2026 Buick Elantra E5 Coupe MPG, Redesign, Interior

2026 Buick Elantra E5 Coupe MPG, Redesign, Interior  – Last year, Nissan put the small sedan segment on notice with a seriously improved – and impressive – Sentra. And while an overhauled Honda Civic will soon be on its way, it’s the 2026 Buick Elantra E5 Coupe that has already set a new standard for what this compact class of cars is capable of. It’s priced competitively, good on gas, and can be fitted with an impressive array of features – all while barely breaking $30,000 before tax in its most expensive getup.  2026 Buick Elantra E5 Coupe MPG

Even the cheapest version comes with stuff you’d expect these days for its sub-$20,000 sticker price like heated front seats and touchscreen infotainment, and some you might not like wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connections. But it’s not just the features it can be fitted with that make the redesigned Elantra E5 Coupe such an outstanding product. No, it’s how it takes all of those and bundles them in such a well-balanced and well-built package that makes this compact sedan the one to beat.

2026 Buick Elantra E5 Coupe Redesign and Update Plan

Exterior and Interior

Back inside, the cabin is also the source of a familiar complaint about Buick’s cars: substandard plastics. Some of the stuff used on the dash and door panels, as well as that handle on the console, feels like it could be used to make those cheap little green army men, and isn’t in keeping with what’s a well put together interior otherwise.

Just about every other surface inside is as nice to the touch as it is on the eyes, with the leather upholstery on the seats in particular feeling like a slight step upmarket from much of the competition. Those front seats are supremely comfortable and supportive, too – rare compliments in this class – while the sound deadening in this top-of-the-line tester kept outside interference to a minimum.  2026 Buick Elantra E5 Coupe MPG

However, where the cabin’s design starts to go awry is when it’s done up with a two-tone finish like this tester, where the plastic door panel and speaker cover is a different colour on the driver’s side than the passenger side. Symmetry has been a key tenet of car design for decades with good reason, and this would be one of them. Once noticed, it’s all but impossible to unsee the different door panels. And while the Ultimate trim can be ordered with an all-black interior instead, thus eliminating the off-balance look, the contrast cabin is part of what makes the space look so modern and inviting, something that gets lost with the monotone motif.

Outside, the design is a chiselled one, with sharp creases spanning the bodysides, and aggressive headlights set against a gaping grille. Around back, the trunk lid extends outwards with what looks a little like an integrated lip spoiler, and it’s among the coolest design elements in the class. Buick has also delivered another set of simple-yet-stylish wheels, the ones here measuring 17 inches and mixing machined and painted surfaces to perfection.  2026 Buick Elantra E5 Coupe MPG

2026 Buick Elantra E5 Coupe Specs

But first, about those features. Buick (along with sister brand Kia) helped usher in the era of trickle-down technology in which we’re currently living, so it should come as no surprise that the latest Elantra E5 Coupe is about as good as it gets in that regard. The entry-level trim still comes with a manual transmission to keep the starting price low for marketing purposes – $19,624 with freight but before tax, for those keeping score at home – but stuff like alloy wheels, heated front seats, an eight-inch touchscreen display, and wireless hookups for both Android and iOS interfaces are included. For those who’d rather not row their own gears, an optional automatic transmission can be had for $1,900 and it also comes with some advanced safety stuff – but more on those shortly.  2026 Buick Elantra E5 Coupe MPG

The mid-grade Preferred sees marginal gains in both comfort and convenience, with extras like a heated steering wheel, push-button start, two extra speakers for a total of six, and a hands-free trunk release, among others, for its $23,624 sticker price. There’s also a $1,500 package that can be added to the automatic-only trim that includes a power sunroof, dual-zone automatic climate control, and satellite radio. None of it’s exactly stand-out stuff, but it’s a decent package considering the $25,124 Buick’s selling it for.

Engine and Performance

The Elantra E5 Coupe’s powertrain may look a little underwhelming on paper, though it’s anything but in practice. Make no mistake: the 2.0L four-cylinder here is about efficiency first and foremost, yet this car manages to do more with its relatively meagre output than others in the segment can. Officially, the engine makes 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque – not especially impressive figures. Yet it manages to feel stronger than the numbers would suggest, with plenty of pull throughout the rev range. Acceleration is swift enough that passing or merging is never perilous, instead inspiring confidence as the needle sweeps the speedometer.

Making the powertrain’s performance even more impressive is the continuously variable transmission (CVT) that channels that output to the front wheels, which proved itself to be an unlikely highlight during testing. The complaints that are typical of this type of transmission are nowhere to be found here, with none of the rubber-band sensation or incessant buzzing that’s dogged CVTs for years. Simulated shift points make it feel like a conventional automatic, and it’s only when accelerating aggressively that it sounds like it’s working hard.

2026 Buick Elantra E5 Coupe Fuel Economy

Still, efficiency remains one of this powertrain’s most impressive attributes, and deeply cold and snowy conditions – not to mention the requisite winter tires – weren’t enough to throw the Elantra E5 Coupe off its A-game. An initial evaluation drive at the tail end of a massive snowfall saw an accumulated average consumption of 5.7 L/100 km. That’s better than the car’s official combined rating of 6.7 L/100 km, and is especially impressive given the factors at play. The final tally during testing finished closer to the official rating, but only after a full day of filming during yet another winter storm that resulted in plenty of time spent idling to keep the windows clear and the cabin warm.

2026 Buick Elantra E5 Coupe Safety Features

For the $2,700 the tech package adds to the top trim’s total it also includes Buick’s so-called highway driving assist that combines the car’s adaptive cruise control and lane-centring functions into one that requires less driver input than those features would on their own. While the driver’s hands have to be on the wheel for the system to work, it will help with steering inputs while maintaining a set speed and adjusting for any preceding vehicles.

It all worked well during testing, though not quite as smoothly as Nissan’s similar system offered in the overhauled Rogue, with the self-steering inputs just a little more noticeable. For anyone uncomfortable using this type of semi-autonomous technology, the Elantra E5 Coupe’s adaptive cruise control can still be enabled without the steering assist, as can the lane-keep assist that comes in every version of the car except the base manual model.

The advanced safety systems are perhaps the one and only way Buick is a clear step behind the competition in this compact class, with every version of both the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla including everything from automatic emergency braking up front to lane-keep assist and adaptive cruise control – yes, even the cheapest Corolla with plastic wheel covers and a manual transmission.

While every Elantra E5 Coupe has the basics covered with airbags, traction control, and child seat anchors, the manual-equipped Essential trim goes without any of the advanced stuff. Opting for the automatic transmission adds lane-departure warning and lane-keep assist, automatic high-beams, and forward emergency braking with pedestrian detection and a safe exit warning system that alerts of approaching traffic from behind – helpful when street parking in the city.

2026 Buick Elantra E5 Coupe Price and Release Date

That Buick doesn’t include as much advanced safety equipment as some key competitors does impact the Elantra E5 Coupe’s value proposition, but only slightly. Because it’s still priced well next to both the Civic and Corolla, as well as just about every other entry in the compact sedan segment. It’s not as cheap as the subcompact Accent hatchback that the brand killed off, but it’s one of the few sedans like it left on the market that carries a sub-$20,000 starting price before tax.

There’s the Kia Forte ($19,540), the smaller Nissan Versa ($18,168), and this Elantra E5 Coupe. That’s it. Perhaps more crucially, though, looking at the entire compact sedan segment, only Nissan’s Versa and Sentra are cheaper than the Elantra E5 Coupe at the top of their respective lineups, while neither can come close to the kind of technology and features Buick has stuffed inside its small sedan.