Hyundai's Elantra Touring (i30) Gets The Family Makeover
With Hyundai’s eye-catching “fluidic sculpture” design language working its way through the lineup, the Hyundai Elantra Touring was starting to look like the sensible but homely middle child of the family… according to my guide to codger-friendly pop culture references, the Elantra Touring had become something of the family “Jan Brady” (whatever that may have been). But as Michael Karesh found in his recent review, the Touring model, which is sold in Europe as the i30, is something of a hidden gem, as
no other car offers a similar combination of crossover functionality and hot hatch driving enjoyment.
And now that it’s joining the family at the fluidic sculpture salon, the new Elantra Touring brings some style to the table as well. Look for the new model to debut at the forthcoming Frankfurt show, and hope along with us that it’s new-found good looks don’t change its fun-meets-function personality.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
Comments
Join the conversation
Only one problem with Hyundai in the Richmond, VA area. The dealer there hangs a tag that says, "$1495.00 market adjustment" on every car. No way in hell I'm even talking to them.
Jan Brady was my favorite Brady girl. Nice to see the Touring is finally getting the family treatment, although the slightly different looks of the old one were nice, too.
The only reason I am seriously considering a 2011 Elantra Touring (over similar cars like the Mazda 3) is that it is actually a wagon. Sure, this new car certainly looks nice, but it seems like it's lost all of the utility associated with the wagon aspect of it. It's all about utility/function coupled with good driving dynamics. If they lose the utility/function aspect, why would I get this over a Mazda 3?