Smaller the Better? Euro-Spec Hyundai Elantra Two-Door Hatch Debuting in Paris

The European Hyundai Elantra lineup is getting bigger and smaller at the same time. The new i30 two-door hatchback — a smaller version of the car we know in the U.S. as the 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT — will debut at the Paris Motor Show.
Hyundai proudly notes the Hyundai i30 two-door hatchback was designed, engineered, and made in Europe, and let’s get this out of the way right now: the U.S. market will not get a Hyundai Elantra GT two-door hatchback variant. A Hyundai Motor Europe executive says the car “has been conceived solely for Europe” and, frankly, we don’t see much of a market for this car in the U.S, anyway.
The European-spec Hyundai Elantra two-door hatchback integrates the same bold grille shape as the Elantra GT, along with aggressively sculpted headlights that stretch up toward the side mirrors. On the compact Elantra two-door hatchback, the hard-to-miss character line works well, heading from the headlights to the taillights. The i30 two-door’s foglights have been reshaped, though we like the ones on the 2013 Elantra GT better.

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