The Hyundai Lantra is a compact car produced by Hyundai from 1990-2000. It is the name of the first and second generations of the Hyundai Elantra.
So, is the Hyundai Lantra the same as Hyundai Elantra?
Yes, it is. Hyundai used the Lantra nameplate to market the Elantra in Australia and some parts of Europe because Elantra sounded like the Elante trim of Mitsubishi Magna.
It also turned out that Mitsubishi Motors wasn't the only car manufacturer that wasn't particularly pleased with the name Elantra. The South Korean Kia and the British Lotus complained that the Elantra name sounded too close to their Elan model.
By 2001, both Mitsubishi and Lotus/Kia ceased producing their Elante and Elan models respectively, so Hyundai was able to revert to the original Elantra name.
First Generation of Hyundai Lantra (J1; 1990-1995)
Hyundai produced Lantra, aka Bimantara Nenggala in Indonesia between 1990 and 1995 (for Indonesia it was 1995-2000), assembling the cars in South Korea and Indonesia.
The automaker launched it in 1990, and by the spring of 1991, the Lantra was already in showrooms in Europe, replacing the much larger Hyundai Stellar.
It received a facelift in 1993 and met stiff competition from other car manufacturers, with the Ford Sierra and the Vauxhall Cavalier/Opel Vectra all fighting it out for market dominance.
Engines
The Lantra came with a Mitsubishi-designed 1.6L (1595 cc) straight-four engine. The 16-valve 1.6L unit produced 84 kW of power at 6000 rpm and gave the Lantra the ability to go 97 km/hr in 9.5s.
By 1993, another Mitsubishi-designed engine was available for the Lantra - a 1.8L (1836 cc) inline-four (99 kW at 6000 rpm) that came with two transmission options, a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed automatic.
Facelifts
In 1992, the South Korean company refreshed the Lantra for the European market. Some of the changes included adding Hyundai's current logo to the grille, a new 1.8-litre engine option, and side-impact protection beams for all models.
In 1993, the car underwent yet another facelift with the addition of a 1.5-litre engine option.
The last facelift occurred in 1994 for the front and rear fascia. The new specs and features include ABS brakes, front airbags, power side mirrors, optional alloy seven-spoke wheels, and fog lamps.
Second Generation (J2/RD; 1995-2000)
This generation was the last version of the Hyundai Elantra called the Lantra, produced from 1995-2000 in South Korea and Botswana. It debuted at the Asian Korean domestic market in March 1995 in both station wagon and sedan body styles.
Wagons sold in the Australian market came with the Hyundai Lantra Sportswagon badge.
Engine
The first models of the second generation had an Alpha II G4FK DOHC engine (79 kW, 137 Nm) paired with either a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed automatic transmission.
The 1.6 Lantra (MK2) version and its submodels had a 16-valve Beta I G4GR DOHC. In the same year, Hyundai launched the Lantra 1.9 D GL 5-door wagon in the European market, with an 8-valve PSA XUD9 SOHC diesel engine (50 kW, 118 Nm) under its hood.
In 1996, Hyundai introduced the 1.8L Beta I G4GM DOHC 16-valve (101.5kW, 172 Nm) engine which came with either the J2-series sedan or touring version and was available only with 4-speed automatic transmission.
Facelifts
In 1998, there was a mild facelift, with new grilles arriving for the Hyundai Lantra 1999 model year. The European version had a unified front-end design for both the wagon and the sedan, and a 1.9-litre PSA naturally-aspirated diesel option.
The GLS model in Australia was an upgrade on the GL model and came with a new 2.0L engine, softer cloth seats, velour trim, and alloy wheels.
For the rest of the generations to the current model, please refer to our separate article on the Hyundai Elantra.
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FAQs
1. What are common Hyundai Lantra problems?
Some of the more common problems associated with the Hyundai Lantra are faulty ABS wheel sensor, sluggish glass windows, poor start due to faulty cylinder head, and bad idle speed control valves.
2. What was the available engine for the Hyundai Lantra 1998?
Both the sedan and wagon versions of Hyundai Lantra 1998 came with 1795-cc 4-cyl Beta engines (95 kW, 165 Nm), regular unleaded petrol, with options for 4-speed automatic and 5-speed manual transmissions.
3. Is Hyundai Lantra fuel efficient?
The last Hyundai Lantra released in Australia has a fuel consumption of 7.3L/100km for a combined drive.