Just one look will tell you the Accent is no ordinary subcompact car. From nose to tail it’s endowed with truly attractive lines for
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
the entry-level segment. It’s not trying to be the class clown or weird just to get attention, but rather delivers a level of sophistication small cars don’t usually pull off, their dimensions too small to emulate a given brand’s key design elements effectively, the result being a disproportionate oddball that looks about as natural as a Rolls-Royce grille on the front of a VW Beetle.
Not so for the Accent, however. Hyundai is becoming a pretty classy volume brand, duking it out against big business premium players with its impressive Genesis and Equus models while still willing to mix it up on the tiny tot school ground with the compact Elantra and this impressive little Accent.
Hyundai’s
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
uniquely framed trapezoidal grille looks right at home on this small package, although it’s bisected with a large body-colour bumper, yet the shape is still there. Attractive elongated headlights and creatively penned fog lamps, edged in chrome brightwork, give the car a more upscale look than most others in this category receive. A sweeping beltline bleeds off the top of the front wheel cutout as it cants upwards, eventually passing overtop the taillight before melding into an integrated rear spoiler that crests along the edge of the trunk, while those red and clear taillight lenses wrap around each of the car’s back corners, mimicked by a set of red reflectors set into the organically shaped bumper below. My hardly base tester was finished off with a sweet looking set of 16-inch
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
eight-spoke alloys encircled by 195/50R16 tires for an elegant look and all-season functionality.
Additional upscale touches include turn signals integrated into the mirror housings, again not what you’d expect from a subcompact sedan, but to be fair my tester was a top-line GLS model, the premium-like lighting elements, just like the fog lamps and alloys wheels not offered in any trim lower down the Accent’s desirability ladder.
Yes, you might be driving a subcompact car, what many consider to be the cheapest form of transportation this side of a city bus, but drive an Accent GLS and
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
there will be others wishing they had anything anywhere near as nice. They might notice the body-colour door handles and mirror caps, but they won’t likely know that your side mirrors are remote powered and heated, and they may not be able to see the powered tilt and slide glass sunroof overhead, no doubt something you’ll appreciate on a sunny day or starry night.
They might see you casually chatting away via Bluetooth hands-free while gripping the comfortable leather-wrapped steering wheel, or flicking through the steering wheel spoke-mounted audio controls with your left thumb, selecting songs from your iPod, smartphone or satellite radio and playing them on the upgraded
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
tweeter-enhanced audio system, setting the cruise control with your right thumb, all the while comfortably ensconced in an automatic climate controlled environment fit for a king (or at least the king of a small island nation), but they won’t be able to appreciate the attractive two-tone light and dark grey colour scheme, enjoy the satin silver accents on the door window switch surrounds and around the centre stack and steering wheel, or for that matter feel the high quality switchgear throughout the Accent’s cabin. How could they know your little subcompact literally shines inside with piano black gloss plastics on the centre stack and lower console, plus lots of nice chrome detailing, and they’d never be privy to subtle details like the attractive wave pattern on the light grey cloth seats and padded door panel inserts.
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
full-colour multi-information screen set between large, easily legible tachometer and speedometer dials keeps you abreast of the inner workings of your car, trip info and other features, while that automatic climate control system I spoke of a moment ago gets its own backlit display making it easy to see and set day or night. There’s plenty of room to the side and in back for friends and family, so at least these folks will know how spoiled you are during your commute back and forth from work each day.
If you haven’t clued into the reality that the Accent GLS is nice place to hang out in, then I’ll have to continue on talking about powered door locks, powered windows with driver’s auto up/down, telescopic steering, and heated front seats (some
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
of these features also available on the mid-grade GL), but I’d rather tell you how it drives. First off the driver’s seat is comfortable, seating position good and relaxed, and visibility excellent in every direction, made yet better via driver’s seat height adjustment. It’s an easy car to get comfortable in and even easier to take out on the road.
Performance isn’t the first card your Hyundai dealer will likely play in tempting you into an Accent Sedan, simply because it’s not a high priority with most small car buyers. Fuel economy is and to that end the little Accent delivers in spades, my
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
auto-equipped GLS rated at 7.5 L/100km in the city, 5.3 on the highway and 6.5 combined while the base six-speed manual supplied Accent is claimed to achieve 7.6 city, 5.2 highway and 6.5 combined. And yes, you read that right. The wee little Accent gets a six-speed manual right out of the box, whereas the optional automatic (which is standard on the mid-grade GL and top-tier GLS) also gets six forward gears for improved efficiency and performance.
I probably shouldn’t have said that performance wouldn’t be the first card your Hyundai dealer would play, as the direct-injected, 16-valve, DOHC 1.6-litre four comes standard with a mean streak when you put right foot to the floor, letting loose an impressive 138 horsepower and 123 lb-ft of torque. Look around the subcompact
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
segment and you’ll be hard pressed to find greater engine output from any volume producer, the result being easy point and shoot inner-city sprinting along with effortless highway merging, relaxed cruising and ample high-speed passing performance. Shifts are crisp and quick while Hyundai even includes manual-mode so you can row it through the gears yourself, whether short shifting to save fuel or revving the engine out on a winding stretch of two-lane nirvana.
Of course, the Accent isn’t a slot car so don’t expect it to keep up with a Veloster or Genesis Coupe when the road gets twisty (or any other time for that matter), but it’ll hold its own against subcompact rivals, while its ride is comfortable for the class.
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
My GLS tester boasts a set of four-wheel disc brakes, unusually welcome for its segment, while standard ABS, plus vehicle stability management with stability control and traction control keep it manageable in inclement weather conditions. In case of accident all Accents get a full slate of airbags along with active front headrests, three rear headrests, and more.
Behind those rear seats is a fairly expansive trunk that measures 388 litres (13.7 cubic feet), while the rear seatbacks fold forward in a 60/40 configuration for loading in longer items while still being able to carry four occupants.
As you probably have surmised from this review, the Accent Sedan GLS impressed me. Sure there are other cars within Hyundai’s ever-burgeoning fleet that wow me more, but then again it’s what a carmaker does at its most basic level that shows its
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
true heart and soul, and this is a little car with a very big heart and lots of endearing soul.
That you can buy one for as little as $13,549 plus $1,595 for freight and pre-delivery prep is its most impressive attribute, my GLS tester priced a little higher at $18,799 but worth every penny, and extremely competitive when placed side-by-side against its main rivals. Add to its many virtues a standard five-year, 100,000 km comprehensive warranty and it’s easy to see why Hyundai is doing so well in the small car arena.
With great styling, a roomy feature-filled upscale cabin, stellar performance and excellent fuel economy, I reiterate the Accent GLS is no ordinary compact car. I highly recommend it.
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