New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT MPG, Redesign, Pictures
New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT MPG, Redesign, Pictures – The Elantra GT gets a slew of exterior and interior improvements for the New 2026, helping it to compete with other sales titans like the Civic, Corolla, and Mazda 3. Without a doubt, the Elantra GT has a nicer overall appearance thanks to its new grille, front fenders, headlamps, and trunk design, which is button- and handle-free (but occasionally irksome). New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT MPG
It’s a clean but somewhat generic design, seemingly meant for mass inoffensiveness, though that’s mostly par for the course in this class. Inside, it’s much the same from a design standpoint, though with only 7,000 km on this fully loaded Elantra GT tester, it was surprising to already see some discolouration happening on the beige leather seats.
New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT Redesign and Update Plan
Exterior and Interior
The Elantra GT is offered with three engine choices to American buyers (but with no manual transmission), including a 1.6L turbo offered here last year. But in Canada, the sole choice for 2020 is a naturally aspirated 2.0L four-cylinder that makes 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque. The base trim starts with a six-speed manual, but everything else uses a CVT, which Hyundai calls an IVT for “intelligent variable transmission”. [Sounds dumb. – Ed.]
The 2.0L isn’t a barnburner with those relatively modest numbers, but there’s more to the story: It never feels like it needs more oompf, even when you’re trying to get around someone on the highway. Much credit goes to the new CVT, which is very well done. It uses a chain instead of a belt, and includes a “shift control strategy” that provides the impression of conventional gears. The engine/transmission combination is quiet on all but the hardest throttle, and the CVT doesn’t have a trace of any disconnected, rubber-band feel.
New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT Specs
High up on the nice-to-have features list on this top-line Elantra GT are a wireless phone charger, Android Audio/Apple CarPlay compatibility, heated steering wheel, plus heated seats in the rear as well as in the front. That said, there are two blank buttons that could easily be used for cooled seats, like some versions of the smaller Accent used to offer, which seem like a sad omission in seriously hot weather.
There’s also a booming sound system in this thing that’s worthy of special note. Put it up to three-quarters volume, and the eight-speaker Infinity stereo with pumps out enough bass to make the mirrors go fuzzy, and drown out even the most enthusiastic of carpool karaoke sessions. New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT MPG
Engine and Performance
For a mainstream compact sedan, there’s a decent amount of poke from this 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, never feeling under-powered, but never quite shining in this department either. Its 147 hp lands at the low end of this class, but still right in the mix of the ’19 Civic/Mazda3/Corolla party. Its torque output of 132 lb-ft at 4,500 rpm is a more notable 30 to 54 lb-ft below the more powerful Honda Civic and Mazda3, respectively. Hyundai saves a more powerful 161 hp and 150 torque mill for the sportier Elantra GT hatchback, and a 201 hp turbo version for the Elantra GT Sport. 
This is clearly not a car that begs to be driven hard, though it does have a Sport mode to help liven up driver involvement, on top of “Smart” and Eco modes. There are no shift paddles, but you can move the shifter over to the left to choose your own gears. The Elantra GT’s Sport mode does add a bit of sprightliness by sharpening up the rev counts and shift points, though it’s more noise than anything else. New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT MPG
New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT Fuel Economy
Officially rated at an overall average of 7.4 L/100 km, the Elantra GT achieved a rather impressive 6.9 L/100 km during my week of over 800 km with it. Yes, that was largely highway clicks, and half a litre per hundred beyond its official highway estimate. But considering the constant A/C use and the roughly 120 km/h average highway speed, that’s very reasonable real-world fuel economy.
A traditional Hyundai strength, the Elantra GT still scores high in overall value, but not quite as high as it used to. Perhaps it’s because of those now-unavailable cooled seats, or the trunk and rear seats that aren’t as user-friendly as they could be. But in all the areas that tend to matter most in this category – features per dollar, space, comfort, fuel economy, safety, and overall practicality – the Elantra GT still scores high right across the board. New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT MPG
New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT Safety Features
The Elantra GT includes seven airbags and, as all new vehicles do, a standard rear-view camera on all trim levels. Only the base Essential lacks blind-spot monitoring. Lane-keeping, forward collision, and driver attention assists are included on the top two trims but aren’t available on the Essential. On the next-up Preferred, they can only be added as part of a package that also adds push-button ignition, the hands-free trunk, and a sunroof.
The Elantra GT further adds adaptive cruise control, rear parking sensors, and its collision assist recognizes pedestrians. The adaptive cruise works smoothly, but the lane-keeping really wants you to stay in the middle of your lane of travel, and it can give the steering an unpleasant, jerky feel. Most of the time I left it shut off.
NHTSA gives it four out of five stars overall, but in a side crash, says there is a “safety concern”. The IIHS, meanwhile, gives the small sedan its top “Good” crash ratings, along with its highest Top Safety Pick+ award for the lantra GT (because it has the pedestrian detection). New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT MPG
New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT Price and Release Date
A value assessment for the Elantra GT Elantra GT requires rethinking the way we often look at vehicles: Canadians tend to “buy by the pound,” believing that a small car should always have a small price. If you’re of said thinking, then $27,549 for my Elantra GT – which puts it over $30,000 out the door with taxes and fees – will seem very high.
That has to be tempered against what you get for it, though, and there are a lot of premium features in this decent little driver, including a five-year/100,000 km bumper-to-bumper warranty. If you don’t want to move all the way up to the Elantra GT, the Luxury is well-equipped and comes in at $24,249 before freight, fees, and taxes. New 2026 Hyundai Elantra GT MPG
