Elantra sedan

HYUNDAI’S fifth-generation Elantra arrived in Australia on July 1 2011.

Helping the Korean firm’s desire for small-car domination was “Australian tuned” suspension, a more powerful yet economical drivetrain than before, and a five-star ANCAP crash-test rating across the range due to a full suite of active and passive safety features.

Built off a new front-wheel drive platform, the MD Elantra was styled in Irvine, California. Dimensionally it is 25mm longer (at 4530mm) and 50mm lengthier in wheelbase at 2700mm, but just as wide at 1775mm as before, with a height drop of 55mm to 1435mm. Boot space is rated at 420 litres.

Under that snub bonnet wa a 1796cc 1.8-litre twin-cam four-cylinder petrol engine delivering 110kW of power at 6500rpm (5kW more than the outgoing Elantra’s 2.0L engine) and 178Nm of torque at 4700rpm.

Six speeds step in for the old five-speed manual and four-speed automatic option offered in the old car, while there were special suspension and steering calibrations for Australian tastes, with some real-world testing on local roads resulting in unique front spring and shock absorber fitments, as well as revised mapping for the electrically powered rack and pinion steering’s control unit.

A MacPherson strut front and coupled torsion beam rear suspension layout conformed to the class norm.