Hyundai Reveals Elantra LPI Hybrid At Seoul

Hyundai revealed its Elantra LPI Hybrid at the Seoul Motor Show earlier today, a car it says is the 'world's first' LPG-fueled hybrid to use a lithium-polymer battery pack.

A strange claim, considering Hyundai's compatriots over at Kia unveiled the Forte LPi hybrid last week - a car which also runs on LPG and utilises a Li-poly battery.

But who cares, right? More LPG-powered hybrids can only be a good thing, and Hyundai's offering has certainly got the goods to deliver low-cost and low-impact motoring to the masses.

A 1.6 litre Atkinson Cycle four-cylinder resides under the bonnet, and is mated to a 15kW flywheel-mounted electric motor. A CVT gearbox takes power to the front wheels, and the whole package - while not planet-saving - is a great deal more efficient than the regular Elantra.

The Elantra LPI Hybrid sucks just 5.8 litres of LPG per 100km, a 41.4 percent improvement over a regular 1.6 litre auto-equipped Elantra.

Even better, the Elantra hybrid emits just 102gm/km of CO2 and pumps out 90 percent fewer emissions than a petrol-powered model.

Unfortunately the Elantra hybrid is - like its Kia equivalent - a Korea-only model.

We're hoping a right-hand drive version will find its way to Australia though; we can sense a product like this would sell like hotcakes in our LPG-friendly market.

With those LPG consumption figures, it would have the running costs of a bicycle.