Hyundai introduced the third generation of the Elantra in 2000, and the carmaker considered that the hatchback would draw more attention to it than the sedan.
It was wrong.

The car barely made it into the compact segment, judged by the ’90s standards. It was a new era for Hyundai, and it showed it, especially from the outside. Another strong point for Elantra was the reliability index, which grew when compared to its predecessor.

The Elantra hatchback sported an extended cabin with a sloped rear end. At the front, it featured angled headlights with sharp lines and distinct headlamps inside the same clear-glass cover. Its V-shaped grille was continued on the hood with two long lines connected to the A-pillars. On the sides, the beltline started from the wheel arches end went all the way to the taillights. The European customers were not that happy with the look of the greenhouse’s rear end.

Inside, the Elantra featured a simple dashboard and instrument cluster, with a rounded center console. Its front seats featured more adjustments, including on the vertical axis. In the rear, there was limited headroom for adult passengers but enough for children. It’s rear split-folding bench allowed a moderate increase for the, otherwise, average-sized trunk.

Hyundai installed a choice of three engines for the Elantra. The base version offered enough power for a daily driver, and it was fuel-efficient. At the same time, the top-performer featured a 2.0-liter gasoline engine, quick enough to keep the rhythm with other European compact vehicles.