Arguably one of the most critical products in the rebirth of Hyundai was the Elantra. That's because it is one of the marque's most affordable products and when this generation of the vehicle made its big debut it was shocking.
It was shockingly good.
While its big-time competitors were going through their own struggles — Toyota was doing damage control from recallgate, and Honda was running a ghost ship — the all-new Elantra hit the mark by giving consumers something exciting, well packaged and it had a ton of space.
I remember driving a black Elantra in Philadelphia and looking in the glass at a red light. I wasn't thinking "Ugh. A Hyundai." I was actually admiring its shape and thinking "This looks good AND if I were the owner of this car I'd be proud to drive this car."
Considering I was a bit of a brand snob at that point, that was a very meaningful comment.
BUT now the competition has awoken, finally. And the Elantra has begun to grow a bit old. It's time for a refresh. While we're not entirely sure what Hyundai may be up to, we will be keeping an eye on the latest spy images emerging from the road.
**Head over to CarScoop for the FULL collection of shots
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