Hyundai Lantra

Hyundai Lantra
Production period:	1990-2000
Class :	Compact class
Body versions :	Limousine , station wagon
Successor:	Hyundai Elantra

The Hyundai Lantra is a lower middle class passenger car model manufactured by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai from autumn 1990 to summer 2000 . It was introduced in Germany in mid-1991, making it one of the first four Hyundai passenger car models to be offered when Hyundai entered the German market.

The first generation of the Hyundai Lantra was only a notchback sedan . In autumn 1995, however, a model change took place, through which a station wagon was offered for the first time in early 1996 . At the end of 1998 the Lantra was visually revised as part of a facelift .

With the second model change in the summer of 2000, the Lantra was renamed Elantra , the name under which it has been running worldwide since the first generation. Exceptions were South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia, where it was renamed Hyundai Avante with the first facelift in 1994 . He received the name Lantra in Australia and Europe because Lotus Cars wanted to exclude a conceptual connection between Elantra and their model Elan . The name Avante was again very close to the name of Audi's station wagon models . Although the Lotus Elan production ended in 1992, the name remained until 1996, the entire Elan production line was sold to the then Hyundai competitor Kia, which produced the KIA Elan Roadster until 1997 . After its merger with Hyundai, the Elantra generation that appeared in 2000 was also given this name in Europe.

Lantra (J1, 1990-1995)

1st generation
Hyundai Lantra (1990-1994)
Production period:	1990-1995
Body versions :	limousine
Engines:	Petrol engines : 1.5–1.8 liters (63–93 kW)
Length:	4358-4388 mm
Width:	1675-1680 mm
Height:	1385 mm
Wheelbase :	2500 mm
Empty weight :	1047-1155 kg

The Lantra, which was built from October 1990 onwards, was available as a notchback with a comparatively rich range of equipment. Fog lights, air conditioning and partial leather trim were available as special equipment.

At the beginning of 1994 the Lantra J1 underwent an extensive facelift, in which the rear and front sections were modified and the interior was upgraded. For the first time, ABS was also available and a driver airbag was standard. This improved the crash test result.

Rear view
Hyundai Lantra (1994-1995)
Rear view

The only crash test carried out on the vehicle is the US NCAP frontal test. The test is driving at 46 km / h against a concrete wall.

US-NCAP 1990–1994 driver's side: passenger's side:
US-NCAP 1994–1995 driver's side: passenger's side:

Engines

The motorization of this generation still consisted of licensed Mitsubishi engines, which, however, may contain small changes. They meet the Euro 1 standard .

Technical specifications

Engine characteristics
	1.5	1.6		1.8
Construction period	1990-1995			1992-1995
Engine identification	Orion 4G15 / G4DJ	Sirius 4G61 / G4CR		Sirius 4G67 / G4CN
Engine type	R4 petrol engine
Number of valves per cylinder	2	4th
Valve control	OHC , timing belt	DOHC, timing belt
Mixture preparation	Manifold injection
Engine charging	-
cooling	Water cooling
Bore × stroke	75.5 mm × 82.0 mm	82.3 mm x 75.0 mm		81.5 mm × 88.0 mm
Displacement	1468 cc	1596 cc		1836 cc
Compression ratio	9.4: 1	9.2: 1
Max. power	63 kW (86 PS) at 5500 rpm	84 kW (114 hp) at 6200 rpm	78 kW (106 hp) at 6200 rpm	93 kW (126 hp) at 6000 rpm
Max. Torque	129 Nm at 3000 rpm	139 Nm at 4500 rpm	133 Nm at 4500 rpm	165 Nm at 4400 rpm
Power transmission
drive	Front wheel drive
Gearbox, as standard	5-speed manual transmission		4- speed automatic transmission	5-speed manual transmission
Gearbox, optional	4-speed automatic transmission	-		4-speed automatic transmission
Readings
Top speed	170 km / h (158 km / h)	185 km / h	(175 km / h)	190 km / h (187 km / h)
Acceleration, 0-100 km / h	13.0 s (14.0 s)	11.1 s	(13.2 s)	10.6 s (12.3 s)
Fuel consumption over 100 km (combined)	6.8 L N (6.4 L N)	7.4 l N	(7.6 l N)	8.2 L N (7.3 L N)
Remarks
	Suitable for E10 fuel from model year 1992

↑ Values in round brackets ("()") for automatic transmissions.

reliability

Frequent repairs to the Lantra of the type J1 are caused by the small brake system and the cooling systems of the motors that are not dimensioned for full load. With the facelift, a modified cooling water thermostat and a stronger oil pump were therefore used. Due to age, however, the cooling water hoses can now also be porous. The consequence of overheating engines is damage to the cylinder head gasket .

Defective timing belts were another source of engine damage until the facelift, which was then reduced by reinforced timing belts; Statistics are not available on this. The chassis has a drive shaft that wears out early due to leaky cuffs , which can be recognized by crackling noises when steering and when the load changes . The joints on the front and rear axles also often have significant defects. The body is partially galvanized, but hardly conserved. Rust is therefore slightly above average, also on the brake lines.

In its tests, the TÜV finds significant defects in three percent more Lantra than in the mean value of vehicles of the same age.

Lantra (J2 / RD, 1995-2000)

2nd generation
Hyundai Lantra (1995-1998)
Production period:	1995-2000
Body versions :	Limousine , station wagon
Engines:	Otto engines : 1.5–2.0 liters (65–102 kW) Diesel engine : 1.9 liters (50 kW)
Length:	4419 mm
Width:	1699 mm
Height:	1393-1457 mm
Wheelbase :	2250 mm
Empty weight :	1100-1282 kg

The second generation of the Hyundai Lantra came onto the European market in autumn 1995. This differed significantly from its predecessor and now only received engines from our own development.

From spring 1996 Hyundai also offered a station wagon version of the Lantra. The Lantra now shares its platform for the first time, because from summer 1996 the Hyundai Coupe was created on its basis , with which it has the internal abbreviation J2 , but not the chassis tuning by Porsche. The chassis was developed with computer support for the first time after the acquisition of a Cray computer and consists of MacPherson struts at the front and a multi-link axle at the rear, which work together to filter out rough bumps. Driving comfort is reduced, however, by the short leg rests on the front seats, the rear drum brakes that decrease when the vehicle is used and the rather imprecise steering. The controllability of the vehicle and the (not standard) powerful air conditioning are rated positively.

Rear view
Hyundai Lantra Estate (1996-1998)

A facelift took place at the end of 1998, during which the front section and the interior in particular were redesigned. The rear was hardly changed except for details. This variant has the internal abbreviation RD , often referred to by drivers as J3 based on the previous count.

In the summer of 2000, the production of the Lantra was ended. The successor was the Elantra .

Hyundai Lantra station wagon (1998-2000)
Rear view
Hyundai Lantra (1998-2000)
inner space

Engines

The engine included the so-called beta engine from Hyundai in three displacement variants, whereby the 1.8 liter displacement variant was only sold in Germany until 1996. The gearbox is now also an in-house development, which is described as sensible, but noticeable. In some markets, the Lantra was also offered with a 1.5 liter petrol engine (" Alpha ") and from 1997 also a 1.9 liter Peugeot diesel.

The engines meet the Euro 2 emissions standard , and Euro 3, D3 from the facelift .

Technical specifications

Engine characteristics
	1.5	1.6	1.8	2.0	1.9 D
Construction period	1995-2000			1998-2000	1997-2000
Engine identification	Alpha G4EK	Beta G4GR	Beta G4GM	Beta G4GF	PSA XUD XUD9 A
Engine type	R4 petrol engine				R4 diesel engine
Number of valves per cylinder	3	4th			2
Valve control	OHC , timing belt	DOHC, timing belt			OHC, timing belt
Mixture preparation	Manifold injection				Swirl chamber injection
Engine charging	-
cooling	Water cooling
Bore × stroke	75.5 mm × 83.5 mm	77.4 mm x 85.0 mm	82.0 mm × 85.0 mm	82.0 mm × 93.5 mm	83.0 mm × 88.0 mm
Displacement	1495 cc	1600 cc	1796 cc	1975 cc	1905 cc
Compression ratio	10.0: 1	9.7: 1	10.0: 1	10.3: 1	23.0: 1
Max. power	65 kW (88 PS) at 5500 rpm	85 kW (116 hp) at 6100 rpm	94 kW (128 PS) at 6100 rpm	102 kW (139 PS) at 6000 rpm	50 kW (68 PS) at 4600 rpm
Max. Torque	126 Nm at 4300 rpm	146 Nm at 4900 rpm	165 Nm at 5000 rpm	182 Nm at 4900 rpm	120 Nm at 2000 rpm
Power transmission
drive	Front wheel drive
Gearbox, as standard	5-speed manual transmission
Gearbox, optional	-	4- speed automatic transmission			-
Readings
Top speed	k. A.	193 km / h	196 km / h (192 km / h)	202 km / h (187 km / h)	k. A.
Acceleration, 0-100 km / h	k. A.	11.2 s	9.4 s (11.1 s)	k. A.
Fuel consumption over 100 km (combined)	k. As	6.7 l S (7.9 l S)	7.2 l S (8.0 l S)	k. As	k. A. l D

↑ Values in round brackets ("()") for automatic transmissions.

For vehicle safety, the front passenger now also received an airbag.

Frontal tests

US-NCAP 1995–1998 driver's side: passenger's side:
US-NCAP 1998–2000 driver's side: passenger's side:
IIHS 1995-2000: Acceptable

The US NCAP tests driving at 46 km / h against a concrete wall. In the IIHS test, on the other hand, a vehicle is simulated that is driven 40% offset at 64 km / h. Upper body protection for the driver and front passenger is rated as good, all other areas are given the second-best, acceptable rating. This means that the vehicle is on a par with the Japanese competition at the time and outperforms the VW Jetta / Golf by one notch.

Side tests

US-NCAP 1995–1998 driver's side: passenger's side:
US-NCAP 1998–2000 driver's side: passenger's side:

The load on the upper body is tested with a deformable barrier that is modeled on a limousine and approaches at 63 km / h. There is no measurement in the head and leg area. Page tests by other organizations were not conducted.

Bumper test
The damage pattern with a parking bump at 8 km / h is very inexpensive before the facelift, but was significantly improved afterwards.

reliability

The more frequent overheating of the Lantra J2 / RD is mostly due to leaky hose connections and marten damage to the cooling water circuit. Hyundai has developed improved clamps for the connections. Starting problems and uneven engine running, on the other hand, are seldom caused by martens, where corroding plug connections are likely. Defective exhaust manifolds are also mentioned as a more common problem in forums . As in the predecessor, the brake system is designed to be very small until the model update, so that its wear parts have to be replaced more often. On the chassis side, the rear axle is more often affected by rust, but Hyundai changes it on goodwill. The frequency of significant defects in the TÜV report is on the average of cars of the same age; after the facelift, the number of frequent defects increases by two to five percent above the average.