2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport Overview – Video

 

The 2017 Elantra Sport is decidedly non-weird-looking—it is actually quite handsome. Sharing its basic grille shape and headlights with other Elantras, the Sport gets deep cuts underneath each cheekbone, a subtle body kit, and attractive 20-spoke aluminum wheels. In what counts as a design coup, Hyundai resisted the urge to sprinkle boy-racer spoilers and flashy bits over the Sport, skipping an extroverted, Focus ST–style aesthetic for a subtler, more mature GTI-like vibe. The theme continues inside with red contrast stitching, a flat-bottom steering wheel, and sport seats.

 

 

Hyundai backs up the Sport’s sporting visuals with what appear to be sporting mechanicals, at least on paper. The regular Elantra’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is chucked in favor of Hyundai’s turbocharged, direct-injected 1.6-liter four-cylinder producing “more than” 200 horsepower and 190 lb-ft of torque. Specific power figures will be released closer to the Sport’s on-sale date later this year, but the model’s preliminary numbers are nonetheless 53 horsepower and 58 lb-ft stronger than those assigned to the base 2.0-liter engine—although they will trail those of the aforementioned segment heavyweights, all of which use 2.0-liter turbocharged fours. It is worth noting that the Sport won’t be the only turbocharged Elantra—the fuel-economy-oriented Eco has a 128-hp 1.4-liter turbo four—but it will be the mightiest.

Doing its part to Save the Manuals, Hyundai will offer a six-speed manual transmission in addition to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic with paddle shifters. The Sport remains front-wheel drive, but its rear end is overhauled and now has a multilink independent suspension. Replacing the non-Sport Elantra’s twist-beam axle, the new suspension design should offer more controlled dynamics, and we’d wager it will add further refinement to the Elantra’s ride while enhancing individual wheel discipline over bumps.