Hyundai Accent 1.4 GLS 3dr Review

It seems that Hyundai's designers took the easy way out with this one. They grabbed the four door Verna by the neck, sent it to the guillotine and chopped off it's behind. Then, they filed off the access fat of the C-pillar, lengthened the front two doors and 'Voila!' Hello Accent Sporty.

Fortunately, that's as bad as things get, and on the bright side, a body stylist with an experienced eye will take to fixing the right amount of aftermarket accessories (bodykits, bigger wheels, and so on) so as to transform this cutesy little coupe into a hot looking hatch.

Admittedly, after spending a day with it, feelings for this little critter grew deeper. We appreciated how the designers sculpted a flowing design from the front to the rear, as for Hyundai's reputation of solidly built "budget" cars, if you could call it that nowadays.

The doors, bonnet and hood closed with a resounding 'thud' (ed. That in my opinion would put a Nissan Sunny to shame!) and the overall continental feel was very undeniable, even in the hands of a novice driver.

Interior

The first thing the editorial team noticed whilst inside the car was the panoramic view of the exterior and interior devices. The driver gets an excellent sweeping view of the road ahead, while peripheral view, by virtue of the large door windows and a relatively slim A pillar, is equally impressive.

However, we noticed a huge flaw while peering at the rear view mirror. Here, the sloping C-pillars restricted us from obtaining a good look at traffic coming up from behind. Hyundai has generously thrown in oversized wing mirrors, as a form of compensation, perhaps?

The instrument cluster ensures ease of interpretation from any driving position. The air-conditioning dials, audio controls and automatic gear knob were all within easy reach. The only major gripe here would be the seat belts. Thanks (or no thanks) to the retracted B pillar; we had to stretch back a little further than we might be accustomed to in most two-door cars in an effort to reach for our seat belts.

The rear seats will ferry 2 adults quite comfortably, although headroom might be suspected to give taller passengers a little hunch. They might find it a little hard to settle down comfortably, but for the rest of us, vertically challenged Singaporeans, do rejoice! (ed. especially our very short road tests editor, who found plenty of space in the back to fall asleep in, again™)
Engine

Powering the car is a 95hp DOHC 1.4l four-cylinder that does its job fairly well in terms of keeping up with the rest of the traffic population, unlike the previous Accent's SOHC 1341cc unit that was comparatively wheezy and ill-ratioed.

It does tend to scream louder than it should at lower revs, but push it further up the tach and things sort of smoothen out, and NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) levels do not tend to get worse. While the 4 speed automatic is acceptable, a manual would have certainly been a lot more fun.

Driving Impressions

The Accent's handling was the highlight of the day and is probably the car's main strength. The suspension, as a sports-oriented car would have it, proved to be inspiring. It irons out the annoying bumps on the road like a hot iron would to a shirt, but at the same time it maintains a comfort level that would make your mother nod with approval.

The car also did well gripping the road in tight corners. Body roll was present, but despite that, it definitely did put to shame some of the more expensive cars on the road.

The engine, at first throttle, would seem a bit of an underachiever, but it calls upon you to keep the faith for a few more seconds, and to not let-off the gas pedal. If you are able to do that, rest assured, you will be thankful you did for the engine would reveal its delightfully perky self.

Do that enough and you will reach higher than legal speeds, and then you would notice that something is missing. That something would be road and wind noise. While many carmakers have struggled to find the right balance of materials to keep it out, Hyundai has done very well with this car. The only noise that would annoy you while you are cruising comfortably would be coming from the stereo set as Britney goes "Gimme, gimme".

Overall, the car proved to be quite a performer given its price.

Why buy it?

At $52,988 as of 5th of March 2008, the Accent Sporty provides an easy drive with quality at a price that is irresistibly hard to say 'no' to. Buyers looking for a coupe that is sporty in appearance but not over the top should definitely head down to test one of these babies.

The car provides ample space for four adults, a decent amount of luggage, and put that together with good handling and mother-in-law credentials, and this Accent is definitely worth "minding" for some time to come.