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material to supplement the spot welds, to make a car stronger and quieter. There may be other vehicles that use more structural adhe- sives, but there are probably few, if any, that, on a comparative basis, whether we're talking size or price, out do the Elantra. And then there's another thing. The steel. The amount of advanced high-strength steel (>60 kg/mm 2 ) that's used in the structure. For the last-generation vehicle, they used 21 percent. That's not a trivial number by any sense. But then there's the new one. It uses 53 percent of the steels, including hot-stamped materials. What's more, they've redesigned boxed sections for things like side members from being rectangles to hexagons; they've straightened the A-pillar; and they've even tailored the outer B-pillar so that there's 150 kgf material essentially above the belt line and 100 kgf below for crash energy management. What do the materials and the adhesives and the redesigns get them? Well, for one thing, there are improvements in body rigidity (10 4 kgf•m 2 /rad), both in torsion (26.8) and bending (9.2), which are 29.5 percent and 25.3 percent increases, respec- tively, over the outgoing model. That, of course, contributes to a better ride, as well as a quieter cabin. But there are other factors that contribute to those attributes, as well. A better ride is also achieved through a rear confgured rear suspension. Scott Margason, director, Product Planning, explains that in the previous generation, the rear damper is oriented more in a diagonal orientation ("laid down") and is comparatively short. For the new design of the coupled torsion beam axle, the damper is nearly vertical and much longer, providing the ability to tune it better. Also contributing to improved NVH (noise, vibration, handling) are things like an isolated sub-frame, with the front bushing made of TPE and the rear rubber. There is an improved carpet foam and the layer density in increased compared with the previous generation material. There is a PET-felt material used for the rear wheel liner. And they've even addressed noise transmission through the dash panel by making the holes for pass-through purposes 28 percent smaller than in the ffth-generation car. Under the hood there is a focus on providing good fuel economy. There is a 2.0-liter engine that uses the Atkinson cycle, which is more commonly found in hybrid applications. It can be mated to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic. This engine produces 147 hp at 6,200 rpm and 132 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm. When mated with the automatic— which, is a new transmission that is designed to be more efcient with a 34 percent-smaller oil bump, uses double ball "The compact car segment and the buyer have changed. It used to be about practicality vs. emotion." One of the two engine options is this, a 147-hp, 2.0-liter four that runs on the Atkinson cycle (the intake valve is left open longer to create a shorter compression stroke). It provides 33 mpg combined when mated to a six-speed automatic. Yes, that's Apple CarPlay. Android Auto is also available in the Elantra. 22 ELANTRA