I went to check out a Hyundai Accent at lunch. The model I drove was a 5dr GL manual. The GL is the Accent's mid-level trim, and comes with what I would consider to be all the necessary equipment these days: Keyless entry, A/C, Cruise, front heated seats, Bluetooth, XM, six speakers, tilt/telescopic steering wheel. MSRP was $16,299 + $1,595 Destination.
On the outside, the particular model I drove was a copper/brown colour. It was a metallic paint, and looked sharp enough. The wheels were steel wheels with plastic wheel covers. It's a sharp looking car with creases and character lines to break up the sheet metal. Otherwise, it looks like any other 5-door compact hatch does these days.
Once inside the car, a few cost cuttings quickly became evident. I definitely felt like I was sitting ON the seat rather than IN it. The seat had a manual height adjuster (nice!) but unfortunately the seat base lacked front and rear tilt adjustments. The headrest was adjustable up/down, however I wished for a fore/aft adjustment, too, as it always seemed to protrude too far forward. The seatbase was too short for my 6' - 1" frame, and the seatback didn't support me much at all. Like I said, you sit ON the seats, not IN them! The seats were finished in a cheap feeling but likely durable fabric. Each front seat had a two-setting seat heater, which was a nice surprise at this price point.
Hard plastic is evident EVERYWHERE, including most of the places where you rest your arms. The door panels and armrests are made out of hard plastic, and I could imagine my elbow developing pain after an extended drive. The car had a little center console, and pleasantly, the lid was covered in fabric. It was a cheap, durable fabric, and the padding was thin, but nonetheless it was an improvement over the rest of the surfaces. The dash and center console were finished in a hard, textured plastic, but as these are less likely to be touched, it mattered less. The visual design, however was pretty nice. The front dash seemed to flow towards the center console, and different shades/textures of plastics were used creating an appealing visual treat. I found the shifter to be a little far forward for my liking. Either that, or the center console lid/armrest could have used a few inches more to the front. The gauge cluster was an attractive little unit, with a brightly coloured tach and speedo flanking a center info-screen. The center screen could be used to display a variety of trip information such as distance to empty, instantaneous and average economy. It also displays what gear you should be in for most efficient driving. If I was cruising along in 4th gear, it would remind me to shift to 5th, which was fantastic considering I had no idea what the shift points of this car are.
Driving the car was a pleasant experience. To my surprise, the transmission was a 6-speed rather than the more typical five speed common at this price point. The shifter itself was pleasant if a little vague. Notchiness was evident going into gears, and it was a little imprecise, but over all I've shifted worse transmissions in more expensive cars. The clutch was on the soft side, but takeup was smooth and predictable. The brake and gas pedal were nicely placed for heel-toe shifting, however my giant shoes may have had a part to play in that. The steering was on the numb side, but nothing offended me about it. It was certainly smooth, and when pushing the car around a cloverleaf, I certainly had a decent feeling of when the front tires were approaching the limits of adhesion and starting to want to understeer. The engine was smooth and revvy, but mostly faded into the background like a good NA 1.6L should. It wasn't particularly quick, especially when merging onto a highway. Accelerating in 3rd gear up to highway speed was a little slow, but the car eventually made it up to speed without any drama. I certainly wouldn't try any daring passing maneouvres on a two-lane highway with a carload full of passengers and cargo, but it would have no problem at least keeping up to traffic. At 105km/h and in sixth gear, the engine was revving less than 2K, and just faded away into the background.
The most endearing quality of how the Accent drove was the how quiet and smooth it was. It did a very good job at muffling wind, tire and engine noise. While accelerating and while at speed, the engine was almost imperceptible, and holding a quiet conversation inside the car required no effort. The suspension seemed nicely sorted and absorbed most bumps, cracks and road breaks without much drama. It exhibited a little roll on the highway on-ramp, although that is to be expected of a rather tall sub-compact car. Overall, the car felt in control at all times.
Would I buy the car? Well, the driving dynamics of the car were certainly nice. The engine and transmission were nice to operate, as was the steering. The Accent was surprisingly quiet and well-mannered for such a small car. The feature list was long, and the creature comforts are certainly something I've come to expect in recent years. However, I just couldn't see myself sitting in those seats or resting my arms on those door armrests for any more than a half-hour drive. For that reason, I would say the car isn't for me. That being said, someone else with a smaller stature might find the seats perfectly acceptable, and may not inherently rest their arms on the doors, thereby negating those aspects to irrelevance. It was a great little car, but I would have gladly traded Bluetooth/XM/heated seats for slightly more comfortable seats and better arm rest surfaces.
