The secret to a car’s success in the market is delivering what the potential buyer wants. This is something that Hyundai knows only too well, and the Elantra is a testament to that fact. And the manufacturer has managed to do it within a reasonable budget as well. Looks certainly matter to a buyer looking for his next car, and in this department, the Elantra is ahead of the game. The Fluidic design philosophy that debuted on the Verna has made its presence felt on the Elantra. Strong and sharp slashes abound on the new Hyundai, and various surfaces interlude with each other, resulting in a very modern aesthetic. There’s not much to dislike when it comes to the way the Elantra holds the air around its body, except perhaps for the fact that it appears to be strikingly similar to the Verna.
Another Verna attribute that the Elantra lives with is the fact that the car borrows the same 1582 cc 126.2 bhp diesel motor. Having driven the diesel mated with the 6-speed gearbox, the numbers speak for themselves. Naught to 60 kph comes after 4.7 secs while 6 seconds later, the car hits the tonne. The diesel grunt comes in strongly at mid range revs, leaving very little for the higher end. Lower end shove is decent, but you cannot lug the car in a taller gear at low speeds or else it will protest by jerking or bogging down.
The petrol motor, however, is a new 1787 cc engine that is good for 147.4 bhp. In this test, the car I drove was bolted on to a 6-speed automatic transmission. Surprisingly, the performance figures shadow those of the diesel rather closely. A 0-60 kph sprint is achieved in 5 seconds while 100 kph comes in at 11.3 seconds. Both engines are very, very refined and they seem to be most comfortable on the highway, stretching their rather long legs. Hardly any of the din from the engine makes it into the cabin, making it very easy to wonder whether the motor is running at all. City traffic conditions are easier on the driver of the automatic, obviously, but for reasons stemming from the wallet, it makes more sense to go auto with the diesel. For more on that, check out Rohin’s evaluation of the Elantra diesel with the automatic transmission in the August issue of BSM.
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| TECH SPECS |
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| HYUNDAI ELANTRA 1.6 Diesel/Petrol |
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Engine |
Displacement: 1582cc, I-4, turbo diesel/ 1787cc, I-4, petrol |
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0-100 kph |
10.7 secs/11.3 secs |
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Max Power |
126.2 bhp@4000 rpm/ 147.4 bhp@6500 rpm |
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Top Speed |
186.3 kph (diesel) |
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Max Torque |
26.5 kgm@1900-2750 rpm/ 18.1 kgm@4700 rpm |
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Price |
Rs 13.12-16.62 Lakh Ex-showroom, Mumbai |
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Transmission |
6-speed manual/ 6-speed auto |
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Fuel efficiency |
13.5/9.5 kpl |
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