2024 Hyundai Elantra Shows Off Fresh Styling, New Tech

• Restyled front and rear bodywork
• Additional tech and safety features
• Assortment of new colors and wheel designs
• Elantra N gets suspension and steering upgrades

On the outside

Up front, the Elantra now sports thinner LED daytime running lights, a new two-piece grille and a stainless steel Hyundai emblem. The quest to give the Elantra a wider, more aggressive look even influenced the design of the front fenders, which are also new for 2024. Out back, the Elantra has new design features on the rear pillars, a new full-width LED taillight assembly and a new bumper design that incorporates a diffuser styling element. The four new colors should reinvigorate the paint selection, as will a smattering of new designs for the wheels, which range in size from 15 to 18 inches.

The more aggressive Elantra N gets its own brace of styling adjustments. There's a new front grille and fascia, new side sills and a new wheel design. In the rear, the Elantra N receives a new wing and a restyled bumper with a diffuser over the dual exhaust system.

On the inside

2024 Elantra models also benefit from new door panels with soft-touch materials, new upholstery color choices and new synthetic leather seating surfaces on the top-end Limited trim. Additional changes include a redesigned 4.2-inch digital information screen for the instrument panel, two USB-C outlets for rear seat passengers, an additional port up front and a redesigned wireless charging pad.

There are a handful of changes on the tech and safety front (hey, that stuff's usually inside). Rear side-impact airbags are now standard on all trims, as is a new rear seat-belt reminder and haptic feedback (usually a buzzing or a vibration) through the steering wheel, should you trigger the lane keeping assistance, blind-spot warning or rear cross-traffic alert systems.

The Limited trim adds a surround-view camera system, blind-spot warning and front parking sensors. Buyers looking for a more robust sound system might find it in the new Bose setup — a newly standard upgrade for the Limited and N Line (that's not to be confused with the high-performance Elantra N) trims that incorporates a total of eight speakers. The base SE will now enjoy the six-speaker system that previously came on all other Elantras. Unfortunately, the SE does miss out on the new, larger 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen included on every other trim.

N still stands for performance

Even though all the engine offerings are unchanged for 2024, Hyundai has tweaked the Elantra N to sharpen its already excellent handling and steering. New engine mounts and reinforced bushings should eliminate unwanted vibrations and sharpen steering response, while changes to the steering assembly itself should improve precision. But performance doesn't just rely on the hardware these days, so Hyundai made changes not only to the suspension hardware in the name of better body control but also to the software for both the chassis and steering settings. For further proof Hyundai takes minor changes seriously, it's also bumped the recommended tire pressure up 1 psi front and rear to maintain the handling balance in the face of the other suspension changes.

Edmunds says

The Hyundai Elantra has strengthened its grip on the compact sedan segment in recent years by offering a comfortable, spacious interior, lots of tech, and good fuel economy. We're also shocked by the jaw-dropping performance of the high-performance N. For 2024, Hyundai looks to keep the Elantra fresh and will likely raise the bar for other small sedans.