2013 Hyundai Elantra Gls Sedan 4-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport aims to be the Korean Jetta GLI

We've had a good idea of what the upcoming Elantra Sport would be like thanks to Hyundai's reveal of the Avante Sport, the quicker version of the Elantra's Korean-market twin. Now we know just how similar the two are: essentially identical. The Elantra Sport features a turbocharged 1.6-liter four cylinder engine that anyone familiar with the Veloster Turbo will recognize. Oddly though, at 200 hp and 190 lb-ft of torque, the engine is rated 1 horsepower and 5 lb-ft of torque less than either the turbo Veloster or Avante. The front-wheel drive Elantra Sport can also be ordered with either a 6-speed manual or 7-speed dual clutch transmission. We're happy to report the Elantra Sport and its Avante twin will share a new multi-link rear suspension. This replaces the less sophisticated torsion bar suspension and will hopefully contribute to more agile handling. Hyundai did not announce whether the Avante Sport's optional "extreme package" anti-roll bars, springs and shocks would be available in the States. We certainly hope they will at least be an option. The Avante Sport and Elantra Sport will also share exterior and interior updates. These updates give the fastest Elantra a subtle, classy look. Larger intake vents, a rear diffuser panel, larger wheels and slightly extended ground effects all say sporty without shouting it. The theme continues inside with red stitching on the flat-bottom steering wheel and more aggressive "sport" seats. The Elantra Sport also finds itself in an odd position. Many of the performance cars in its size segment have moved up in power. There are some small sedans that come close to the Elantra Sport's 200 ponies such as the turbocharged Honda Civic, 2.5-liter Mazda3 and the lame-duck 2.4-liter Dodge Dart. But when it comes to enthusiast-oriented small sedans with at least 200 horses, there's only one true option: the Volkswagen Jetta GLI. In fact, the 210-horsepower GLI matches the Elantra Sport quite nicely, as it also features subtle styling and just enough sportiness to feel special. Hyundai has yet to announce pricing, but if it undercuts the German veteran by a significant margin, it could become a bargain choice for the driver who wants some, but not too much, fun. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport View 19 Photos Image Credit: Hyundai Hyundai Performance Sedan turbocharged jetta gli

Amazon Prime will now bring you a Hyundai, but you can't keep it

We already rely on Amazon Prime to bring us necessities like food, clothing, and five-pound Hershey bars, so why not entire cars? Hyundai is going to try that, although only to quickly bring you a car to test-drive. There's no one-click ordering for Elantras yet. The program, called "Prime Now. Drive Now", is an extension of the Prime Now fast delivery service that brings certain items to people in select areas in under two hours. It's available this weekend and next, only to people in Los Angeles and Orange County. Prime members can hop online and schedule a time between 9 am and 7 pm, Saturday or Sunday, and designate a preferred location for the test drive. After that, a "trained expert" will be sent with a 2017 Hyundai Elantra for the potential customer to try out for 45 to 60 minutes. If after that they want to purchase an Elantra, the expert can then direct them to a local Hyundai dealer to complete the transaction. This is an interesting approach to reaching consumers and could have benefits for them. People who are too busy to visit a dealer for a test drive can schedule a more convenient time and place to try the car. For people who get stressed out with the dealer experience and the pressure to purchase a car (which is, like, everyone) this could also be a more comfortable way to look at one. It's also a clever way for Hyundai to sort of circumvent its dealers while still letting them handle the final sale, a sort of indirect direct-sales solution. On the flip side, this program means consumers may only try the car that arrives at their door, and there's a decent chance that it will be a high trim with options and features that they might not want or be able to afford. It might still require some shopping around at the dealer to see what the different trim levels and options are like. Though only a limited trial for now, it will be interesting to see if Hyundai continues the program, and having more test-drive options can't hurt. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Hyundai Elantra View 51 Photos Image Credit: Hyundai Hyundai Car Buying Sedan Amazon amazon prime

We check out Hyundai's HRL exoskeleton, a robotic mobility suit for paraplegics

Hyundai makes some of the largest vehicles in the world – to wit, 185,000-ton ships with 56-foot high engines making power at 84 rpm – but its R&D division has found enough human-factor synergy with autonomous vehicle development that they're now working on robotic exoskeletons. We were recently introduced to two of these devices: the HRL designed to increase mobility and therefore quality of life for paraplegics; and the WEX, designed to assist in repetitive-motion lifting. Both of these machines are powered by replaceable lithium-ion battery packs with a 4-hour run time and 40-minute recharges. The HRL robotic legs are designed for people 64 to 71 inches tall and less than 250 pounds. The aluminum segments are adjustable in centimeter increments over a 10-cm range, and the 22.4-inch width means it would fit in many long-haul aircraft forward seats. With the 4.4-lb battery pack, the HRL weighs about 41 pounds. There are six 50:1 reduction-gear actuators, two pelvic actuators rated at 224 pound-feet of peak torque with 60-degree range of motion, and two hip and knee with 112 lb-ft peak, 180 degrees and twice the rotational speed of the pelvic motors. Twenty sensors control it all with default speed of just under a mile per hour and a top speed of 1.5 mph, and step length can be adjusted by smartphone via Bluetooth. One of the accompanying crutches has four thumb buttons much like a video-game controller, though they're experimenting with simpler inputs including a joystick. The crutch communicates with the leg unit over a few feet of distance via Zigbee wireless protocol, with security layers added for both obvious reasons and to ensure two users in the same vicinity won't transmit to the other's unit. An HRL can help you sit, stand, walk or climb and descend stairs; it will also stand on its own, simplifying the process of putting it on. Your correspondent is outside the design height limits so rather than do any impromptu CG research we deferred to colleague Chris Davies of Slashgear for impressions wearing it: "It grips tightly, the support would be comforting, and it delivers good posture. It does take some getting used to – when it first lifts up a leg to move it forward you do feel like you're going to fall over – but once you establish a gait and stop over-thinking it becomes much easier." Indeed, he never fell over and most who tried established a rhythm within a few minutes, if not a 1.5-mph sprint.