In case you've missed it, we've already outlined everything worth knowing about the 2021 Hyundai Elantra in its Malaysian spec, that's fully-imported from South Korea at that. Having seen the company's latest attempt to dethrone the likes of the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla in the metal, we have to admit the seventh-generation sedan is quite the looker, with the tech and refinement to match. But we didn't know how much it would cost... until now.

Local distributor Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) officially launched the new Elantra in Malaysia today via an online stream, as is the norm in this pandemic area. There weren't any surprising revelations considering we've already detailed the car inside and out. But the confirmed price certainly got our attention: RM158,888. That's an introductory price which doesn't include insurance, mind you. 

The Elantra's pricing puts it right in the ballpark of the similarly CBU Mazda3 2.0. But the Korean number's naturally-aspirated 1.6-litre 'Smartstream' mill's output of 123PS (121hp) and 154Nm is a closer match to the 1.5-litre variant of Mazda's C-segment entry, which is substantially cheaper at under RM140k. In fact, the 510hp G80 BMW M3 Competition gives you a better value in terms of Ringgit-per-horsepower with a return of RM1,304 per hp (based on its estimated price) versus the Elantra's RM1,313 per hp. 

Long-distance drivers should also take note of HSDM's five-year warranty for the Elantra, which is only good up till 300,000km. Granted, that's more mileage than most Malaysians will end up doing in the span of half a decade, but it's worth noting that brands like Honda and Toyota now offer unlimited mileage while Mazda's warranty package comes with six years or 120,000km worth of free maintenance to boot. 

All things considered, there's only so much we can say about a car based purely on the stats on paper, which doesn't actually look too bad once you've run through the generous list of features. The seventh-gen Elantra is certainly on the pricey end of the C-segment, but we'll reserve further judgement until we've had a proper go at it on Malaysian roads. It definitely looks the part, though. Agree?