By
EWAN KENNEDY
15 May 2006
Hyundai has launched a new range of Accent models, this time with
two distinctly different shapes for the three-door hatch and four-door
sedan. Rather than the hatch being simply a sedan with a new rear-end
shape it takes its own path in style, a path that gives it a real
European look.
You really wouldn’t call it a Benz or a
BMW, but this Hyundai certainly shares the chopped-tail theme
popularised by the two big- name Germans.
The three-door is aimed at the young, not
to forget the young at heart, and sells for $15,990. That’s an
interesting price as the typical three-door in this class generally
sells for about $1000 less. Hyundai in Australia feels strongly that the
sporting theme of the design will add value to the equation. Time, and
buyer interest, will soon tell us if the price is right.
Interior room is good in the three-door,
with space for four adults with no real need to compromise on legroom.
Entry to the back seat isn’t particularly easy though, and it’s more
likely to be used by the kids. Or by no-one at all; after all this is a
sporty model with all that means in the way of spoiling just two
occupants.
Luggage space does suffer due to the
truncated rear end, but the boot is still able to carry a couple of
decent sized suitcases. And it has a full-sized spare wheel underneath.
Paying just $1500 more means you get a
Hyundai Accent with back doors and a huge boot. The sedan is 235 mm
longer than the hatch. It shares the same wheelbase so the same comments
as to good rear seat space still apply. The styling of the front end of
the four-door has been toned down from that of the three- giving it a
more conservative air suited to its anticipated buyers.
Build quality continues to improve
markedly in each new model from Hyundai and the body of the Accent shows
clean panels with tight margins and a very good paint job. The interior,
which is always the hardest area in which to achieve quality, is also
well finished. Perhaps not to Japanese standards at this stage, but the
Koreans are getting closer all the time.
Power for both the three-door and
four-door Accent comes from a 1.6-litre engine. This time around it’s
a high-tech unit with variable valve timing to fatten out the torque
output. As is the norm in this class, you can buy the cars with either a
five-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed automatic transmission. The
latter adding $2000 to the price.
Our initial road testing was carried out
in Auckland and proved the engine to be a smooth and willing unit that
pulls well at all normal revs. It’s not all that keen on getting to
the high end of the tacho, but that area is seldom, if ever, going to be
used by the average driver. The gearbox ratios in the manual have been
revised to make them better suited to Australia urban driving.
Considerable attention has gone into
noise and vibration dampening in this sixth-generation Hyundai Accent
and it works well, even putting paid to a lot of the racket often
created by coarse-chip surfaces. Surfaces of the type that can cause
hassles to tyres and suspensions on much more expensive cars.
On-road behaviour is relatively neutral
for a front-drive car and unless the Accent is really pushed hard
there's no understeer worth talking about.
Ergonomics have received a lot of work
and the car is simple to settle into at a few moments notice in a way
that most drivers will be very happy with. It’s good to see that
Hyundai fits the blinker lever on the correct side of the steering wheel
for Australia. Many other makers save a few cents by leaving it on the
other side of the wheel.
