2020 Hyundai Elantra loses manual, gets better mileage and higher price

Not too long ago, we got a preview of what was planned for the 2020 Hyundai Elantra, specifically that its automatic-equipped trims were going to CVT and getting a sizable fuel economy improvement. Hyundai has finally revealed all the details on the compact sedan, and there are more transmission updates, including the loss of the manual transmission. But other models also see a fuel economy improvement. Pricing has gone up, too.

First let's talk about drivetrains and fuel economy. All Hyundai Elantras will have some form of an automatic as the only transmission. All the naturally asiprated 2.0-liter models get the CVT, while the Eco with its turbocharged 1.4-liter engine and the Sport with its turbo 1.6-liter engine get a seven-speed dual clutch transmission. While that's disappointing for enthusiasts, it's worth noting that manual transmissions are still available in the Elantra GT N-Line and the Hyundai Veloster, and paired with the same turbo engine as the Elantra Sport. As we've previously covered, the CVT trims saw a sizable increase in fuel economy, but the Eco model also picked up 1 mpg across all driving conditions. This could be because of the now standard automatic start and stop function for the trim. The Sport, having not really changed, doesn't see a fuel economy change. You can see all the fuel economy numbers for the new and old Elantra listed in the chart below.

Hyundai also updated the standard features list for the Elantra. All models now come with dual automatic climate control, automatic emergency braking and lane-keep assist. These features help make up for the price increase over the previous model. The new base price is $19,870 with destination charge. That's an increase of $1,750 compared with last year's base price of $18,120 – but that's compared with the manual transmission model that no longer exists. Comparing the new base CVT with the old base automatic, the difference is just $750. The gap narrows with some other trims. In fact, the Eco is the same price, and the Sport with the dual-clutch transmission is cheaper than its equivalent last year. For better fuel economy and extra features, that seems pretty reasonable.