By: Jason Woosey
Fast and sporty Corolla-class cars such as the RSi, Jetta CLi and Ballade V-Tec are now a distant memory for South Africans, but this new entrant from South Korea brings hope that the segment could live again.
What you see here is the new Elantra Sport that's just been announced for the US market and it's powered by Hyundai's 147kW/258Nm 1.6-litre direct injection turbopetrol engine, also found in Kia's Cerato Koup .
The engine is mated to either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch box with flappy paddles and Hyundai hasn't just stopped at making it the most powerful Elantra ever. The carmaker has also ensured that it has the chassis to match, treating it to a fully independent multi-link rear suspension set-up that's unique to the Sport. The model also gets the appropriate design enhancements inside and out to set it apart from regular Elantras.
But is it coming to South Africa?
Now for the not-so-good news. Though the Sport is part of the international line-up and thus has not been ruled out for local introduction, the new Elantra range as a whole is "on ice" at the moment due to the current weakness of the rand.
While Hyundai would very much like to bring the new sedan to South Africa, a spokesperson told us that the company first needs to find a way of bringing it in at a competitive price and that it is currently watching the exchange rate.