FIRST DRIVE
2018 Hyundai Accent
MONTREAL It’s not by accident that Hyundai chose Montreal to hold the first press drive of the redesigned 2018 Accent. Thirty per cent of all Accents sold in Canada are sold on the island city, which is more than double the number of units sold in Toronto and Ottawa combined.
Those numbers have helped Hyundai maintain the top spot in the Canadian subcompact segment since 2009, outselling the Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, Nissan Versa, and Toyota Yaris, in some cases by more than double during that time.
The reason for its success is easy to understand: Aside from the diminutive Nissan Micra and Chevy Spark, it’s the least expensive car in its category. But despite its low price (the 2017 Accent starts at $13,999; 2018 pricing to be announced), the new Accent offers a compact-sized interior, and a drive quality that belies its entrylevel status.
As with the outgoing version, the 2018 Accent is available in sedan and five-door body styles. Curiously, the five-door model, which represents 65 per cent of Accent sales in Canada, isn’t available south of the border. The sedan comes in LE, GL and GLS trim levels, while the five-door adds a frill-free base L model. The fourdoor GLS is available only with an automatic; all other models offer a manual transmission as well. Available wheel sizes have grown by one inch to 15 inches, and 17 inches on the top trim.
The redesigned Accent is 29 millimetres wider, 15 mm longer, and has a 10 mm-longer wheelbase, now 2,580 mm. These larger dimensions have added 36 litres of interior space. Trunk space in the sedan is 387 litres, while the five-door model can hold a classleading 616 litres of cargo behind the rear seats.
The undercarriage, which is constructed with almost 42 per cent more high-strength steel, is 32 per cent more rigid torsionally than the outgoing model. This new superstructure also improves safety in a collision. These changes have bumped up curb weight by 10 kilograms to 1,165 kg.
The 1.6-litre direct-injection four-cylinder engine boasts 132 horsepower and 119 pound-feet of torque, the latter up 4.6 per cent. Low-friction piston rings, a reprogrammed engine-control unit and a couple of other internal engine changes reduce fuel consumption by seven per cent. The engine drives the front wheels through either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission. Claimed average fuel consumption is rated at 7.3 L/100 km whether equipped with a manual or automatic.
Inside you’ll find a contemporary interior design, with flowing, inviting lines, but this is an entrylevel car, so it’s not surprising that trim pieces are made of hard plastic. My top-trim GLS sedan tester includes a power sunroof, heated steering wheel, push-button start, and auto emergency braking.
The seats are comfy and the cockpit is roomy, and controls are logically laid out and easy to use. In fact, some makers of premium cars could learn something from the Accent’s controls, where things such as seat and steeringwheel heat are controlled via easy-to-reach buttons. The L and LE models have a five-inch colour touch screen, while the G trims upgrade to a seven-inch screen. A rear-view camera is standard across the board, and it provides a surprisingly clear image on the seven-inch screen in my test car.
Accents with automatic transmissions include Normal and Sport drive modes, which adjust steering effort and drivetrain mapping. However, other than Sport mode holding gears a touch longer and keeping the six-speed transmission in fifth gear at highway speeds, the difference between the two modes is barely discernible, leading me to settle on Normal mode.
The L model offers an oldschool level of base features (or lack thereof), including manual windows, no Bluetooth, and no air conditioning. The LE adds a bargain hunter’s level of features, including air conditioning, power windows, Bluetooth connectivity, and steering-wheel mounted audio controls among a few other items. In 2017 this bumped up the price by almost $3,000 over the $13,999 base model. Pricing for the 2018 Accent will be available closer to delivery date, and is expected to be a bit higher than the current price.
On the road. the new Accent again reveals the reason it is the top-selling subcompact in Canada: it certainly doesn’t feel like a cheap econobox. Wind noise is well subdued in the cabin, and only a negligible amount of tire noise makes it past the wheel wells. The steering is just heavy enough to reduce numbness in feel, and the increased chassis rigidity allows the car to remain satisfyingly level when cornering, while the suspension is compliant and devoid of harshness, even over potholes.
Only the engine puts a damper on the otherwise premium quality ride, as it produces more noise than acceleration when stepping on it to make a quick pass. Its modest output gets the job done, but not without some protest. Brake feel is excellent, with a firm, communicative pedal, and the Accent stops with near eye-bulging force when I stomp on the pedal to test emergency braking.
If the trip computer in my tester is to be believed, the Accent bettered its claimed fuel consumption by recording an impressive 6.5 L/100 km over a 230-kilometre loop that included mostly secondary roads and about 40 km of inner-city traffic.
Changes to this fifth-generation Hyundai Accent seem to be well thought out and smartly applied. For an entry-level economy car it has a modestly upscale feel, which should appeal to its targeted buyer, who above all expects good value. The four-door model arrives at dealers in January, while the fivedoor will follow in early spring.