Hyundai Avante/Elantra (AD) - 2019 minor change

Just as how Hyundai radically revamped the current-generation Sonata to make it more Grandeur-ish, the current-generation Avante (known in the world market as the Elantra) has been given a big minor change this year and with the folks brought their pencil sharpeners and blade sharpeners because they made it even more edgier than the pre-facelifted model as well as giving it more features to make it more usable.

2019 Hyundai Avante

2019 Hyundai Avante

The New Avante, as Hyundai wants you to believe, is a big minor change to the current-generation AD model and for this big minor change, The New Avante features a much sharper design inspired from its big brothers and more technological features fit for day-to-day basis at work or at weekends with family and friends.

For starters, the exterior design features a new front face, a new rear, new wheel designs, and LED headlights on more expensive models. On the inside, they've revamped the center cluster, the air vents, the controls, and the storage tray, among many others. It even has useful features such as a hidden-type trunk button that allows users to open the trunk by touching the Hyundai badge on it as well as a wireless chargning port for today's smartphones, all adds up to a more usable Avante for everyday use.

2019 Hyundai Avante interior

2019 Hyundai Avante interior

The engine lineup's changed and the new Avante now comes with a brand new SmartStream G1.6 engine which comes with Dual Port Fuel Injection System and Integral Thermal Management System. This is the same new engine that powers the brand new Kia K3 months ago. It produces 123PS of power and 15.7kgf•m of fuel economy. Just like the new Kia K3, this variant is mated to a brand new SmartStream Intelligent Variable Transmission or IVT which is, annoyingly, a CVT that behaves differently because it uses adaptive style shift logic with a chain-type belt instead of push belt, a first in the compact class. Rings a bell, huh? Although the performance is somewhat upsetting with this powertrain, the fuel efficiency is not so bad as it can get up to 15.2km/L combined.

If you want your Avante to keep going, you can even opt in for a 17.8km/L 1.6L e-VGT diesel engine with 136PS of power and 30.6 kgf•m of torque, but this is not the time to talk about that because in today's times, talking diesel is no longer part of our daily lives, well almost.

It maybe Korean but the way it performs is typically Japanese, much like your dad's Civic but unlike that, the new Avante comes prepared with Hyundai SmartSense safety features in more expensive variants such as Foward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Driver Attention Alert, and Safe Exist Assist, among many others. Now that's usable for day-to-day use.

The 2019 Hyundai Avante minor change starts at 14,040,000 Korean Won so it is cheaper to buy than the all-new Kia K3, making it a bargain of the year.

Photo: Hyundai Motor Company