2019 Hyundai Elantra Getting Fresh New Looks

Now that Hyundai has become more of a household name for its value-packed cars, the South Korean brand is starting to experiment with more striking designs. The 2019 Hyundai Elantra is the latest vehicle that joins the lineup to have an interesting design.

The redesigned compact sedan has a new look that'll have you seeing nothing but triangles. The entire front end of the vehicle is filled with the three-sided figure. The headlights, fog lights, large front grille, and lower front fascia all have triangular cues. At the back, the Elantra gets a new trunk, taillights, and rear fascia. It's definitely a large departure from last year's subdued styling.

The exterior design isn't the only thing Hyundai has altered for the 2019 model year, as the compact sedan gets more active safety features. Every trim besides the entry-level SE now comes with forward collision-avoidance assist, lane keeping assist, and driver attention alert as standard. Safe exist assist, which alerts the driver from opening the vehicle's door when a car or pedestrian is approaching from behind, is available on the Limited trim with the Ultimate Package.

On the inside, the Elantra looks nearly identical to the 2018 model, but gets a few new touches, which include air vents, controls for the audio and HVAC systems, a new instrument cluster and housing, as well as a new storage tray. The base Elantra SE trim comes with a five-inch infotainment system, while higher trims come with a new eight-inch screen that features an updated processor. Every Elantra model now comes with a rearview camera with dynamic guidelines, as standard, while the compact sedan gets more sound-absorbing material, too.

Power continues to come from one of three four-cylinder engines that range from a 128-horsepower, 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder motor to a 201-hp, 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder unit. A trio of transmissions are offered on the new Elantra, as well, including a six-speed automatic, a six-speed manual, and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

We wouldn't call the 2019 Elantra a redesigned model over the 2018 model year; the changes the compact sedan received are more in line with a refresh.

When we drove the 2018 Elantra, we weren't the biggest fans of the compact sedan's interior design. That's something that mostly remains the same for the 2019 model year, but the amount of noise that makes its way into the cabin has been addressed, which is also something we noted during our time with the vehicle. Other areas that we didn't like about the Elantra included the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission's calibration, but that hasn't been amended either.