SPY PICS: 2016 Hyundai Elantra heads upmarket

Considered the sedan counterpart of the Hyundai i30 hatch, the Elantra has been a useful model for Hyundai in Australia, adding incremental sales in the small car segment, but it's starting to show its age.

Which is why the company is readying the new sixth-generation Elantra, snapped here by Automedia undergoing cold weather testing.

Turning five years old in 2015, the new model is beginning to lag behind its i30 stablemate in several criteria – technology, design, execution.

Hyundai last updated the Elantra in Australia with the Series II model in early 2014, which added subtle exterior, interior and suspension tweaks, but according to Automedia sources the new generation Elantra will move up a rung on the prestige ladder.

Although it's difficult to tell details from the photos, where raggedy plastic bin liners cover the doors, sides, back and front, it's clear the car will retain its sleek silhouette and will likely get a more upmarket look that borrows design cues from the premium Genesis sedan.

The new 2016 Hyundai Elantra will boast new body work, bumpers, headlights, brake lights, the whole kit and caboodle, but could be less swoopy and curvaceous than the current model, to give it a contemporary visual presence.

As well as the new look, expect the 2016 Elantra to get plenty of new features including a few new tech toys, such as the recently announced Display Audio system that has been confirmed for Australia and features Apple Carplay and Android Auto compatibility for syncing smartphones.

At present the Hyundai Elantra is only available in Australia with a 1.8-litre petrol engine that develops 110kW/178Nm, with claimed average fuel consumption of 6.6L/100km. The 2016 Elantra will adopt newer, more efficient engines with a small GDI (gasoline direct injection) unit likely for this market to keep the entry-level price at around $21,000.

Other markets will be offered turbo-diesel and turbo-petrol models, and hybrid powertrains are also being studied.

There's no official word on when the new Elantra will drop, but it's rumoured to be looking at a late 2015 debut for an early 2016 launch in its Korean domestic market, where it's called the Avante. As such, its could be at least 18 months away from launching here.