Hyundai has been selling the Elantra sedan since the early 1990s, and though its initial reception was less than warm, that’s no longer the case, anymore. As with most Korean cars from this era, the Hyundai Elantra faced a lot of criticism for its less-than-appealing design, weak engines, poor brand recognition, and the availability of better Japanese competitors. Therefore, not many chose to go with the first couple of generations of the Hyundai Elantra sedan, up until the arrival of the third-generation model in 2000. By this point in time, Hyundai was no longer some brand from South Korea, but one of the world’s fastest growing carmakers. Fast-forward to 2011 when the fifth-generation model hit the market, prior notions about the brand had changed and the Elantra finally received the warm welcome that it deserved.
Today, the all-new sixth-generation Hyundai Elantra is amongst us, and it’s now one of the best and amongst the most popular C-segment sedans in the market. Throughout its life, Hyundai has tirelessly kept working on building its brand reputation and strengthening its cars’ perception among the masses. This meant that the third-largest carmaker on the planet has not only blown past its earlier image, but has been proving that it can make some of the most reliable and popular cars in the market. Today, the new 2019 Hyundai Elantra is definitely part of this whole paradigm shift in public thinking, as the model itself is considered to be one of the most trustworthy and desirable in its segment. According to J. D. Power and Associates, the latest iteration of the Hyundai Elantra scores a respectable 4 out of 5 points in terms of its overall reliability. To put that score into better perspective, the highly-famed Toyota Corolla also scored the same, whilst the new Honda Civic only managed 3 out of 5 points. The Elantra also scores plenty well as far as consumer satisfaction and safety recalls are concerned. So, yes… The Hyundai Elantra is a reliable car, indeed. As you can tell by now, Hyundai is no longer a manufacturer churning out cheap and unsatisfactory cars. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
However, despite its positives and the general upward trend in the market, the 2019 Hyundai Elantra isn’t without challengers. If anything, it faces tremendous competition in the UAE from the likes of the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Nissan Sentra. While Hyundai has been doing very well of late, the Japanese still reign supreme when it comes to resale values and brand equity in our market. But, the new Hyundai Elantra aces the pricing game as it’s simply way less expensive than either the Toyota or the Honda Civic. The range kicks off at 58,900 dirhams for the base Elantra 1.6 GL, and tops out at 75,900 dirhams for the fully-loaded Elantra 2.0 GLS trim. In comparison, the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic start at 70,900 and 60,900 dirhams, respectively. And I mentioned earlier, the new Hyundai Elantra is just as reliable as the Corolla, and in the same token, easily trumps its other Japanese counterpart.
The 2019 Hyundai Elantra is not just a dependable workhorse, but also amalgamates its contemporary design language with a well-appointed interior, roomy cabin, great build quality, loads of modern tech and features, and a highly-competitive pricing all wrapped into a single, all-around package. As for its performance and fuel efficiency, the base trim with its 1.6-liter four-popper makes 127 hp with 157 Nm, while the top-trim GLS car’s 2.0-liter naturally-aspirated unit produces 150 hp and 192 Nm of torque. Both engines share the same 6-speed automatic transmission, though the Elantra 1.6 delivers a slightly more tolerable 7.0 L/100 km, compared to the 2.0’s less-than-appreciable 7.4 L/100 km.
