2011-15 Hyundai Accent Review

Hyundai is on a roll with its new lineup

The small Hyundai Accent definitely rises above its subcompact class with a great value for the car you get.

The Hyundai Accent was actually redesigned in 2011 with their new sedan. However, the old 3-door hatchback was still sold in North America for one more year before the new 5-door hatchback was available. So for the sake of consistency, I will review the new model when both were available in the same year. Both the new sedan and hatchback are essentially the same car expect for the back, so I will review both at the same time. The Accent is keeping up with the new Elantra and Sonata with its overall design and features available. Lets take a look at both the sedan and hatchback:

Different Styles:

The Hyundai Accent comes as either a sedan or a 5 door hatchback. They both only come with a 1.6L 4 cylinder engine and either a 6 speed manual or 6 speed auto transmission. There are no sport versions or "eco" versions. There are different trims but they just add different features and options.

Styling and Comfort Impressions:

Give a hand to Hyundai for making even their smallest and most economy minded car still look good. The styling on the outside seems to take many ques from the fantastic looking Elantra and Sonata. It is not trying to look like anything that its not, there are no sharp edges to look sporty or huge tires. It has nice curved and flowing lines that make it look just a little more upscale with large lights that flow with the rest of the body. The front is not too blunt or too pointy, once again just a good compromise for a small economy car that is trying to please everyone. The windows are a little small and the rear trunk is quite high which give it a bit of a squished look. The only difference between the sedan and the hatchback is of course the hatch and a slightly higher roof line in the back of the hatch. The rear window is small in the hatchback but it does add small windows behind the rear seat ones so there are not huge rear pillars in the way. I would say this may be the one time where the sedan actually has the better rear view visibility.
Time to go inside, I have said it once, and ill say it again, Hyundai has done a very good job with incorporating similar and very stylish looks to the inside of all the new cars in their lineup, the Accent is no acceptation.
Take a look:

OK, its official, I have a bias against cars with all grey / black interiors. But I have a good reason, they just get so hot in any sort of direct sunlight. I also get hot really easily so its a bad combo. There, its out there, so every time I say I like the lighter colored interior just take it with a grain of salt. With that being said, this is a nice looking interior up front, I would go as far as saying better than the Elantra and here's why:

• Better placement of air vents ( the middle ones are actually larger than the Elantra's as well)
• Less, and simpler controls ( this is an economy car, maybe people don't want all that added fluff...)
• All of the controls, and glove box, are at a more reasonable height
• No touch screen multimedia ( when Im driving I want to be able to easily and quickly push the button I want, not go through a bunch of screens)
• Its a much less expensive car for the same great style

The seats are comfortable and available heated seats are once again a nice touch for a car in this class. The back has noticeably less room than the Elantra, but I still fit behind myself so good job to the Accent. Its hard not to compare the Accent to the Elantra as they are very similar cars in almost every aspect. They both come in sedan or hatchback form, they both have great looks, they both are reasonably priced, and both come with similar features. The trunk is an adequate size for the size of the car. I haven't said it before so I will say it now, If you are looking at a car in the subcompact class or even smaller, you really should only be looking for hatchbacks as they will have at least a decent amount of cargo room, they also have the benefit of being slightly shorter than their sedan twin.

I also must give a hand to the designers of the Accent, to keep as much visibly as possible from such a small car they tried to make the rear head restraints less noticeable when not in use by having them lay more flush with the seat back than in other cars. (not as much as the Fit does though...)

Driving Impressions:

The Hyundai Accent is definitely not sporty, like not even a little bit. If you have any more than just one person in it, the engine struggles to get you up to speed, at any speed. It is not necessarily loud or rough but you can hear and feel it working hard with not much results. They maybe should have geared the transmission to have a little better acceleration rather than fuel efficiency, but I guess most people buying a small economy car like this are not looking for sporty performance. So, if there is only person in the car, it has enough power to get up to speed in and around the city, not so much on the highway but it is not dangerously slow. Like the Kia Rio the Accent also has an active Eco button that once pressed dumbs down the acceleration and shifts up faster for fuel economy. It has small tires that don't do much for handling, and combined with its somewhat soft and comfy suspension, It leans in the corners, but once again, its not a sport car. It turns very tight though which is nice for parking and small streets. The seats are comfortable and overall visibility is adequate, the rear windows are small in both the sedan and hatchback. The drive is overall quiet with not too much wind or road noise. 

Overall:

This is a very nice small car. It has stylish looks and a decent amount of passenger and cargo room (hatchback) for its small dimensions. It has easy to use controls. Visibility is not perfect, but not horrible. The only major downfall is its weak engine, especially with anymore than one person in the car. It can be found at a decent price new or used so this could be a great first car that is fuel efficient, easy to maintain, and parents wont have to worry about it being raced or driven hard, because it just would never win. 

Facts/ Figures:

Price ( for this trim level): $18,000+

FWD

MPG (approx*): 27 city, 37 highway

Cargo room (approx*): 14 (21/47) CuFt

Length: 172'' (162")

Width: 67'' (67")

Tank Size (gal): 11.4

Miles on one tank (using combined MPG figures): 364

Average used price with 60,000KM or less: $12,000+ 

* when I say "approx" I usually am using the numbers given by the actual manufacturer or Consumer Reports, minus 1 to be a bit more realistic. 

Links:
Hyundai Canada

Hyundai USA

Enjoy!

Sorry for the late post, but I have had a busy few days and didn't get a chance to write.

J.K.