Hyundai Announces Pricing and Fuel-Economy Numbers for All-New Elantra Blue

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, California — Hyundai Motor has announced that one model in its 2010 Elantra lineup, the all-new Blue, will get 35 miles to the gallon in highway driving. That puts it in line with manual-transmission versions of the competing Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus and 1 mpg ahead of the manual Honda Civic, all of which are more than $1,000 pricier than the Hyundai.

Compared with the 2009 Elantra GLS, the 2010 Elantra Blue is up from 24/33 mpg in 2009 to 26/35 mpg this year, an 8 percent improvement in town and 6 percent on the highway. Hyundai has fitted it with a "smart" alternator management system, lower-friction engine parts, revised transmission gear ratios and engine calibration changes, along with a shift indicator, to help achieve the better fuel-economy numbers. The Elantra lineup gets a 2.0-liter engine making 138 horsepower and 136 pound-feet of torque.

The 2010 Elantra Blue, with a five-speed manual transmission, will be priced at $14,865. The GLS model with automatic transmission starts at $17,615, and the top SE model with automatic goes for $18,565. Prices include a $720 destination charge.

Inside Line says: Efficient compact cars from the ambitious Korean automaker. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent