2012 All-New Hyundai Elantra Revealed In Details Before Launch In Malaysia

Coming your way these two months is the 2012 all-new Hyundai MD Elantra, previously known as the Avante to Malaysians. The fifth-generation Elantra, to be locally-assembled in Malaysia, may wear the Inokom badge, but it promises to be a complete car package doing justice to Hyundai's new brand direction “New Thinking New Possibility”. This exciting car is set to heat up the C-segment more than a year after its launch in South Korea in August 2010. Beginning next year, Hyundai expects to sell 400,000 units of the Elantra annually in countries outside its home market, with a large percentage of that contributed by the US.

Conceived at Hyundai's design center in California, the Elantra's striking appearance is based upon the “Wind Craft” design concept, which is heavily influenced by the company's now-famous “Fluidic Sculpture” design principles. Looking at the fluent lines and contoured surfaces of the Elantra, Hyundai's press release talk of “evoking a piece of sculpture literally crafted from the wind”, thereby “creating the illusion of constant motion”, suddenly makes sense.

Hyundai says that the Elantra boasts styling qualities evolved from its bigger sibling, the Sonata. Indeed, the profiles of the two models appear similar, as do the swept-back headlamps, the distinctive character lines, the sleek roofline and the handsome rear end. The Elantra makes do without the Sonata's huge chrome grille—for the better, in our opinion—instead featuring an interesting three-piece chrome lower front bumper. The bold exterior styling continues inside to an attractive cabin, one dominated by a dashboard with shapes and designs that would never be seen on a Toyota.

Being 4530 mm long, 1775 mm wide and 1435 mm tall, the Hyundai Elantra is longer and lower than its predecessor by 25 mm and 45 mm, respectively. More important to occupants is the 2700 mm wheelbase, which has been lengthened by 50 mm, contributing to 18 litres more interior room. In the US, the Elantra is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a mid-size car, a class larger than the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, which are compact cars. Only the Chevrolet Cruze comes close in terms of interior room.

The unibody architecture is supported by a MacPherson strut front suspension and a torsion beam rear suspension. The setup seems like nothing out of the norm, though, ultimately, it is the tuning of the suspension that really makes the difference, as clearly evident from the Ford Fiesta, whose well-judged ride-and-handling balance is easily class-leading. In line with segment standards, disc brakes are standard all-round. An electric power steering gets the vote over a hydraulic system in the pursue of better fuel economy, which is further boosted by a kerb weight that is among the lowest in the C-segment.

Bring the low drag coefficient of 0.28 and the in-house developed six-speed automatic transmission into the equation, and you have a car that returns an average of 14.9 km/litre with the 1.6-litre Gamma MPI (Multi-Point Injection) engine and 14.1 km/litre with the 1.8-litre Nu MPI engine, both of which are four-cylinder units with Dual Continuously Variable Valve Timing (D-CVVT) and Variable Induction System (VIS), though there is no sight of the 1.6-litre Gamma GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection) no thanks to Malaysia's inferior fuel quality.

The 1.8-litre Nu engine generates 150 HP at 6500 rpm and 178 Nm at 4700 rpm, while the 1.6-litre Gamma engine produces 130 PS at 6300 rpm and 157 Nm at 4850 rpm, less than the 140 HP and 167 Nm available on tap if direct fuel injection is available. Hyundai claims that the Elantra 1.6 completes the 0-100 km/h dash in a leisurely 11.6 seconds, before maxing out at 195 km/h. The Elantra 1.8 cuts the time down to 9.1 seconds, with a top speed slightly lower at 190 km/h. The performance figures are pretty much on par with that for C-segment rivals, and it must be emphasized that what's more important is the Elantra's drivability, which we can only find out with a test drive.

Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors has not revealed the equipment list for the Elantra, but if the Tucson and Sonata are any indication, that list should be long. Of more concern is the safety level, which is not as comprehensive as it could and should be. The two aforementioned models are equipped with dual front airbags, active headrests, ABS, EBD and Brake Assist, while stability control is reserved for the High-Spec variant. Side and curtain airbags, available on the two models in other countries, are sorely missing. Positioned lower down the Hyundai range, the Elantra is likely to lose out on those airbags as well.

With its new range of competitive cars, Hyundai has expectedly priced models like the Tucson and Sonata much closer to—though still lower than—rivals compared with before, and that is a pricing strategy we can expect for the Elantra. To set your mind at ease, a five-year/300,000km extended warranty is provided as standard. Moreover, Hyundai says that the Elantra's maintenance-free timing chain system and maintenance-free transmission (if used within “normal” conditions) will lower running costs in the longer term.