The Right Compact Car for a Sport Model

There are some cars in the compact sedan world that just look like they should be turned into sport cars.  They don’t have to be fully decked out, that might look a bit odd, but these cars could benefit from some added sport features and a boost under the hood to make them some of the most active and performance oriented cars in the compact sedan segment.  We have seen this done before and still see it done today, think of the Honda Civic as an example, but there is one car that has a sporty look already, it just needs the added parts.

The car that is already on the market in South Korea as a sport model that will arrive in the US by the end of the year is the Hyundai Elantra Sport.  Just think about this car and how much it looks like it wants to get up and go and you can easily understand why this car is chosen to be a sport model and one that will be the car you want to drive.  If you have loved the Elantra in the past, you will really love this car when it comes to our shores.

With any sports car the first thing we want to discuss is the power and the performance.  The new Elantra Sport will be powered by a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that delivers 201 horsepower and 195 lb.-ft. of torque.  While this may not sound like exceptional numbers keep in mind this is much more powerful than both the Mazda MX-5 Miata and the incoming Fiat 124 Spider and both of those cars are known to be sports cars that are fun to drive.  The Elantra Sport will certainly be more active with this powertrain and adds even more to the package to be a true sports car.

This car will enjoy an aggressive styling package that offers a redesigned bumper that will have larger intakes.  It will also feature a Turbo badge on the grill, horizontal LED daytime running lights, HID headlights, larger side skirts, a rear bumper that now features a diffuser, chrome exhaust tips and LED taillights.  These upgrades along with the bump in power will certainly make the Elantra Sport a car that can turn a few heads and make us wonder why we haven’t had this car around the entire time the Elantra has been on the market.

There will be interior upgrades as well which will include sportier seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel and faux carbon fiber and red trim pieces.  You can choose either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission to pair up with the engine to have the driving experience you want to enjoy.  There is even an Extreme Package that will be offered which adds 18-inch wheels with special tires, a rear spoiler and other performance parts along with a few more wheel choices.  It appears Hyundai has gone all out to embrace the sport of this new Elantra Sport which will show up in November at the SEMA show in Las Vegas for us to admire and review.