STIG

I really think this is a great looking car. Me likes! Toyota Corolla probably has the most boring look in the class, but then you can't really get too excited over these econoboxes. But kudos to Hyundai to have some ***** to come up with a really nice looking car. Are they going to have turbo for this one?

joe80

not sure yet. it would awesome if they do have one.

i think they should have 1.6gdi and 2.0gdi.

STIG

That's not bad.

Toyota needs to come out with a better Corolla next time. Full assault from Ford and Hyundai will get them sooner or later.

joe80

I think corolla should use some FT-86 cues. use the lower grill and similar headlight, but don't make it look too mean.

i have a feeling that 'boring' won't work in this decade. IMO, toyota struck out twice with Avalon and TC.

IS-SV

I too want to see it and drive it for final judgement. Exterior design of sedans this small is always especially challenging.

I expect to rent it soon enough. A high percentage of rentals can lead to some sales, plus also lead to lower profit margins for the automaker and lower resale values for the owners.

joe80

anyway 10% better fuel economy than closest competitor means it will get 40+ mpg. Cruze is the closest competitor in korea.

LexFather

Its quite amazing to me how the Corolla is the number 2/3 best selling car. I guess vanilla is what people want.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I spy a lot of Mazda3 influence

joe80

Well, every car in this segment was a vanilla. vanilla sold very well. But civic was the first one to break out from the 'vanilla' mold followed by mazda3 and etc. and when corolla came out 5 years ago, it was a good looking car. It really wasn't a vanilla in its segment standard.

i think we are seeing a new design trend. Focus, Cruze, and now this. companies are moving forward and trying to bring exciting new products rather than improvements on previous models. i'm sure toyota will do the same.

trukn1

Hyundai needs to be very careful not to fall into the Dodge/Chrysler way of thinking. When the Chrysler 300 first came onto the scene, it was a fresh design and people liked it. Next thing you know there were MANY variants of the design and it just flooded the brand (300, Magnum, Avenger, etc.) IMO it totally killed any kind of re-birth for them, aside from other issues they were having. This new Elantra seems to be following in that same trend of taking one successful design cue(Sonata) and having spawn develop from it. Pretty soon, Hyundai's "new, exciting" lineup is gonna become bland/boring because all of their cars are gonna start looking the same.

-J-P-L-

I'm totally shocked at how brilliant Hyundai's lineup is becoming. This new Elantra is simply stunning. I love it!

There is certainly a family design language going on at Hyundai but there is still plenty of differentiation. This isn't just a small Sonata. It's very much different (even better IMO). Fact is, Audi and BMW's lineups have less variety than Hyundai's.



If Hyundai can maintain their lower labor/production costs, they may just become the worlds greatest automaker. At their pace, I don't see how they can be stopped. It's just remarkable.

Faymester

It's so swoopy ... the shape just confuses my brain.

mmarshall

You guessed correctly. Often what enthusiasts call "vanilla" is what a lot of people DO want. The majority of American car buyers today are probably not concerned with sport-oriented styling or performance, despite the recent trends of a number of automakers. Cars like the Corolla and Camry fit their needs just fine.

mmarshall

The Corolla, though not what I would call a bad-looking small car by any means, was never really designed for its looks in the first place. It was designed for quality, effieiency, and economy, and, despite some recent concerns with the eletric power steering, generally has delivered all three in spades.

Mazda was designing small sedans/hatchbacks with distinctively non-vanilla, driver-oriented chassis/steering systems long before the Mazda3 came out (or even before Honda did with the Civic). The "Kansai" driver-centered Mazda engineering was quite noticeable back in the 1980s and 90s with the GLC, 323, and Protege. I owned one of each of these small Mazdas myself.
Despite the FWD layout, they had the reputation of being the "Poor Man's BMW".

Back on the thread topic, sharp, Mazda-style handling was one thing that the Elantra, like the Corolla, never really specialized in. It had, like the Corolla, a smooth drivetrain, smooth ride, a relatively nice interior, a refined nature, and good quality/reliability. But it was not a so-called "Drivers' Car".

With Ford, outside of the newer Mustangs of the past few years, I think much of their newfound success has more to do with their quality improvements rather than styling. One of their most highly-rated newer sedans, the Fusion, for example, is pretty good example of what a lot of people would call "vanilla" inside and out, but has developed an excellent quality reputation, and, until the Chevy Volt comes out, the Fusion Hybrid model shows what is arguably the best hybrid engineering outside of the Toyota/Lexus line.

TRDFantasy

It's an improvement over the current Elantra, and I really want to like this design, but I just don't like it.

The design is just way too busy, and IMHO Hyundai's "fluidic sculpture" design language in general is just way too busy.

The headlights and taillights are just stretched out too far, and that is a very tall rear end.

It almost looks like a Hyundai version of the Mazda 3. The "Fluidic Sculture" design language in-fact seems like a Korean version of Mazda's wavy design language.

I agree. The new Sonata, Elantra, and Accent look very similar to each other. Hyundai's design language will get dated and played out very quickly.

I can already predict what the next-gen Sante Fe will look like; it will just be a larger version of the Tuscon.

It seems like they've already run out of ideas with their new design language.

Also notice it has almost identical headlights to the Sonata hybrid.

Sure it's nice that the Accent and Elantra look more upmarket, but that also makes the Sonata look more downmarket. How will Sonata hybrid owners feel that their car looks almost exactly like a compact that is 10K cheaper?

In this class right now, the Ford Focus is the only good-looking car IMHO.

Exactly. Many enthusiasts are ignorant of this and don't understand the reality of the market.

Yes the Corolla is a "boring" design that many also call bland, but it also is less offensive than some of the new designs in the compact segment.

Not everyone wants 'chocolate pineapple' ice cream or something exotic like that.

There is a reason why vanilla ice cream is a big seller.

Admittedly, the Ford Focus and Chevy Cruze are still fairly bland in comparison to this Elantra. IMHO, they are less offensive designs, and as such I think they will sell better.