gets a new multi-link suspension in the rear to improve traction.

With Skoda rumored to be coming up with the Octavia VRS in our market, things can really hot up if Hyundai gets the Elantra Sport.





Source: http://auto.ndtv.com/news/would-you-...-sedan-1620476
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/11/01/2...-drive-review/

[gadiyar]

Originally Posted by SRM

This is a nice looking car indeed! What I fail to understand is why has Hyundai started to punish its petrol buyers? First with Creta and now with Elantra. Why does the SX(o) petrol not have features that the SX(o) diesel has? And that too when petrol engines are back in demand. Can't really see this as a strategy, wonder what Hyundai's reasons are.

The only upside is atleast with Elantra they have an SX(o) petrol variant unlike Creta, though only for namesake.

The Elantra SX(o) petrol has the same features as the diesel SX(o), no? What is missing other than the insulation under the hood?

[SRM]

Originally Posted by gadiyar

The Elantra SX(o) petrol has the same features as the diesel SX(o), no? What is missing other than the insulation under the hood?

Apologies, my bad I was actually referring to the difference between SX(o) and SX(o) AT.

Can't understand why an SX(o) manual can't get side & curtain airbags, auto door locks, sunroof and front ventilated seats. Are these features only an automatic worthy? At this price point 6 airbags should be a given.

[harpreetkanwar]

Boot and fuel flap releases on the floor.

Correct me if I'm wrong to expect these at a better position in a car of this price bracket, maybe the boot button on the key fob and the fuel cap just a press away if doors are unlocked.

As the owner of a 5 year old Cruze and in the waiting line for a Tesla Model 3, I feel really sad that they offer these age old fuel and boot flap locations.

Why can't they be ergonomically placed on the dash !

Thank God they don't have a pull out antennae. I was expecting a lot from this car until I test drove one. Under powered engines. Guess will wait to see how the Santa Fe turns out, if I need to consider it as a worthy replacement for my every day car.

[gadiyar]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Also missing from the top spec car is the solar glass, rear armrest remote buttons for the system, full size spare alloy wheel and a 4 year 100k Kms warranty.

The brochure claims to have tinted glass, I don't know if this is the same as the solar glass from the previous car. Also, the test drive car had a full size spare alloy wheel.

Btw, how effective was the solar glass from your Elantra? I wish all manufacturers would offer this now.

[dark.knight]

A video review of the Elantra Sport :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RlzcLuFUe4

Highlights -

- Manual Gearbox - +1000000 Any sporty car with autobox is a joke to me.
- Multi-link suspension
- Handles superbly, if one cant make out by seeing the video.
- Direct steering (by tweaking the wheel-spec and linkages)
- Best looking D segmenter in my view
- 201 horsepower
- 7 Speed DCT (one can only hope and pray for reliability). The manual will be the one to get though. DCT should be for only the Americans who've never seen a stick shift in their life.

[CarMind]

Mod note: Back to back post, use Multi Quote [Quote +] instead. Thanks.

Fantastic review, covering all aspects in detail. Thank you. I believe this new Elantra surely has the potential to add some good numbers for Hyundai, though, weather it will stir the D-Segment sedan space all together and to what extent remains to be seen. Also to be seen would be if it can bring back the customers from CSUV's/SUV's in the similar price trend to a sedan?

Originally Posted by Aditya

Other Points

Standard warranty of 3 years / 1,00,000 km.[/i]

The review also stated the warranty to be 3 years/ Unlimited Km? Any disconnect at my part here?

Great Review, covering all aspects in detail. I believe the new Elantra has the potential to get some good sales (revenue) numbers for Hyundai in the segment.
However, it will be wait and watch if it can completely stir the D-segment sedan space and to what extent. Also, it will be quite interesting to see it can get back the customers from SUV/CSUV to the sedan shopping in the price range.

[daverm]

Originally Posted by vikramk

Hyundai can perhaps up the ante in the D segment if they choose to launch the the Elantra Sport with a 1.6L turbocharged engine that generates 201 BHP and 265 NM of torque.

Currently have the 2012 Elantra SX(O) diesel Auto. This could be strong contender for my current choice of performance car Polo GTI (but alas the price)

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Thanks for the awesome review!

Sharing a video I took with shibup driving. He is tall and I sit right behind him. Will ask him to share his review since he drives a Polo GT.

Picking a liner I heard in the Hexa review- the owner will get chauffeur driven most of the times and hence made there rear seat comfortable and spacious. They also knew that owner would also drive during weekends and hence made the front seat also great. Excellent thought by Tata.

Why I added this about Hexa here is coz Hyundai gives the cooled front seats only for Auto versions !!! Should have given as an options for rest of the Elantra verions too. Nuts!

Thanks for the prod JK.

The driving experience to me was very smooth. The power delivery from the 1.6 diesel is linear. During our short drive which included some steep climbs and bumps the car was very comfortable pottering around in second or third gear. The steering has a solid feel with none of the flimsy feel that were there in early i20s. However feedback is muted. You do not get the midrange rush of torque that you get in a Volkswagen. Unfortunately the test drive was short so we could not get a feel of the car's high speed manners, handling behavior at speed etc.

Interiors are very well appointed and have a quality feel. Everything is more orientated to functionality rather than bling value. I did not feel that the interior was any less well put together than my Volkwagen which is very good.In my father's 2011 i20 this is missing. The build of the interior is a little off in some areas. You get the feeling that there is a lot more engineering thought into everything working together well. Kind of slightly Germanic in this regard. If I am not mistaken Hyundai does have a design centre in Germany. However that old Hyundai mode where every car interior (feature wise and fit and finish) was a huge step up from the previous gen is no longer there. I get the feeling from the Elantra and previously the Creta, that Hyundai is happy where they are from an interior quality point of view and are more focused on the overall engineering of their cars. The suspension of the Elite i20, the Creta and now the Elantra are pointers to this in my view.

Hope to have more inputs after a longish test drive.

Drive on,
Shibu.