What do you get when you put a car and a pet together? Carpet! Not original but funny – at least I thought it was. Take a look inside the 2012 version of the Hyundai Accent, and the finish of the car’s trim and upholstery is clearly classy – right down to the carpets. It started in the Hyundai i20 and it’s carried through to the new Hyundai Accent model for 2012. The massive lift in quality and modern, attention-grabbing styling can only be noticed. The similar design cues used in the small i20 Hatchback have been used in the larger Accent. The Accent’s, style, space, equipment levels and pricing make a very strong statement to buyers looking for cars like the Holden Barina, Honda City, Mitsubishi Lancer and Ford Fiesta/Focus.

A break out of the norm is refreshing. A lot like a holiday, the new Hyundai Accent has been reborn and refreshed– but I’d best leave that line for Kia! I do like the way the Hyundai Accent has been finished well, has a polished drive-train and pleasant ride. It has the goods to please, and really does have a very competitive list of exciting features and electronic do-dads.

Hyundai has all of the Accent versions available with many safety features as standard items. These are the sort of features that every customer wants on a new car these days: stability control, six airbags, active front head restraints, antilock brakes with brake assist and electronic brake distribution.

The new Hyundai Accent comes available in three levels of trim — Active, Elite and Premium. Buyers can opt for first-class packages to enjoy large-car amenities in a small sedan/hatch body. Head as the crow flies to the Hyundai Accent Premium, and you’ll find features like remote keyless entry, steering wheel mounted audio controls, quality leather seats, a Bluetooth hands-free phone system, a sliding armrest storage box, fog lights, 16-inch alloy wheels and an automatic transmission with cruise control all come as some of the standard tasty items.

Power for the Hyundai Accent comes from a brand new Gamma 1.6 CVVT engine that uses an aluminium block, low friction moving parts and CVVT technology to deliver up to 91 kW of power at 6,300 rpm while producing 156 Nm of torque at 4200 rpm. Combined fuel consumption for the five-speed manual is 6.0 Litres/100 km and 6.4 Litres/100 km for the four-speed automatic.

Now, there is one other engine that can’t be overlooked. It happens to be my pick, and is turbo-diesel in power. The Hyundai Active CRDi Hatch and CRDi Sedan have the 1.6 CRDi, 94 kW, 260 Nm motor. As you can imagine this is an engine that is very suited to hauling a fully laden little Accent body around the roads, and it does it with ease and frugality (4.5 – 5.5 litres/100 km). Hear it here, I reckon this is the best small-car diesel engine around, so do be in!

There aren’t too many other cars that offer a sub $20k price and a five year/100,000 km warranty for a brand new car. You’ll be all set up now, because that makes it an easy choice!

The current Hyundai Accent models include the:

• Accent Active hatch
• Accent Active sedan
• Accent Active CRDi hatch
• Accent Active CRDi sedan
• Accent Elite hatch
• Accent Elite sedan
• Accent Premium hatch
• Accent Premium sedan

For any more information on the Hyundai Accent or, for that matter, any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Hyundai dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

Back to Hyundai Car Reviews