You’ve got to wonder sometimes if the world’s automakers all meet in a hollowed-out volcano to decide their master plans. How else do you explain a glut of redesigned new small sedans appearing all at once? (Surely it can’t just be shared concerns over rising fuel costs, a tough economic climate, and the need to keep up with competition. That’s too logical.)

Chevrolet has the new Cruze, featuring refinement that GM small car buyers have never before seen. In several weeks, Ford will be selling their third-generation Focus. Like the Cruze, it’s also marched up-market, with pricing to match. VW rolled out a bigger and decontented Jetta with the idea that buyers will think it’s nicer than a Civic. (That’s arguable.)

So as all of these small sedans go up-market, where does that leave Hyundai’s new 2011 Elantra? Like most Hyundais, it has about a $1,000-$1,500 price advantage with comparable equipment. But also like other recent Hyundais, especially the recently redesigned Sonata, it’s working hard to appeal on more than the deal. The Elantra looks like a shrunken Sonata--more than one of us have confused it at a glance for the silver Sonata Limited 2.0T we have in our test fleet.