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2019 Hyundai Elantra gets angular new styling, safety options

The 2019 Hyundai Elantra compact sedan has received a pretty radical refresh for a relatively conservative car. The rounded front fascia of the current model has given way to a face full of sharp corners. The headlights and fog lights are now triangles, and the grille is sharper. The headlights intersect the grille, too. There are some nice details in this new design. The base of the headlights match up with the top-most slat in the grille, and the lights intersect the grille at some of the grille's top corners. Two new creases on the hood also line up with vertical slats in the grille. The rear of the car is updated, too, if not as radically. The taillights get sharpened corners, as well as downward extensions on the outside edges. The illuminated parts are crisp zigzagging lines that match the nose. The license plate housing has been moved from the trunk lid to the bumper, and large Elantra lettering stretches across the lid. This mirrors the design of the current Sonata midsize sedan. Overall, the design changes are reasonably attractive, though they don't seem to fit especially well with the flanks of the car, which retain the softer, more organic lines of the current car. There are a number of other small updates as far as features are concerned with the Elantra. Hyundai now includes camera-based forward collision prevention, lane-keeping assist, and driver attention alert as standard equipment on the second-lowest SEL trim and above. All trim levels also get a 5-inch touchscreen as standard along with a rear-view camera and dynamic guidelines on the screen. The base SE model with a manual transmission finally gets Bluetooth and steering wheel controls, too. The top-end Limited gets an 8-speaker sound system with subwoofer, Qi wireless phone charging and Safe Exit Assist, which warns drivers of approaching cars when the door is open. What doesn't change is under the skin. The naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder makes the same 147 horsepower as last year, and the turbocharged 1.4-liter engine still produces 128 horsepower. The 201-horsepower Elantra Sport is completely unchanged in regards to powertrain and exterior. Hyundai says that a restyled version will appear later this year. Pricing for the refreshed Hyundai Elantra has not yet been announced. It goes on sale this fall, and pricing should come just before it hits dealers. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Hyundai Elantra View 36 Photos News Source: Hyundai Hyundai Economy Cars Sedan

Honda readying Veloster-rivaling concept for Beijing?

Maybe the rumors of the CR-Z's death have been exaggerated. Honda has just released the first teaser of a new concept that it plans to debut at the Beijing Motor Show at the end of April. It shows off a sporty looking coupe that looks like the child of a CR-Z and Hyundai Veloster. However, the concept looks to be for the Chinese market, as it's a joint proposal with one of its domestic partners there, Guangqi Honda Automobile.
Unfortunately, we don't have any other details about the concept yet - not even a name. The teaser also doesn't give a very good indication of the car's size. It appears to be roughly the size of a small coupe, and if Honda hadn't already tried the idea with the CR-Z, you could almost see it as a modern CRX, but it could be a little bit larger, too.
In addition to the coupe concept at the Beijing show, Dongfeng Honda will premiere the concept for the next Spirior, which is the foreign version of the Accord. Guangqi Honda will also bring a mid-size SUV and the third-generation Fit. Acura will also be there and will have both the NSX Concept and a model of its powertrain. Scroll down for the full release about everything Honda will show in China.

2018 Hyundai Sonata First Drive | An infield home run

Baseball's boring. At least that's what anyone thinks who doesn't understand that it's an exciting game of inches. To wit, the same can be said for the crowded midsize family sedan segment. Unlike the all-new Toyota Camry and the upcoming 10th-generation Honda Accord, the Sonata is a refresh of the existing model. Hyundai is still in it, but can it improve sales in a segment being eaten alive by crossovers? At first glance, the most significant change to the new-look Sonata is the front end with a new cascading grille, which is longer and more contoured. This grille will make its way across all models as a major part of Hyundai's new corporate design language. Hyundai claims to be the only car company that manufactures its own steel, and this cascading design is inspired by the flow of molten steel as it's poured. With an elongated front end, new character lines on the hood and front bumper, and slimmer LED headlights, revisions give the entire car a more aggressive appearance and sportier stance. At the rear, moving the license plate from the trunk to the bumper was a good choice. It simplifies the back end, better showcasing the sheetmetal and allowing the trunk lid and redesigned taillights to take center stage. Turbo models will get a twin exhaust, increasing the sporty feel even more. Inside the Sonata, the facelifted center stack features a seven-inch touchscreen monitor (eight-inch on the Limited edition. The audio controls are more streamlined to give the entire unit a less bulky appearance, and a sporty, leather-wrapped three-spoke steering wheel complements other goodies such as leather seats. The biggest change in trim levels comes with the addition of the SEL model, just above the SE and Eco models, which includes even more features for about $1,600. Gone for 2018 is the six-speed transmission from the turbocharged 2.0-liter models, replaced by the all-new eight-speed that adds ratio range at both top and bottom. The power is unchanged at 245 horsepower, but remember that the BMW 330i's 2.0-liter turbo makes 248 hp, so Hyundai's engine is in the ballpark with those from established luxury brands. Even with that power, don't count on racy launches, as there's plenty of lag. Once the turbo is spooled up, the engine has moxie. We drove two trim levels, the Sport and the Limited 2.0T. The ride is plenty comfortable on the refined chassis and updated rear suspension, which includes an increase in trailing-arm thickness to stiffen the suspension.