Back in 2010, Hyundai announced that it was going to commence a revitalization of the brand through redefining what it meant to be a value brand.  Today, we can retrospectively assess Hyundai’s transition from a “value” brand into a “valuable” brand over the last 24 months or so by its robust and diverse product lineup, and it’s distinction as one of the worlds’ most respected automotive manufacturers.  Hyundai is committed to providing consumers with a “have your cake and eat it too” approach to each model it manufactures by combining a unique combination of content and quality and then offering it at a very competitive price point.

No vehicle exemplifies this philosophy more than the 2012 Hyundai Elantra.  First introduced in 2010 to US consumers as a 2011 model, the newest Elantra boasts the availability of premium features for a not-so-premium price – such class-exclusive availability of heated rear seats.  That’s a feature not even offered a class above the Elantra (with the exception of its larger sibling, the Sonata) and generally isn’t an option on most non-Korean vehicles that cost less than $50,000.  The Elantra is also available with proximity keys with push-button start, a voice-activated navigation system, Bluetooth hands-free calling and audio streaming, USB connectivity for iPod or a USB stick loaded with MP3 or WMA files, and in case you still want one, a single-disc CD player.  What’s particularly nice about the navigation system is its integration of XM Data services that includes weather information (forecasts, severe weather advisories, radar, road condition, cloud cover, etc.), stocks, traffic, and sports.

About the design – it’s awesome.  While its predecessors were competitively styled at the time, the latest Elantra’s design is a full generation ahead of its competitors, according to Hyundai’s design team.  And it shows, too – the sculpted lines and accents (no pun intended) give the Elantra a very aggressive appearance that primarily plays off its strong, side character line that visually lengthens the dimensions of the vehicle beyond what they physically are.  When you look at it, walk around it and sit inside, it’s hard to believe that this car is actually only 178.3 inches in overall length – which is actually less than an inch longer than the last gen model, yet this newest model is classified as a midsize car because of how voluminous the interior is.

The bottom line is that not only has Hyundai hit the ball out of the park with the new Elantra, they broke the bat doing it.  The effort behind this vehicle has been tumultuous, and a lot of things were riding on its success.  And to make the car fit within its price-point (which, fully loaded, weighs in at about only $23,000), Hyundai kept the price down by throwing some bits and pieces overboard before coming into port, like the HIDs, LED taillights, sport pedals, color TFT screen in the gauge cluster, extra sound deadening, exterior LED courtesy lights, automatic climate control, and SPAS (Smart Parking Assist System – literally parks itself for you).  While the end product us Yanks receive is still very impressive, all of those Korean market-exclusive goodies offered on the Avante (as it’s known as in Korea) cost money, and Hyundai knows this.  Since the price of these options decreases over time, maybe the next Elantra’s journey from the drawing board to the showroom will include some, if not all, of those things.  We can only hope.

IMAGE CREDIT:  Hyundai USA

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