 2012 Hyundai Accent. Click image to enlarge |
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Review and photos by Jil McIntosh
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2012 Hyundai Accent
Las Vegas, Nevada – Small cars are big business. While compacts still rule the Canadian market, subcompacts command a great deal of respect, especially as gas prices continue to rise. It’s into this new climate of restraint and efficiency that Hyundai presents its all-new 2012 Accent.
There are numerous differences from the last generation, and perhaps the most important is that Hyundai is no longer interested in marketing this entry-level model as the cheapest car in Canada as it previously did. “The days we survived on value alone are long gone,” said Steve Kelleher, president and CEO of Hyundai Canada, and the two models I drove on a swelteringly hot day in the Nevada desert bear him out.
For one thing, the two-door hatchback – the model that was famously advertised for a low of $9,995 – is no more. The Accent now comes only with four doors, in hatchback or sedan configuration. The sedan starts at $13,199 and rises to $17,999, while the hatchback runs between $13,599 and $18,399. It’s an extra $1,200 to move from a stick shift to an automatic transmission on all models except for the GLS sedan, where the autobox is the sole choice (the GLS hatchback comes with either one). Those top prices may well be a key to success because, as Hyundai said in its presentation, most consumers think that a car in this segment shouldn’t go above $20,000, which some of its competitors do.
   2012 Hyundai Accent. Click image to enlarge |
Exactly what the Accent is depends on whose definition you use. As new models so often are, the 2012 Accent is longer and wider than the outgoing version, with more interior and trunk space. Based on the car’s size and volume, Transport Canada calls it a compact, while Hyundai markets it as a subcompact. Most buyers will probably consider it to be halfway between the two.
As before, the engine is a 1.6-litre four-cylinder, but it’s an all-new version that includes gasoline direction injection (GDI), the first subcompact to have such technology, along with dual continuously variable valve timing, an electronic throttle, a variable-length induction system, and probably of most interest to long-term owners, a timing chain rather than a belt. The previous five-speed manual and four-speed automatic are replaced by versions with six cogs each.
The boost in power is considerable. Whereas the old engine made 110 horsepower and 106 lb-ft of torque, the new one produces 138 horses and 123 lb.-ft. Despite the extra muscle, fuel consumption improves. The manual-equipped model, previously rated at 7.2 L/100 km city and 5.7 highway, is now 6.7 and 4.9. With the automatic, numbers go from 7.6 city and 5.5 highway to 7.0 and 4.8. (Since this was a manufacturer’s launch, I didn’t have an opportunity to determine my own fuel use.)
The styling is all-new as well, and it’s a looker, sharing the same “fluidic sculpture,” as Hyundai likes to call it, that is also used on the new Sonata and Elantra. Indeed, at first glance and especially from the back, it bears quite a resemblance to those other two. Inside, the plastic surfaces are hard – this is an economy model, after all – but the new design is quite handsome, set off with metallic inserts and a Honda-esque steering wheel that has audio controls on all but the base model.
The base L trim model doesn’t come with air conditioning – a rather irritating ploy that, realistically, just allows the automaker to loudly advertise a rock-bottom price while putting most of its customers into the mid-range trim level. Given that a/c can be added as a dealer option for between $1,800 to $2,000, depending on where you’re located, and that it’s only an additional $1,800 to move from an L trim line to the mid-range GL, which adds numerous options on top of the refrigerant, I figure it’ll be tough to even find the base model on a dealer’s lot.
