Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) has launched the restyled and redesigned Elantra for the Malaysian market. This is a major facelift for the 2019 Model Year as it adopts a new exterior design, extra engineering work as well as some interior refinements and extra equipment. All of this comes in at a very interesting price of RM109,888.00 (On the road price without insurance, for Peninsular Malaysia) for the one and only variant offered for now, the Elantra 2.0L Executive.
Here's a video of the launch with some comentary by Yours Truly!
This restyle is quite extensive or major as mentioned above, the front receives triangular headlights, a new grille, new front fenders and a redesigned bonnet also which has different character lines than the pre-facelift model. The rear also gets redesigned taillights, a different boot and a slight change in the overall boot line when viewed from the sides or from a rear three quarter angle. It has a more sloping fastback rear end than the previous model. All of the changes also make the new 2019 Elantra longer by 70mm, at 4,620 mm.
Right to Left - Mr. Lau Yuan Lung, Managing Director of Hyundai Sime Darby Motors, Andrew Bashan, Managing Director of Sime Darby Motors, Mr. PS Kim, Sales Manager Hyundai Motor Company (Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters), Mr. Su Ju Yan, Head of Business Unit Sime Darby Auto Hyundai
We do think that this is an edgier design compared to the previous Elantra. It takes look back at the popular fifth generation Elantra with Hyundai's first 'Fluidic Sculpture' styling cues. This now sits in between that futuristic soft flowing design and the pre-facelifted current Elantra which suddenly became so grown up in terms of styling (which some schools of thought said was the reason sales of Hyundai cars dropped slightly as somehow people bought Hyundais because they were edgy in styling and looked modern). The new one adds back some fashion forward styling to the Elantra. Rounding off the exterior are new design 17inch wheels and tyres.
Another important update in this major facelift / redesign is the chassis, while has always been built with High-Strength Steel (53% of it in Advanced High-Strength Steel), the 2019 Elantra has increased its usage of aerospace grade structural adhesives which is applied to all of its reinforced welding joints and folds. This has made the chassis have stiffer torsional rigidity and 25.3 percent greater bending strength. According to Hyundai, this brings in an improvement in making the 2019 Elantra have improved NVH characteristics which in turn improves vehicle structural safety, vehicle ride and handling, quietness, durability and driving performance.
While it is a shame HSDM has not decided to introduce the Elantra Turbo / Sport for now (a super fun car to drive), this is the latest Hyundai C-segment sedan and with what is offered, could be an interesting proposition for ownership. The 2.0L Executive essentially comes with the powertrain and transmission as the previous 2. Executive. It is powered by a 2.0L 4-cylinder engine, which makes 152 PS at 6,200 rpm and 192Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm.
The engine powers the front wheels via a 6-speed automatic transmission. According to the product guy at the launch, Hyundai has tweaked the response of the car for better on-road performance especially for low speed engine response to make it feel a little more preppier in traffic and in mid-range. This heavily facelifted Elantra also introduces the Smart Drive Mode intelligent system that identifiesthe driving style and then automatically selects a driving mode i.e Normal or Sport, that is best suited to the driver's demands.
As for the interior, it has been refreshed with a new sporty chequered cluster meter design, a new look multifunctional steering wheel with control buttons, all-black leather seats and soft touch material dashboard which should up the perceived quality of the Elantra's interior.
In terms of advanced features, notable equipment included are themultimedia system that is equipped with Android Auto and Apple Car Play, segment-exclusive Hands-free Smart Trunk, a six airbag system along with Electronic Stability Control, Vehicle Stability Management, Traction Control, ABS, a rear-view camera, Parking Guidance System, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System and Hill-start Assist Control.
“The Elantra has always been a strong contender in the C-segment due to its competitive advantage i.e stylish design, engine performance and advanced convenient features. We believe this revolutionary new design that is modern, sporty and elegant will also appeal to a broader market of various age groups,” said Mr Low Yuan Lung Managing Director of HSDM.
The newly refreshed, redesigned and restyled 2019 Hyundai Elantra 2.0 Executive is available in 5 colours- Phantom Black, Fiery Red, Teal Blue, Fluid Metal and Polar White. But for now, there are two limited edition colours, Stargazing Blue and Sparkling metal (pictured above), also available for a limited period of time in conjunction with the official launch. According to the product people of HSDM, there will only be about 20-30 or so units of each limited run colour, so be quick if you want to get the Elantra in them.
HSDM offers a 5-year or 300,000km (whichever comes first) warranty on all its new passenger vehicles. A 24-hour road assist service is also now available to new and existing Hyundai vehicles.
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