Hyundai Elantra Coupe and GT: The Lightest Cars In The Class, Except When They Aren't

by Jack Baruth

Published: February 8th, 2012

hyundai elantra coupe and gt the lightest cars in the class except when they aren t

Ah, the unbearable lightness of being Hyundai! The Elantra GT has arrived, looking quite sleek, quite desirable, and clocking in at 2,784 pounds. That’s 151 pounds lighter than the next-best player in the segment — Mazda’s similarly Tyson-faced Mazda3 — and

well ahead of the Focus and Golf. The point was driven home by a little show-and-tell, as seen above, to which the Chicago media reacted with thunderous applause. Hear me now, believe me later, and remember it when you are shopping for your next car: The Elantra GT is the lightest car in its class.

The Elantra Coupe? Well…

Buried in the middle of the press materials is the slightly annoying truth: the Elantra Coupe, at 2,687 pounds, is non-trivially heavier than the new Civic Coupe, which weighs 2,594. Against that disadvantage, the Elantra offers fourteen cubic feet of additional interior space, eight more horsepower, six-speed transmissions to play the Civic’s five-speeders, a better EPA fuel economy (which is currently estimated at the magic and controversial 40mpg highway) and standard electronic nannies.

Still, if you need the lightest coupe in the segment, the Elantra ain’t it. One wonders how much a Civic five-door would weigh.

In his opening speech, Hyundai’s CEO, John Krafcik, hinted at something that we were able to confirm: both the GT and Coupe will be assembled exclusively in Korea.

Photography courtesy of Julie Hyde

Jack Baruth

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3 of 28 comments

Otaku on Feb 08, 2012

I've always preferred lightweight cars. For the most part they tend to offer better fuel economy and are usually more fun to toss around in the turns. Pretty sure my '08 Focus Coupe is right around the same 2600-2700 pound range of these Honda/Hyundai coupes. However, while I haven't sat in the current Honda Civic coupe, if it's proportions are similar to my friend's 2009 model, I think it would probably feel a bit too small and uncomfortable for me. I would be willing to look past the extra 100 lb weight penalty for the additional passenger/cargo space and overall comfort.

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NewEdgePerformance on Feb 09, 2012

Would Hyundai consider offering either the 204hp 1.6T or the 274hp 2.0T in either the Coupe or the Hatch? I think those combinations would be winners in the performance compact category! "How hard could it be?" Hyundai, are you listening? Tony D New Edge Performance & LSSpeedShop.com

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- Dougjp on Feb 09, 2012
  
  Especially as the Veloster turbo was redesigned ugly along with getting the good engine.
  
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