The textured dashboard and design look futuristic and sleek. All the fabrics, buttons and plastic panels are of good quality. Like the performance and the exterior design, the inside, too, reminds me of a more substantial vehicle. It doesn’t look unique from the side and could be confused with any number of other hatchbacks on the market, but the rear hatch itself has a very small window and lots of sheet metal below it that’s framed by two very tall taillights. The four-door hatchback is a bit better-looking and seems like a more cohesive, upscale design. Its short trunk lid and wraparound taillights highlight how much shorter the car is versus the Elantra. The front end mimics the larger compact Hyundai Elantra’s look, but the smaller dimensions of the Accent are most noticeable in profile and the rear of the sedan. However, tides are changing, and the Accent is the second of a new wave of aggressively styled yet affordable small cars along with the Fiesta and upcoming Kia Rio. Buyers in this segment have been basically told that with the bottom-basement sticker price comes ho-hum looks, and who are you to complain? Look at cars like the Yaris, Fit and Nissan Versa, and you won’t be wowed. When you think subcompact, interesting design doesn’t immediately come to mind. The car didn’t exhibit much of the body roll you sometimes encounter in this segment.Īdd that to terrific brakes - standard four-wheel discs - and the Accent exudes a sense of safe travel, which is something that is often hard to come by in a subcompact. I did feel that the low-rolling-resistance tires didn’t offer enough grip when making sharp turns, however. Steering is as crisp as you would expect from a car this small. My test route on the roads around Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam was made up of mostly fresh or smooth blacktop, but even over the rare concrete highway segments I encountered, it was easy to hold a conversation. Only the Fit might be quicker, but the Fit falls far short in a very important department that makes the Accent exceptional: It has a soft, comfortable ride that is rare not only among subcompacts but also most compacts. While stopped on an incline, it keeps the car from rolling backward when the driver’s foot moves from the brake to the gas. Few cars in this class have that feature or hill start assist, which is standard on automatic models. It felt livelier than the Fiesta, especially when using the manual feature on the six-speed automatic I was testing. ![]() It struggled even more up hills, but on the highway it passed with plenty of assurance. ![]() When accelerating from a dead stop, the Accent strained, as do most in this class, and I was ferrying two other average-size adults in the car. While the Accent has more power than others in the class, I wouldn’t call it fleet of foot. The Honda Fit is far behind at 27/33 mpg, and the Toyota Yaris is in the mix at 29/36 mpg. The Accent’s highest configuration price is $16,795. You can choose a Fiesta SE hatchback with an automatic and optional SFE Package to get 29/40 mpg, but that will cost $16,990. The Fiesta is closest, with ratings of 28/37 mpg. It gets 28/37 mpg city/highway when teamed with either the standard six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. Hyundai has direct injection in its new 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, good for 138 horsepower. Like the Ford Fiesta, the new Accent gets an advanced engine. Inexpensive engines and transmissions have resulted in subpar mileage numbers despite the fact that the subcompacts weigh less than compact cars. Subcompact buyers have been treated poorly in the performance department. The Accent sedan is on sale now, and the hatchback will arrive at dealers by the end of June. The base price has risen by a few thousand dollars, but it actually delivers more value now. The bulbous two-door hatchback body style - and its sub-$10,000 price tag - are gone, replaced by attractive four-door sedan and hatchback body styles. ![]() The Accent now runs away from the rest of the segment in terms of value and features. Hyundai’s Accent was at the rear of the pack, and for 2012 the company has completely redesigned its entry-level offering. While all of them got you to Point B, few did so as a complete package, and the segment as a whole didn’t set the world afire, even with high gas prices. There was a slew of small cars with low sticker prices and decent efficiency, power and features. Editor’s note: Estimated mileage ratings have been lowered to reflect a November 2012 EPA audit of this car’s stated mileage.Ī few years ago the subcompact class was supposed to take over the auto industry.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |