By Greg Fink – MotorTrend
A compact hybrid without the typical hybrid hubris.
Look out, Honda Insight and Toyota Corolla Hybrid, because there’s a new hybrid compact sedan in town. The 2021 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid marries its equally new, gas-powered sibling’s svelte looks with a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain incorporating a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, an electric motor, and a 1.3-kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
The hybrid setup produces 139 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, which are sent to the sedan’s front wheels through a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (rather than the more common-for-hybrids continuously variable automatic type). Compared to the standard Elantra’s 2.0-liter inline-four, the Elantra Hybrid is down 8 horses but up 63 lb-ft of twist, the latter of which is surely the result of the electric motor’s plentiful low-end grunt.
