The Hyundai Elantra, known as the Avante, gets a facelift in its home market.
The Hyundai Elantra may not be anybody’s first choice of car in Malaysia, but in South Korea and in many parts of the world, it’s seen as a very viable alternative to the Toyota Corolla. It’s known as the i30 in some markets and the Avante in its home market and now there’s a new version of it out there.
This is the facelift to the 7th generation model which is available in Malaysia but never sold in big numbers. The facelifted Avante goes on sale today in South Korea and brings a rather subtle styling update.
Luc Donckerwolke’s interesting low-slung sedan shape is largely untouched. Unlike the last Elantra facelift, the changes here are mild and do not constitute a complete redirection of the design language. It’s still a bold design, just a very minor reshaping.
As for equipment, the new Avante gets a built-in dashcam at the top of the windscreen that is wired up directly to the vehicle so it can send its footage to the infotainment unit or to a paired smartphone. The Avante also comes with a digital key, so a smartphone with updated iOS or Android can double as one’s car keys. Plus, up to seven people can use the car via this digital key.
A rather unique feature to the South Korean Elantra is ‘After-Blow’, which dries the air conditioning system’s evaporator and air passage to reduce mold growth. If your car’s battery is running low, After-Blow is programmed to not drain the battery out completely.
It also deactivates automatically in low temperature environments or when the air conditioning has not been used for a long time.
The Avante is powered by a naturally-aspirated 1.6-litre petrol engine with a conservative output of just 121hp and 154Nm of torque. South Korean buyers also have the choice of a 1.6-litre engine that can run on liquified petroleum gas to. An Elantra N should be in the works too, but we’ll probably see the international Elantra facelift revealed first, which will be largely the same as what has been shown for the domestic market, but probably with more electrified powertrain options.
