Hyunda Accent revised with good designs and ultra-low prices
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Itsy-bitsy subcompacts in the price-conscious economy club usually are a royal pain to drive due to physical and fiscal restraints which typically override concerns for car performance and passenger comfort.
Spend time commuting on public roads in the typical tiny economy car and you'll feel jammed together with fellow riders in a flimsy metal cage while hurling at speed among surrounding vehicles which seen bigger and far more substantial than the car you're in.
However, that's not the way it feels to drive the revised new Accent sedan by Hyundai, Korea's largest automaker.
In the new design for 2000, Accent's wheelbase was stretched by 1.6 inches, the width was expanded by 1.9 inches and length from prow to trunk grew by about four inches over the former version. These expansions created modest spatial improvements within the redesigned passenger cabin, which resulted in more headroom for front seats and more legroom in the rear.
Those riding up front do not feel so squeezed together in a tiny compartment like you might in other economy subcompacts, due to the tall wrap of windows and larger new seats.
Driver sits in a comfortable form-fitting bucket which adjusts to fit even a large frame, with seat height in tall stance to set up excellent visibility through the large windows. All of the controls -- handy in positions either left on the door, right on the console or ahead on the instrument panel -- set in logical positions and operate easily.
The surfaces for dash and door, clad in a soft-touch synthetic material, feel refined, even sophisticated, which is certainly unexpected in this conservative class.
Another unexpected impression comes from the gutsy performance from what's actually a modest engine which musters only 92 hp but pumps some powerful torque. Second and third gears invite a long run-up to high rpms, which propels the little car into the fast lane.
Our first encounter with the new Accent came while entering a crowded multiple-lane freeway during the subcompact commuter's terror time of rush hour. Traffic was thick but moving fast on the busy I-5 in San Diego, yet we merged smoothly into the flow, then cut from one lane to another to expedite a rush out of town.
Distracted by the maze of so many bigger vehicles surrounding the Accent, we were well beyond the Chula Vista exit before realizing that this little machine competed well against everything else on the freeway.
Inside the cabin, it was relatively quiet, due to a stiff new structure combining with more sound-damping insulation and double seals on doors to stifle external noise from the motor and surrounding traffic.
Since Accent tips the scales at only 2240 pounds, it acts zippy: What modest mass there is slices through the air with low resistance, thanks to streamlining for the exterior shell and maximizing of the engine's torque as interpreted through excellent gear ratios.
Steering in a rack and pinion arrangement feels fast, quickly translating movements of the steering wheel into action, while the expanded wheelbase in concert with a revamped four-wheel independent suspension system generates an agile character with surprisingly smooth ride quality.
Front suspension geometry was improved through a rise in the castor angle to lessen tendencies of the front end to lift when accelerating or dive when braking, while a new front stabilizer bar blocks body roll from one side to the other when turning. Then a new sub-frame mount for front suspension components -- rarely encountered in the price-conscious subcompact class -- tones down road noise.
Later in the test drive as we ran through coastal peaks east of San Diego, our Accent demonstrated it could manage a sequence of mountain switchback curves with poise and an agility unanticipated from a low-rung economy car. It proved that Hyundai's smallest car can actually be quite fun to drive, which is not an attribute of most other machines in the subcompact economy class.
It looks sharp too.
Designers at Hyundai's California styling studio contributed to the new form and integrated some strong and edgy styling devices into a shapely profile. It amounts to a low-slung wedge with raked windshield and tall window glass, a fast slope to the front hood, abbreviated rear deck and a blunt tail.
Lines on the creased hood sweep inward from thin windshield corner pillars to a horizontal grille with egg-crate segments and flanking clear-lens headlamps. The body-colored bumper accents the prow design with foglamps pinned directly below headlamps on either side of a low air dam.
&&& More keen lines stretch from front lamps to tail as shoulders rolled over relatively flat door panels, which are interrupted only by faint flared rings around wheelwells. In the rear, corner tail lamps in delta-shaped designs look like those on pricy European touring sedans.
In the restructured passenger compartment, new front seats feel substantial and supportive, thanks to high-density foam with swoopy indentions and firm side bolsters. Each bucket moves in various ways to accommodate leg length, seat height, lumbar back, seatback tilt and headrest position. Further, the driver's seat has a right-side armrest which folds up when not needed.
The instrument panel provides large analog gauges with white markings and red needle pointers over a gray field.
Air vents flank the instrument panel, and in the middle of the dashboard a stand of controls for climate and audio systems brings large rotary knobs. Below the passenger-size air bag, a vast bin-like glove box seems big enough to hold two six-packs of soda cans.
For the back bench seat, indented spaces define positions for outboard passengers with three-point seat belts. The rear seatback divides into two sections and folds to improve cargo capacity for a flat-floored trunk.
Overall, the revamped Accent models for year 2000 amount to a larger vehicle with more interior room and more features plus many refinements for the structure and a powertrain that delivers best-in-class torque.
But here's the kicker: price points for all versions -- two three-door hatchbacks and a single four-door sedan -- have been restrained to the level of last year's Accent (all below $10,000), and they're protected with the best warranty in the business.
Hyundai's warranty insures the powertrain for 100,000 miles and a 60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper shield guards against defects plus five years of roadside assistance with lockout and emergency towing service. This warranty alone should make Accent extremely competitive in the subcompact economy market, but the car's improved performance and low pricing transform it into a real value now.
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| 2000 HYUNDAI ACCENT VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Subcompact 4-door sedan
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| Model Options: |
Subcompact 4-door sedan
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| Wheelbase: |
96.1 inches
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| Overall Length: |
166.7 inches
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| Engine Size: |
SOHC 1.5-L I4
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| Transmission: |
Manual/5, Auto/4
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| Drive: |
Front
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| Braking: |
Disc/drum
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| Airbags: |
2 (front)
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| Gas Mileage: |
28/36 mpg
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| MSRP Price: |
$ 9,699 |
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