17 March 2000: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan.
Brian: If the last Hyundai Accent was the one that hadnt quite achieved the standards of its Japanese equivalents, the latest one is really facing it up to the likes of Corolla and similar. Since I was the writer who said the first, Im entitled to say the second, I think ...
Trish: Well, I didnt drive the last one, so I can only talk about the latest version. For me, this was quite a honey of a car to drive from the first experience, with only one real drawback, the gearshift. It was quite stiff and took me most of the week to get used to. But that may only have been on the review car ... and besides, I see theres a 4-speed autobox available, which would be for me ...
B: Yes, I rather felt the gearshift had loosened up by the end of our time with the car. Anyway, theres going to be a very interesting time ahead for Hyundai if they keep up the improvements at this pace, particularly for the money. Let me put it into perspective - we had a Corolla hatch-sized car, with a 1.4-litre modern engine, for around £10,500, while its competition in the same size can up to three grand more ...
T: I was very happy with the interior, in particular the unusually pleasant mid-tones of the plastics as well as the material on the doors and seats, which I figure will wear well and stay good looking. The dashboard also looked well and I particularly liked the easy-to-find big buttons. Hyundai werent trying to be ground breakers in design here, but what they produced was a classic car dashboard very capably ...
B: Have to agree with you there. I also liked the driving position, which for lanky me was easily adaptable. Id no difficulty getting enough legroom, and there is more than adequate height for even the tallest driver ...
T: OK for you, but a slight problem for me with my shorter legs. At 55 I found that to reach the pedals comfortably, I had to pull the seat forward so much that the steering wheel was a bit close and low, but the wheel itself felt good and I got used to it. And from that position it actually did mean I had good visibility ...
B: On that matter, the Accent has a fairly low rear window line, and it wasnt difficult to see behind when reversing ... too often these days, the stylists get in ahead of sense ...
T: Talking about style, the outside of the car is particularly well balanced and anyone would feel quite happy driving it. In fact the three-door review car had something very much of a coupe about its looks. I thought it looked very well from the back, and the extra length over its earlier version gives the overall car a much better presence ...
B: We should get into the mechanicals. The car has a freshly-updated 1.4-litre engine, which to me seemed to work as smooth as any in its class. OK, so its not a new Corolla VVT-i unit, but when it comes down to the punter, and especially at this price, do very many people care? Its basic design is young, it has multivalve technology, and theyve made it much quieter than I remember its predecessor ...
T: To most of us out there, things like VVT-i are just extra letters, so what more do you want than that it starts, goes and stops when its supposed to, and doesnt drink too deeply from the petrol station? For me, I liked the unagressive sound of the engine, and yet there was more than adequate punch when I wanted it ...
B: I was impressed with the handling, too. Theres nothing basic about this cars suspension, even if it comes in at a basic car price level. Any bumps (we DO get them, you know ... they havent gone away) seemed well controlled, and no undue noise was made going through and over them ...
T: For me a good point was how responsive the steering was, nothing woolly about it. In fact with a beefier engine and a few tweaks to the underpinnings, there could be a future in rallying for the Accent ...
B: Yup, it just seemed very ... as you put it earlier in another context ... balanced. Im mightily impressed, and I make no bones about saying to the competition of the same size, watch out - the car in front of you might be a Hyundai ...
T: Time will tell and lets see how the figures pan out at the end of the year ... but for me anyway, its a winner.
Hyundai Accent facts: 1341cc engine; 5-speed manual or 4-speed auto; 3-, 4- and 5-door body styles; price range £10,450-£11,550.