Hyundai Accent Reviews

If your natural habitat is the urban jungle you'll need transport to help you survive its tight A-to-B challenges. We've compared four city-sized hatchbacks, in their entry-level form, to determine which one best meets the less-is-more brief.

Having recently moved here from the Gold Coast, a sleepy country town that thinks it's a city, I find I just really need to get out of Sydney from time to time. Bowral was the target destination and the car of choice was Hyundai's Accent Sport. The current generation of Hyundai's smallest hatchback, the Accent has

The cheapest way into the Hyundai family is still the Accent, but the brand recently trimmed the range down to a single trim level.

It might be getting harder and harder to hide its age, but there is still plenty to like about Hyundai's cheapest car, the recently refreshed Accent Sport. Have they taught this old dog new tricks?

Andrew Chesterton road tests and reviews the new Hyundai Accent Active hatch with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Andrew Chesterton road tests and reviews the Hyundai Accent SR with specs, fuel consumption and verdict. There will soon come a time when, if you're after a genuine go-fast Hyundai, you'll be able to take your pick from the brand's 'N' performance fleet. The first genuine attempt at creating a Korean M Division or AMG

Ewan Kennedy reviews the first, second and third generation Hyundai Accent from 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 as a used buy.

Hyundai has pruned its Accent small car range with the previous flagship Premium model being dropped due to its closeness in price to the slightly larger i30 model

Hyundai Accent arrived in Australia in June 2000 to replace the extremely successful Hyundai Excel. Hyundai attempted to push it a bit more upmarket than the Excel and that included a price rise that took it out of the cheap-and-cheerful category. The lower cost Hyundai Getz also stole sales from Accent.So sales of the Accent have never been as high as the Korean importers planned, but there are plenty on the used-car market and if you shop around there are some excellent buys out there.Hyundai’s build quality, which was a bit hit-and-miss in the company’s earlier years, had improved noticeably and the Accent benefited from being an all-new design. The later the car you buy the better it’s likely to be. The main structure of the Accent generally holds up well when subjected to the rigours of rough Aussie roads. Anything that squeaks and/or rattles, particularly inside the cabin, during your test drive should be treated with suspicion.There's good interior room in this small-medium Hyundai and buyers with pre-teen children can use the Accent as a full family car. The boot is roomy and easy to use and has a good shape that’s reasonably easy to load.Hyundai's Accent has good handling and the feel through the steering is better than average for an Asian import. There's some understeer if you push hard but the car is reasonably neutral until then. A good set of tyres can markedly improve things in the handling department and won’t set you back a huge amount of money.Model choices are quite limited because slow sales meant that the upmarket Accent hatchbacks, and all sedan variants were pulled off the Australian market in 2002. The sedan made a return in May 2006 with the introduction of a virtually all-new Accent.In September 2003 the Accent received a facelift to move it away from the somewhat bland look of the original model. This facelifted version is more popular on the used scene and it’s worth paying the extra if you’re looking for a bit of pizzazz in an affordable car.At the time of the 2003 body revamp, the Accent’s engine was increased in size from 1.5 to 1.6 litres. Performance from the new 78 kW unit made the small-medium Hyundai reasonably zippy on the road. It’s still not really sporting, but the car became more pleasant to drive, with shorter overtaking distances and the ability to climb hills with fewer gearchanges.Gearbox options are five-speed manual and four-speed automatic. This means it’s lagging behind more recent competitors with multi-speed manuals and autos. The manuals are generally good in their gearchanges but can bind up at times for no obvious reason. Automatics do sap a fair bit of engine power in a car of this size and are probably best left to those who do a lot of heavy-duty commuting in serious traffic.These days Hyundai is a fully established as part of the Australian automotive scene. The dealer network is large and widespread, though as is often the way in a car in this class, representation in the bush can be on the sparse side. We have heard of no real complaints about the cost of servicing or spare parts.The Accent is a simple design and has good underbonnet space, so it’s easy enough to work on. A lot of routine work can be done by a good home handyperson, though safety related items should be left to the professional. It’s always a good idea to have a workshop manual on hand before starting your own servicing and repair work.Insurance charges are moderate and there doesn’t appear to be a great deal of difference between companies as to the premiums they charge. Shop around but, as always, make sure you are doing a full apples-with-apples comparison before making your final choice.WHAT TO LOOK FORWe have seen Accents reach 200,000 km without any real problems. These cars had obviously been driven sensibly and serviced by the book - ask to see the full service records. Look over the interior, including the boot, for signs of rough usage. This may be a sign that other out of sight areas have also been mistreated.Rust isn't normally a problem, but look at all the lower body areas and around the front and rear windscreens to be safe. Any cars we have seen with rust in their bodies have been poorly repaired after crashes.Do an engine check for easy starting and smooth idling. Where possible this should be done with the engine cold, preferably after it has been sitting overnight.Feel for a manual gearbox that baulks during fast gear changes, especially during the three-two down change.Turn the steering wheel all the way from one side to the other whilst travelling at a very low speed and listen for clunking noises near the front wheels. These probably indicate the universal joints are worn.CAR BUYING TIPSellers will ask more for cars with a full service history, but it’s generally worth the extra outlay. Having paid the higher price it’s smart to keep its logbooks up to date. That way you can get most of your added investment back when it’s time to trade up. 

We've been waiting to drive this particular car for some time.Billed as Australia's "most affordable" diesel car, we reckon it would be perfect for someone who travels long distances each week, such as an interurban commuter. Why catch the train when you could have one of these babies?It's the same 1.6-litre CRDi turbo diesel that can be found in the larger i30, with 94kW of power and 260Nm of torque from a low 1900 revs. The difference is this car is about 200kg lighter which in theory means it should go further. Wrong.Fuel consumption figures for the Accent and i30 are almost identical at 4.5 litres/100km a piece for the manual and 5.6 litres/100km for the auto (i30 5.7). In comparison the 1.6-litre petrol model is rated at 6.0 and 6.4 litres/100km respectively. With a 43-litre tank, that gives the diesel Accent a theoretical range of 955km but with a larger 53-litre tank the i30 still has the edge. During testing we clocked up 560km at a rate of 4.6 litres/100km.They don't cost the same, so what's the pros and cons of buying a diesel over a petrol model? The equivalent petrol model is $16,990 while the diesel at $19,490 attracts a $2500 premium. When we checked the price of fuel, both petrol and diesel was $1.47 a litre near the office. At that price $2500 buys 1690 litres of petrol that translates to 28,000km of driving. That means you'd have to travel about 115,000km before the two break even, excluding service costs. If petrol was $1.38 and diesel $1.54 a litre  it's 185,000km.Like the i30 it's only a four-speed auto. It's another $2000 but will use another 1.1 litres of fuel per 100km (about 25 per cent more). The auto is going to be better in city traffic, instead of working a clutch. We generally recommend an auto with a diesel because it makes the whole experience so much smoother. But if economy is the goal, you'd be forced to stick with the manual. Your call?It's not all about fuel economy of course. Anyone who has driven a diesel car can attest to the fact that it's a comparatively easy, relaxed driving experience. With 260Nm of torque, the diesel has a lot more "pulling power" and this makes it effortless to drive  if perhaps a little less refined. Although it's the base Active model it surprisingly well equipped, with a Bluetooth and full iPod connectivity.A fantastic little car. Performance is strong and it is surprisingly smooth and quiet for a diesel, especially one of this size. The only thing we'd wish for is cruise control, a must for driving long distances  but it's not offered with the Accent. The catch is ... like most people, if you do 20,000km a year, then it's going to take six years to recoup the difference. Having said that it's the gap between refills and the superiour driving experience that are the big attraction of the diesel  an extra $2500 won't make a huge difference to your loan repayments.