By BJ Killeen
Let’s be honest; few people aspire to purchase a subcompact vehicle. These glorified golf carts usually are devoid of features, look as if no one cared about the design, and deliver underwhelming performance. A base model subcompact ranks slightly higher than a high-mileage used vehicle. Which is why most of us who have limited funds don’t look forward to car shopping; it can be downright depressing. Lately, it seems as if manufacturers are paying a lot more attention to entry-level products because they understand that if you catch buyers as early as possible in their car-purchase cycle, there’s a good chance they will remain loyal to the brand. Start them off in a car with lots of cheap plastic, no conveniences, and seriously ugly styling, and chances are pretty good you’ll never see them again after that initial purchase. Which is why Hyundai has done a big rethink on the smallest sedan in the lineup, the 2018 Accent. This is an all-new take on the fifth generation of Hyundai’s subcompact. You can tell right away that Hyundai spent as much time developing the Accent as they did their top-end sedans.
Where many of today’s entry vehicles will bore you to death
by design, the Accent’s fluid design, elongated body, and well-placed character
lines will have you mistaking it for either an Elantra or Sonata. It’s just
that nice. Smart buyers look for designs that make it appear as if they spent a
lot more money than they did. This is especially true with the Accent. With a ridiculously
low base price of $15,880 with destination (a 6-speed automatic transmission
adds a grand), the Accent will make even those with only pennies to spend
excruciatingly happy that they don’t have to drive around in a car that shouts,
“I’m settling because I’m broke.” With the Accent, not only do you look as if
you could buy whatever you wanted, you look smart because you chose this one.
And you would be smart to buy the Accent. After all, more
than 1.2 million Accents have been sold since it was introduced in 1994. There
must be some great reasons to own one. And there are, with styling at the top
of the list. The all-new 2018 accent features a cascading grille design that’s
reminiscent of the rest of Hyundai’s lineup. Available are projector beam
headlamps with LED DRLs, available foglamps, and functional air curtains to
help with fuel efficiency. A big greenhouse, and other available features like
chrome beltline molding and 17-inch alloy wheels deliver a real upscale
appearance. The Accent is available in three trim levels: SE, SEL, and Limited.
But even the SE, without some of the exterior upgrades, still features a sleek,
clean design that is far from cringe worthy.
Inside is more of the same. High-quality fit and finish,
nice materials, and a smart design again hide the fact that this is an
entry-level vehicle. Standard features include a 5-inch color touchscreen in
the center console, a rearview camera, 60/40 split fold rear seats (seriously,
even the all new Honda Accord LE model doesn’t offer 60/40 split-fold rear
seats), steering wheel audio and cruise controls, and Bluetooth hands-free
phone connectivity.
Step up to the SEL for just over $18K and you’ll get a
7-inch display, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (c’mon Hyundai, make this
standard, please!), 15-inch alloy wheels (wheel covers on the SE), automatic
headlamp control, dual-charging USB ports, four-wheel disc brakes (rear drums
are standard on SE — yes, we’d prefer discs, but all the competitors follow
suit), and more.
The top-end Limited still comes in under $20,000, and adds
Forward Collision Avoidance Assist, power sunroof, 17-inch alloy wheels,
proximity key with pushbutton start, heated front seats, three years of Blue
Link Connect services, and more. Three trim levels, three well-equipped
vehicles, and no other dealer options. Smart way to package the lineup. Think
about the cost savings for Hyundai due to a less complex build program. We hope
it passed those savings along to the customer.
A quick way to find out the quality of a vehicle is to
listen to the amount of noise coming in the cabin. If the manufacturer skimped
on materials, you’ll hear every squeak, rattle, and bump as you drive down the
road. Hyundai stepped up the quality where you couldn’t see it, as well. Over
half the vehicle is high-strength steel, and noise isolation has been improved
over the previous model. There are better door seals, better blocking of the
body cavity to stop noise creep, and a redesigned subframe to improve stiffness
and reduce noise, vibration and harshness.
Although the Accent’s dimensions have changed slightly over
the 2017 model (a half-inch longer, 1.2 inches wider, and less than a half inch
longer wheelbase), passenger space is where you’ll notice the biggest
difference between the Accent and the competition. It features approximately 15
cubic feet more passenger volume than the Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris iA,
slight more cargo volume than both, and more interior volume overall. So much so
that it’s classified as a compact versus a subcompact.
In a small vehicle, fuel economy tends to beat performance
for many buyers. They understand that they won’t be getting a fire-breathing V8
engine or even a twin-turbocharged V6. What the Accent does offer is Hyundai’s
own Gamma 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder GDI powerplant that makes 130
horsepower and 119 lb-ft of torque. Although the power is down about seven
horses and four lb-ft versus last year, peak torque comes on sooner, so it’s
basically a wash versus 2017. And keep in mind the horsepower number is equal
to or better than almost all the Accent’s competitors. Since this is an
“economy” vehicle, Hyundai is shooting for good fuel efficiency. The Accent’s EPA
certified 28 city/38 highway/32 mpg combined for the automatic is a solid
number. Subtract one mpg for highway and combined to get the number for the
manual transmission. We did most of our driving on highways, and at one point
registered a 41.5 mpg overall figure. That’s impressive.
The sole 1.6-liter engine is matched to either a six-speed
manual transmission (in the SE only) or a six-speed automatic. We didn’t get to
row through the gears of the manual, but the automatic’s shifts were smooth and
precise, again feeling like a much more expensive ride. The automatic includes Hyundai’s
Drive Mode Select feature that lets the driver shift from Sport to Normal,
which modifies the powertrain to add a bit more steering feel and shorter shift
points for a sportier ride.
While we weren’t expecting much from the Accent when it came
to drivability, we were beyond pleasantly surprised. The Accent now features a
brake-based torque vectoring control system, which helps the vehicle move well
around corners as the brakes help send the torque to the tires with grip. Front
and rear suspensions also have been improved, with outboard shocks that have
been positioned at a different angle to provide better ride and control.
We recently had a chance to drive the Accent on the
outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada, up around Red Rock Canyon, Lake Las Vegas area,
and out to Hoover Dam. Although you could hear the I4 engine working a bit,
once on the highway, the engine was quiet and unobtrusive. The 130 horses under
the hood weren’t going to set any dragstrip records, but it was more than
enough to stay at speed. True confession: at one point we looked down and saw
95 mph on the highway (just staying with the flow of traffic, folks), but
before we backed down to the speed limit, we were astonished at how quiet,
smooth, and easily the sedan climbed back up to speed. The Accent also did a nice job of powering through corners
while delivering a controlled and comfortable ride. Frankly, we kept saying how
impressive the Accent was. We certainly weren’t expecting something this nice
at such a low price point.
Overall, we wouldn’t hesitate to buy an Accent if we were in
the market for one. We believe Hyundai did a great job in executing a sedan
with style, quality, and good handling. We are a bit disappointed that they are
only offering the Accent in a sedan version and not a hatch like a lot of its
competitors have, but maybe they’re waiting to show one down the line. Let’s
hope so.
We’d like to say we drove all the trims, but we really spent
most of our time in the Limited model, which is what we’d get anyway because
the price is so reasonable. With the Limited we also had a chance to play with
the Blue Link system. Being able to remote start and stop the vehicle, as well
as lock and unlock it via out Apple Watch gave us another reason to opt for the
top trim model.
Bottom line: your bottom line will appreciate the all-new
2018 Hyundai Accent. It delivers more than a subcompact should, which is way
more than anyone expects.
