The current-gen Hyundai Elantra has been on sale since August 2016 and newer competitors like the new-gen Honda Civic and the Skoda Octavia facelift have made it feel a little long-in-the-tooth. Hyundai Motor India hopes to address this with the launch of a mid-cycle facelift of the model, which is priced from Rs 15.89 lakh. The refreshed Elantra is available in three variants – S, SX and SX(O).

The biggest talking point on the facelift is the discontinuation of the 128hp, 1.6-litre diesel engine. The Elantra will now be available with a solitary 152hp/192Nm, 2.0-litre petrol engine paired with either a 6-speed manual or 6-speed torque converter automatic, both of which have been carried forward from its predecessor. However, the engine has now been upgraded to meet BS6 emission norms and, surprisingly, that has not resulted in a drop in fuel-efficiency - both, the petrol-manual and petrol-automatic have an ARAI mileage of 14.6kpl.

The updated Elantra gets the brand’s signature ‘cascading grille’, which brings it in-line with Hyundai new family look, along with reshaped headlamps with LED DRLs, a toned, muscular looking bonnet, triangular fog lamps and new-design alloy wheels. The updated rear gets a re-profiled bumper and new-look wraparound tail-lights that extend further on to the boot lid. Hyundai offers the new Elantra in five exterior colour options - black, blue, red, white and silver.

On the inside, the new Elantra gets even more equipment, including Hyundai’s new 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system (which is compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay), an 8-speaker Infinity sound system, LED headlamps with LED DRLs, a tyre pressure monitoring system and wireless charging. The Elantra also gets Hyundai's connectivity suite - BlueLink - which debuted on the Venue compact SUV. Top-spec variants continue to come equipped with dual-zone climate control, cooled front seats, leather upholstery, 10-way power adjust for the driver’s seat, hands-free tailgate opening, an electric sunroof, front parking sensors and cruise control. Standard safety kit includes six airbags, ABS with EBD, vehicle stability control and hill-start assist.

Along with the standard 3-year/unlimited kilometre warranty pack, which includes roadside assistance and free maintenance up to three years or 30,000km, Hyundai also offers a 3-year Hyundai BlueLink subscription.

Bookings for the refreshed Elantra opened on September 25, 2019. Despite prices rising by a Rs 1.5-2 lakh margin (depending on the variant), the new Hyundai Elantra is still quite well priced compared to petrol-powered rivals like the Toyota Corolla Altis, Honda Civic and the Skoda Octavia.

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