HYUNDALIS known for its
budget-priced economy cars,
but until recently ‘fun-to-
drive’ was not 2 phrase asso-
ciated with Hyundais.

The redesigned 1995 Sonata got
the ball rolling, but it's the new
Accent subcompact that is the real
surprise. Here’s a little subcompact
that is both practical and driver-
friendly — if not particularly hand-
some.

The Accent, a clean-sheet design,
replaced the Excel last Fall. A four-
door sedan was introduced first, and
the two-door hatchback came a few
months later. The base price of the
Accent L is just $9,295. Aside from
the Lada Samara ($6,895), that’s the
cheapest (oops, least expensive) car
in Canada.

Hyundai kept the base price low
by making some features optional —
features which are often standard
equipment on other subcompacts.
These include power steering ($375),
dual airbags ($845), and anti-lock
brakes ($875). With these items, the
Accent two-door hatchback is
$11,390, ‘still a competitive price.

The two-door model, this week's
test drive, is. in my opinion, an odd-
looking car. Though it's a hatchback,
it looks like a tiny notchback sedan.
The rounded front-end is clean
enough (despite the aggressive
NASA-tike air-intakes in the front
bumper), but the rear-end is tall and
round, and the trunk is too short. The
whole rear-end appears to have been
cut off prematurely. A closer inspec-
tion, however, reveals that this was
done for practical reasons - at the
cost of styling. The 2,400 mm (94.5
in.) wheelbase (which is the same as
the four-door sedan) provides ade-
quate front and rear legroom, the tail

NO!...

Price as tested: GL) S10,595

Buse price: (Lj $ 9,295
Type: two-door,
subcompict

Layout: transverse
engine/front-wheel-drive
Curb weight: 959 kg (2,

five- passenger
front

114 ths.)

Wheethase: 2.400 min (94, Sin)
Length: 4,103 mm (165.45in.)
Width: 1.620 mm (63.8 in.)
Height: 1.394 mm (54.9 ind
Engine: {.5-litre

injection

four-cylinder.
SOHC, 12 valves. multi-point fuct

WHO TO CALL:

Auto Editor
Andrew McCredie

9B5- 2131 ma7)

Reine ven tae

Photo submitted
THE 1995 Hyundai Accent is available as a two-door hatchack or four-door sedan, and prices start under $10,000: The Accent's 92

horsepower 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine consumes just 5.7 litres of gasoline per 100 kilometres (48 m.p.g.) in highway driving.

roofline provides lots of rear head-
room, and the high rear-end facili-
tates an unusually large 460 litre
(16.2 cu. ft.) trunk. (The two-door
Accent has 33% more trunk space
than the four-door sedan), I suspect
potential buyers won’t worry too
much about the Accent’s propor-
tions. In the entry-level class, price
and practicality usually come before
styling. The Accent’s interior is sur-
prisingly attractive and weil-finished
for a sub-$10,000 car. A contempo-
rary, rounded dash with a simple
instrument cluster, elegant turn sig-
nalAlighting stalks, and attractive
cloth seats combine with a roomy
interior and excellent outward visi-
bility to make passengers feel quiie
at home. There are, however. a few

niggly things. The rear windows are
fixed (common in coupes), there's
only one cupholder, and some of the
radio controls aren't visible behind
the steering wheel.

But most of all, the manual five-
speed shifter has extremely long
throws, They"re easy. throws, but
nevertheless, long. Twice. 1 ran into
my passenger's left knee when shift-
ing into fifth. And on occasion, [ had
trouble finding gears.

The Accent’s powerplant is
Hyundai's 92 horsepower, 1.5-litre
four-cylinder unit with'a single over-
head cam and three valves per cylin-
der, it’s noisy during spirited acceler-
ation (above 4,000 rpm), but settles
down to a quiet buzz at highway
speeds, turning over 2.800 rpm in

fifth gear. Fuel economy is very
good: 8.0 litres per 100 km (34
m.p.g.) in the city: und 5.7 litres per
100 km (48 m.p.g.) on the highway.
As I mentioned, the Accent’s new
suspension (front Macpherson strut,
rear multi-link with stabilizer bar)

~ provides fiat, stable cornering with a

surprising amount of control,
Steering response is quick, and brak-
ing (standard front disc/rear drum
with optional ABS) is very good,
mostly becuuse this is a very light-
weight (959 ke/2,110 Ibs.) car.
However, the highway ride has a
quick, fore/aft rocking motion which
may be attributable to the firmness
of the suspension and the short
wheelbase. Some drivers may find it
disconcerting.

The Accent comes with a com- |: -

plete three year/60,000 km warranty
and a five year/100,000 km major
components warranty. Not all of its
competitors have a warranty this
good. There are at least 15 cornpeti-
tors for the Accent: micro cars like
the Geo Metro, Pontiac Firefly, Ford
Aspire, Subaru Justy, and Suzuki
Swift. And subcompacts like the
Ford Escort, Dodge/Plymouth Colt,
Honda Civic, Eagle Summit, Lada
Samara, Mazda 323, Nissan Sentra,
Subaru Justy, Toyota Tercel, and VW
Golf. Even some compacts qualify,
such as the base Dodge/Plymouth
Neon, Chevrolet Cavalier and
Pontiac Sunfire. Comparably
equipped, the Accent is less expen-
sive thar: most of its competitors.

WE’RE CLEARING ALL REMAINING NEW AND DEMONSTRATOR 1994 PRODUCTS

pias

i

(Note Please: M.S.R.P= Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, not a higher market price most work from)

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