Top Gun

Is the Diesel-fuelled Automatic Elantra the Best Executive Sedan in the World?

- Ruman Devmane

To answer the question posed by the introductory line — no. But it comes close. Close enough for you to sit back and be pleased with the choice you’ve made, after all those hard years of pleasing your bosses and smiling through all the unpleasant situations life has thrown at you. You’re still a long way from that Jaguar XF your immediate boss drives, but that’s what he (or she) thinks. In reality, you’re nearly there. Go on, tell me you don’t see a bit of Jag in those headlights? Oh, you spotted that 3 Series-ish kink, too? What about that heavily chromed Audi-style grille, then? You’re not that far away from the top. Told you so!

Now, I’ve spent a rather lot of time behind the wheel of the previous-generation Elantra, a car that deserved every accolade available and so, the arrival of a new (which should mean ‘better’) Elantra only meant good news. An already perfected platform — a far cry from the hopelessly ugly first-gen car that descended in our midst in the mid2000s — a great set of engines and with looks to die for, the new Elantra’s job was done even before it was launched. Although, since I have a job to keep and the luxury of four precious pages to tell you more, let me tell you about this particular Elantra — the diesel automatic, or the SX(O) AT, in the language of its brochure.