[kylemorg]

Wouldn't it be nice if Hyundai came out with an AWD Elantra? If they put the 2.7L V6 from the Tib/Santa Fe in it, too (even as an option), that would be a very nice all-weather sporty car.

Since the Elantra and the Santa Fe are on the same XD chassis, it shouldn't take all that much modification to work the AWD components in. The fuel tank location/shape and exhaust routing would probably be the biggest challenge to change (to clear the rear driveshaft/differential), since the floorpan of the Elantra is so much closer to the ground.

The cost would be prohibitive, of course, compared to your standard Elantra. However they could give Subaru a run for the AWD car market.

 

[hyunelan2]

Um.. no. Would be neat, but will never happen. And as a correction, the Santa Fe is on the Sonata Chasis, not the XDs. The Tucson will be on the XD chasis.

More likely to see an AWD tiburon than XD, as that's hyundais 'performace' car. The Elantra is not marketed to be a 'performance' automobile. Even with the 2.7L Hyundai currently has, it'd feel somewhat underpowered in a full-time AWD application, IMO. I have a 2.7 Santa Fe, sure it's more powerful than the 2.0, but could still use some better low-end torque.

Wishful thinking though.

 

[SPIKE]

Horrid idea and never going to happen, we can dream huh?

 

[Elantra2.001]

Did everyone here know that there is a place in the rear hub assembly for drive axles? You just have to knock out the plug.

 

[kylemorg]

Elantra 2.001 -- that's neat that there's a pass-thru in the rear hubs; perhaps the Tuscon AWD assembly will fit, since they're builidng the Tuscon on the XD platform.

Yes, I stand corrected hyundelan2; the Santa Fe is built on the Sonata platform, not the XD. I misread that it was built on the XD chasis somewhere years ago and didn't go back to check until now.

hyundelan2, I have heard that the 2.7 is underpowered for its displacement, both in the Santa Fe and even in the (slightly) lighter Tiburon. I can imagine that the Santa Fe is not a real fast mover with the 2.7L since it has a curb weight of over 3500 lb and only ~181 hp. However, the curb weight of the Elantra GT is 300 pounds lighter than the 4 cyl Tiburon, so it stands to reason that a 2.7 V6 Elantra would be lighter by the same margin than the V6 Tib (1.6 lb/hp based on 300lb and the V6's 181 hp). I doubt that the AWD components weigh much more than 300 lb, so theoretically the performance of the Elantra V6 AWD could be comparable to a Tib GT. I agree that there's not a snowball's chance in hell that Hyundai will ever production-build one, but I still like the idea.



As for my like of AWD, You've got to realize that I grew up out in the sticks in rural Pennsylvania, and always had 4WD Subarus (and a few 4WD trucks and SUV) for the winter driving, so I'm a fan of four wheel drive cars -- you can go while FWD vehicles are stuck. When you live in the boonies you have to drive to get anywhere regardless of the weather; 8 miles to the nearest town is a long walk! I personally prefer the styling, better handling and better gas milage of an AWD car over the usually blockier styling, height and ground clearance of an AWD/4WD truck or SUV.

If only Hyundai and Subaru could get together and build a car that looked like the Tiburon and had the performance and powertrain of the (hideously ugly!) Subaru WRX STI, that would be one hot vehicle!

 

[hyunelan2]

Actually, I don't think you'd see much weight benefit. The difference in weight between a 2wd 2.7L Santa Fe and the 4WD 2.7L is 203lbs. Using that same 203 lbs AWD system and take that 300 lbs benefit the EGT has over the Tib, and you're down to a 97lbs. advantage. Take loss in power over a awd drivetrain, and you're equal. Too much complication for not much at all.

 

[SuperGLS]

To tell you the truth, yeah it would be great to have a V6 AWD Elantra, but at the same time we know it's not going to happen with the current options. We need to wait until we have the official news on the Theta (EDIT- Why I had typed Delta before I don't know) engine, that way we can see exactly what type of power it will have and what applications it will be used in. Hyundai is apparently working on a new V6 engine as well. We'll have to wait and see, next year should prove interesting.

Let's also keep in mind that the 2.7l actually puts out 170/171 HP and not 181 like originally announced.



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[kylemorg]

Good points.

 

[H5N1]

Never gonna happen. If they do that, who's gonna buy the tibs?

 

[04 elantra cvvt]

The same poeple that buy them now. For some people, me included, there is some alure to an AWD sedan. I think the idea is good, but they should use a more powerfull engine like the 3.5. Doing something like this could swing some of the Subaru buyers Hyundai's way.

 

[jalmir]

Hi all ... I'm getting this out of the dust ...

I was just thinking about it, as the XD and Tucson share the same platform and the Tucson have an AWD MT5 for the 2.0l engine ... a AWD swap would then be possible right?

I know that this involves a LOT of body mod but it's still a possible thing to do in some years when Tucson parts will be more availaible, the main problem is still the gas tank and rear axle mounting ...

I'm just asking myself who will dare to try that but I realy hope to see this!

 

[Keyan]

Tucson doesn't have AWD.

It has 4WD, which is completely different.

 

[soullesselantra]

if i did it i would also do the tibby front end conversion...

 

[jalmir]

hum ... ok, I'm not familiar with AWD/4WD diffenrences ... anyway, would have being cool ...

 

[BobMs_wht2k2]

Tucson doesn't have AWD.

It has 4WD, which is completely different.

No, YOU'RE wrong on this one. THe Tucson is an AWD platform. Front engine fwd bias with a front transaxle transfer that sends power to the rear wheels based on need/slippage.

4wd, which I believe is only offered in the Grand Vitara in that class is just that. Front engine, rwd bias with a true (typically) 2-spd transfer case.

So, yes in theory it is possible.

 

[Vampyrate]

wow, talk about thread necromancy...

if they can turn an accent into a rally car, they can do an awd setup for the elantra

but with prices, its not practical for an econobox. i see it more for the tib than an elantra

 

[BlackElantraGT]

Well one guy put all his effort and made an AWD Tiburon, only to have the car crushed by Hyundai. I think that was the closest we'll be seeing AWD on an Elantra. With all the work and money necessary to make the conversion work, one would be better off buying a WRX.

 

[Vampyrate]

whoa! crushed by hyundai? care to send a link or tell me the story of this?

 

[evan938]

BSE test car. companies get cars for free or 1$ to build parts for them, they have so long, and at the end hyundai crushes the car. happens all the time. luckily theyre able to pull their parts out. look on NT...its all over there

 

[Keyan]

No, YOU'RE wrong on this one. THe Tucson is an AWD platform. Front engine fwd bias with a front transaxle transfer that sends power to the rear wheels based on need/slippage.

4wd, which I believe is only offered in the Grand Vitara in that class is just that. Front engine, rwd bias with a true (typically) 2-spd transfer case.

So, yes in theory it is possible.

Wrong.
http://www.hyundaiusa.com/vehicle/tucson/performance/performance.aspx

AWD is on all the time. You can't turn it off. WRX is AWD. Evo is all wheel drive. Many volvo's are AWD. If you can put it in front wheel drive, it is not AWD. If you can lock it in a 50/50 power split, it is not AWD. It is full time 4WD...found on Jeep Cherokee's and similar...