Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Hyundai mulling Elantra turbo?

We're big fans of the latest Hyundai Elantra. Offering a generally refined driving experience, a good amount of room for its class and a smorgasbord of options all at a reasonable price, the Elantra is more than competitive with the best vehicles in its class.

One thing the Elantra will never be accused of, though, is being too sporty. With 148 horsepower and 131 pound-feet of torque from its 1.8-liter four cylinder engine and a six-speed automatic gearbox, the Elantra has adequate power and scores extra points for fuel economy. That's all well and good, but that's just not enough oomph to compete with machines like the Volkswagen GTI, Honda Civic Si and Mini Cooper S.

Interestingly enough, those are the exact vehicles mentioned by Hyundai as competitors for its innovative three-door Veloster Turbo. According to a report from Auto Express, the Elantra may one day get a welcome injection of power courtesy of a turbocharged engine just like its little brother.

According to AE, the Veloster Turbo's 1.6-liter mill, which puts out respectable figures of 201 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 194 pound-feet of torque from 1,750 rpm, is slated as an option for the three-door hatchback version of the UK's Hyundai i30 (that's the Elantra in the States). Sounds pretty good to us Yanks, though we're hoping the forced-induction love is spreads across the range to the GT five-door hatch and sedan, as well.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/02/14/h...elantra-turbo/

LexFather

Why not and call it a R-spec or something to compete with the Civic Si, GTi etc...

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

exactly.

which on another note. Why did Nissan forget about the Sentra SE-R Spec V hah 200hp..., you never saw it compared to an Si or GTI even when it was relevant hah

rkyat

^it was still a relatively fun car to whip around. I was considering em, before i ended up buy a maxima for the same price, (2yrs older)

LexFather

It seems the 140hp Sentra from 1992 or so was near perfect...everything after was a hot mess but you got some red badges The hot hatch can come across incredibly or rather poorly I noticed, not much middle ground.

Its great to go to meets/shows and actually see Hyundais/Kias now, something I rarely even saw in the past.