This is what you’ll soon shop against sedans like the Toyota Corolla or the Honda Civic.
Both Hyundai and Kia have been going this way for years. Screw the rounded, blobby and boring looks of yesteryear — we’re going for bold and brash, and they’ve certainly done that with the new Elantra. Technically, the new-generation model Hyundai showed off at the Busan Auto Show in South Korea is the new Avante, but we’ll obviously know it as the Elantra when it makes its way to the U.S. (more on that momentarily).
What you’re looking at here is the eighth-generation Elantra, following the last model that debuted in 2020. Hyundai has actually given the Elantra quite a bit of attention between new models and refreshes over the last decade or so, and that trend continues here. The new car is 187.6 inches long (about 2.1 inches longer than before), sitting on a 108.2-inch wheelbase. Hyundai notes this next-gen Elantra is also 1.2 inches wider and slightly taller than before.
The outside styling is a dramatic departure even from the more angular Elantra we have today, too. There’s a chunkier, more aggressive look to the front fascia, fenders, rear deck and even the roofline. Instead of going for a swooping coupe-like look, it’s actually a little more triangular at each end, with a flatter roof area, which also ought to be an improvement for rear passengers’ headroom. At the front, Hyundai gives the Elantra a split setup for the running lights and headlights, with the former making something of an ‘H’ pattern on the front. That effect is even more pronounced at the back, where you get another set of H-shaped taillights (and Hyundai had the foresight to avoid the “dog bone” issue of trying to do that sort of thing with the Santa Fe).
Inside, the new Hyundai Elantra looks to get up to a 14.6-inch display.
As standard, lower-end models get a 12.9-inch setup. Hyundai is also going the Android-based route with its Pleos Connect infotainment system. That said, it (fortunately) hasn’t ditched buttons altogether, as you still get your usual steering wheel controls and a set of switches and knobs on the center stack. Moving over to the steering column, Hyundai did put the Elantra’s gear selector on a stalk to accommodate dual wireless charging pads for the center console, but it did not go the route of a twist-style setup like its other models.
Atop the dashboard, you might also notice another small screen in the driver’s line of sight. Instead of two equally sized screens as Hyundai and Kia have been so keen to do over the past few years, there’s a tiny cluster screen that displays the most essential information in the driver’s view. On the steering wheel itself, you also lose the Hyundai badge and get four dots instead, as morse code for the letter H.
What’s going to power the new Elantra, and how much will it cost?
Under the hood, the powertrain situation for the new eighth-generation Elantra/Avante looks pretty similar to what’s already available. The base engine, in the South Korean market at least, will be a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder with 147 horsepower. The hybrid model is also sticking around, backed by a 1.6-liter gas engine and getting a slight power bump up to 155 horsepower.
Hyundai plans to put the new Avante on sale in the South Korean market in the third quarter, so buyers over there will have access to it over the next couple months. As for the global Elantra, we’ll probably have to wait until calendar year 2027 before it actually arrives. Still, we’re already halfway through 2026, so that’s not too far off.
While today’s announcement focuses on the baseline models, there is a new N performance version in development. However, that model may still be a way off, to the point where we probably won’t see it until 2028 or so.
