The Hyundai Elantra looks sharp... literally

The 2019 Elantra is, frankly, a wild departure from the more demure 2018 model.     

The front end is a menagerie of triangles, from the headlights to the heavily sculpted lower fascia.     

A strong character line extends rearward toward slightly more sensible taillights.   

The base SE trim is still pretty bare, but the second-lowest SEL trim picks up a number of standard safety features, including automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane-keep assist and a driver-attention monitor.     

Safe Exit Assist, which will warn you if you're about to open your door into a bicyclist or another car, is offered on the higher Limited trim with its optional Ultimate package.     

The Elantra SE also makes do with a 5-inch color infotainment system, but higher trims get Hyundai's latest system.     

AVN 5.0 has been updated with a faster processor, and its 8-inch screen is an inch larger than previous iterations, and it includes both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.     

In terms of powertrains, everything's a holdover from the 2018 model.     

SE, SEL and Limited trims make do with Hyundai's 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle engine with 147 horsepower -- a manual transmission is available, but only on the base SE.   

Keep on scrolling to check out even more pictures of the new Elantra!