Spec comparison of all Elantra variants updated in the blog:

http://kensomuse.blogspot.com/2012/03/hyun...impossible.html

Whether it's worth the extra, you be the judge 

We tested the 1.6 first. The first impression was the steering was a bit heavy to my liking. Rear view was quite limited. Feels like the back of a Gen2. As we enter into the main roads, i floored the car. To my surprise the pickup was sluggish. I still prefer the Altis responsiveness of the pedal. In fact in an Altis, if you floor the pedal too much, the car's pickup is so strong that you get push back to the seat. I dont get this feeling in the Elantra.

My mistake for not being clear.
It was the Altis 1.8.
Both the Elantra 1.6 & 1.8 did not give me the same feeling as the Altis 1.8.