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Hyundai Elantra snags IIHS Top Safety Pick+

The refreshed Hyundai Elantra has just earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's ( IIHS) highest award – the Top Safety Pick+. Now in its sixth generation, the new Elantra's crash test rating is a large improvement over the previous model's, which didn't earn the prestigious award due to getting a rating of "acceptable" in the small front overlap test. The good rating – the best rating possible – only applies to 2017 models built after March, as the vehicles have stronger bodies and a modified front airbag. The Elantra also has an available front crash prevention system, which is a requirement for cars to qualify as a Top Safety Pick+. In order for a vehicle to qualify as a Top Safety Pick+, it must score a rating of good in the moderate overlap front, small overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint tests. The car must also offer a front crash prevention system that has to earn either an advanced or superior rating. Related Video: News Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety via YouTubeImage Credit: IIHS Hyundai Safety Videos Sedan IIHS Top Safety Pick

Hyundai plans $388 million expansion at engine plant in Alabama

Hyundai says it is investing $388 million to build a new plant in Alabama to manufacturing engine heads and update technology in an existing engine plant to support production of new Sonata and Elantra sedans and the Santa Fe crossover. The investment will also include 50 new jobs at its manufacturing complex in Montgomery. About $40 million will go toward constructing a new 260,000-square-foot engine-head machining plant, which is expected to be completed in November and operational by mid-2019. Hyundai says the project will free up space to expand engine assembly lines in two existing engine plants in Alabama. Hyundai plans to begin producing the Theta III engine, likely a 2.5-liter four-cylinder (though Hyundai won't confirm the specs yet), in April 2019 for the Sonata and Santa Fe crossover. It will continue to build the 2.0-liter Nu engine for the Elantra at its plant in Montgomery. Together, the engine plants build about 700,000 engineers per year to support vehicle production in Alabama and Kia's manufacturing facility in West Point, Ga. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama started vehicle production in May 2005 and employs 2,700 full-time and 500 part-time employees. Related Video: Image Credit: Hyundai Plants/Manufacturing Hyundai Crossover Sedan hyundai santa fe

Korea's sport compact | 2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport First Drive

When we drove the then all-new 2017 Hyundai Elantra earlier this year, we came away impressed but slightly bored. There is nothing fundamentally flawed with the compact sedan, but there also is nothing about the car that gets our blood pumping. The new Elantra is an affordable and reasonably well-equipped people mover. It's an improvement over its predecessor, but the driving experience leaves us indifferent. Hyundai was aware of this from the outset. The product plan includes the Sport model you see here, intended to inject some life into what is otherwise a rather milquetoast car. On paper, everything looks good and all of the right boxes are checked, including more power and a tighter suspension. Hyundai was clear that this is far more than just an appearance package like the previous generation's Sport trim. As such, the new Elantra Sport is fitted with a 201-horsepower, 1.6-liter turbocharged engine mated to either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual clutch automatic. A revised suspension replaces the standard torsion-beam rear axle with a fully independent multi-link rear setup, paired with bigger brakes, wheels, and tires. Other accoutrements, like sport seats and a flat-bottomed steering wheel, are also included. Check, check, check. The Elantra Sport with a manual transmission starts at $21,650 before destination and, sitting just below the top-of-the-range Limited model, comes very well equipped for the price. Heated leather seats are standard, as are HID headlights, keyless entry and ignition, and a seven-inch touchscreen display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. That's a lot of equipment for a car in this size and price range. The only option on both the manual and paddle-shifted DCT model (that one starts at $22,750) is the $2,400 Premium Package. It adds an extra inch to the display, navigation, an eight-speaker Infinity sound system, Hyundai's Blue Link connectivity, a sunroof, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, dual automatic climate control with an auto defogger, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror with HomeLink and a compass. Lots of checks in lots of boxes at a reasonable price point and a long warranty has been Hyundai's modus operandi for a while now, and that's fine for most of its models. It's the case with the non-Sport Elantra, which is packed with features but otherwise makes us shrug. The Sport may not be a revolution, but it is a lot of fun to drive.