Hyundai's Latest Sales Coupe

Hyundai continues to set sales records nearly every month, and last year the Elantra's sales beat those of the VW Jetta and Ford Focus, but lagged behind Toyota Corolla, Chevy Cruze, and Honda Civic, even though Japanese and Thai natural disasters caused parts shortages for the Toyota and Honda.

The Civic outsold the Elantra by 34,874 units last year, even with the inventory shortages, and Honda sold about 35,400 Civic coupes last year. In a normal year, coupe sales would account for 60,000 to 75,000 units.

To keep Elantra sales near the top of the compact segment, Hyundai is introducing additional body styles of the increasingly popular sedan. Soon, the Elantra will have a coupe variant plus a four-door hatchback called the Elantra GT to replace the old Elantra Touring wagon.

The Elantra coupe is 0.4 inch longer than the sedan, on the same 106.3-inch wheelbase. The sporty SE coupe trim level features five-spoke, 17-inch alloys; foglamps; and optional side mirror turn signal repeaters. Dual chrome exhausts poke out of a blacked-out rear diffuser. Hyundai claims a 0.28 drag coefficient.

The new GT is essentially the Euro-market i30, and rides on a wheelbase that's 2 inches shorter than that of the coupe/sedan. The GT is a full 9 inches shorter overall, 0.2-inch wider, and 1.4 inches taller compared with the Elantra sedan. Drag coefficient is 0.30, Hyundai says. The vehicle comes with a cooled glovebox and a 12-volt electrical outlet in the cargo area, for tailgaters.

The Elantra GT is the driver's car, with a three-stage Driver Selectable Steering Mode and a chassis tuned for "added feel, responsiveness and control," while the sedan's suspension is tuned for maximum comfort.

All North American Elantras come only with the 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine and a choice of six-speed manual or automatic. The engine is rated 148 horsepower and 131 lb-ft of torque, or 145 hp and 130 lb-ft for the California PZEV version. The coupe goes on sale this spring, with the GT launching this summer.