Hyundai redrew the Elantra — and the new Avante looks almost like a Genesis

© A. Krivonosov

Hyundai chose the stage of BIMOS 2026 in Busan, rather than a dry online release, to premiere the new Avante. The 1995 Avante was shown on a screen next to the sedan — and the trick worked better than any speech: 31 years passed between the first and the eighth generation, yet the nameplate is still alive in a segment that crossovers are pushing aside worldwide.

The new Avante, internally CN8, will once again be sold as the Elantra outside Korea. Visually, this is no longer an evolution of the previous CN7 but a clean break with the old «fluidic sculpture». A low, flat hood, an abruptly cropped tail, an arched roof, muscular wheel arches and geometric lighting feel closer to the mood of the N Vision 74 than to any previous Hyundai compact sedan.

The front end is almost grille-less: a thin LED strip runs across the entire width at hood level, the main headlights are pushed down into the corners, and instead of the usual grille there is a black panel with horizontal slots. From the back the Avante looks even more expensive: a slim light bar, AVANTE lettering across the middle, vertical C-shaped tail-lamp elements and a flat Hyundai logo create an association with the Grandeur and Genesis rather than a budget sedan.

The most important decision is hidden away from the styling. Hyundai did not turn the Avante into an electric car. Under the hood of the showcased car is a naturally aspirated Smartstream DOHC 16V petrol engine, with the more efficient alternative being the TMED-II hybrid system. It uses two electric motors: a small 17 hp unit to start the engine and run on-board systems, plus a main 72 hp motor for propulsion and regenerative braking. A Stay Mode is also on offer: roughly an hour of infotainment and climate control running on battery power with the engine off.

A fully electric version will not be available at launch. Hyundai’s logic is clear: the battery line-up is built around Ioniq and Kona Electric, while the Avante has a different role to play — a mainstream sedan with a sensible price, an efficient hybrid and a broad audience. On top of that, Elantra/Avante sales fell by 24.2% over the past year, and the new generation is supposed to bring buyers back into showrooms rather than show off technological maximalism.

Inside, the headline news is Pleos Connect, Hyundai’s new infotainment system, which is gradually replacing ccNC. The central 16:9 screen is optimised for streaming video, including Netflix, with GLEO AI voice control and future Level 2+ assistants on the Atria AI platform. The Avante is the third production Hyundai to use this system after the Ioniq 3 and the refreshed Grandeur.

In Korea, sales will start straight after the premiere. Hyundai had been priming demand in advance through its Early Access campaign, which runs from 15 June to 2 August 2026. In the US the sedan will arrive as the 2027 Elantra in the first half of next year, with an expected price range of $26,000–30,000, before local taxes and shipping.

The main rivals stay the same: Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, both of which are also preparing new generations for 2027. But Hyundai now has a different argument. The Avante no longer looks like a merely rational alternative to the Japanese sedans: it tries to play on design, digital architecture and hybrid efficiency without straying into the expensive EV niche.

Hyundai has shown a rare car for 2026: a new compact sedan that does not apologise for being neither a crossover nor an EV. The Avante survives on a different idea — to be more affordable and more practical than the flagships, yet look as if the compact class has not given up.