Hyundai introduced two new body styles for its brisk-selling Elantra in Chicago on Wednesday: the 2013 Elantra GT four-door hatchback and Elantra Coupe. The offerings will join the Elantra sedan in the cutthroat compact segment, a class that includes the Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Chevrolet Cruze, Volkswagen Golf, Mazda 3 and Subaru Impreza, among others.
With Elantra sales exceeding expectations, the automaker has had difficulty meeting demand. As such, the Elantra variants will be assembled in South Korea, unlike the sedan, which is built for the North American market at Hyundai’s plant in Montgomery, Ala.
The Elantra Coupe is scheduled to arrive at dealerships in spring, with the hatch joining it this summer.
Though the Elantra Coupe shown in Chicago was a new design, the GT was essentially the i30 hatchback shown at the Frankfurt auto show last September. The sedan was introduced at the 2010 Los Angeles auto show and named North American Car of the Year at the Detroit auto show last month.
Shoppers may find that the automaker’s so-called fluidic sculpture design language translates particularly well to a coupe. The front fascia sweeps back into a pronounced fender well, which melds with a character line sweeping up toward the rear deck and lip spoiler. A smooth arc is formed by the windshield and roof.
The GT, which replaces the discontinued Elantra Touring wagon, receives a less aggressive fascia treatment, in addition to a beltline dip that allows for larger front side windows and a roofline that dips only barely as it approaches the rear hatch.
With all seats raised, the GT accommodates five, but with the split rear seats folded, the hatchback offers crossover-rivaling cargo space, Hyundai says.
Both coupe and hatchback share the sedan’s powertrain, a 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine that develops 148 horsepower, and the choice of a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmission. Final fuel economy numbers are not yet available from the Environmental Protection Agency, but Hyundai estimates 28 miles per gallon in city and 39 m.p.g. in highway driving for the hatch and the automatic-equipped coupe. Equipped with the manual transmission, the coupe is expected to achieve 29 m.p.g. city, 40 m.p.g. highway.
All Elantra models are suspended on McPherson struts up front and a torsion beam at the rear. The coupe’s suspension calibration has been tuned for sportier driving. Its interior also nods to the car’s more sporting pretensions, with deeper side bolsters than those in the sedan or hatchback, to keep driver and passenger snug.
The GT, at 2,784 pounds, is 175 pounds lighter than the Ford Focus, 151 pounds lighter than the Mazda 3 and 222 pounds lighter than Volkswagen Golf, Hyundai says. It is also the shortest of the Elantra trio, at 169.3 inches, while the coupe is roughly a half-inch longer than the sedan, at 178.7 inches. The coupe and sedan share a 106.3-inch wheelbase, but the hatchback rides on a 104.3-inch wheelbase.
Prices will be announced closer to the cars’ on-sale dates.
