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36 ~ Friday, April $, 1999 — North Shore News

THE 1999 Accent, Hyundai’s smailest, fowest-priced car, is zvailaoie as a two-door hatchback or four-door sedan. The sporty, new GSi hatchback is new for ’99, and
includes such standard features as 14-inch tires and alloy wheels, front fog lamps, and ieather-wrapped steering wheel.

New Hyundai has accent on sport

SPORTY economy cars,
known as pocket rock-
‘ets, have a special
appeal for comsauters
who want a little more

_zip in their daily drive.

Unfortunately, there aren’t
too many left on the market.
Those remaining, such as the
VW Golf GTi, Honda Civic
Coupe Si, Nissan 200SX, and
Ford ZX2, are now pushing
the $20,000 mark — not
exactly affordable.

So I was pleased to see
Hyundai create a sporty ver-
sion of the Accent hatchback
called the GSi, starting aca
very reasonable $13,495.

To the basic Accent L, the
GSi adds larger 175/65R-14
inch tires and 14-inch alloy
wheels, a stiffer suspension
which includes revised shock
valving and stiffer springs,
quicker steering, front fog
lamps, rear spoiler, lower
bodyside cladding, sporty
cloth seats, leather-wrapped
steering wheel and gear shift
lever, tachometer, power door
locks (including the trunk),
60/40 folding rear seat, and
flip-up sunroof.

The GSi has the same

engine as the Accent L hatch-
back and GL sedan, a 92
horsepower 1.5-litre four-
cylinder engine with three
valves per cylinder and a sin-
gle overhead camshaft.
Though 92 horsepower is less
than most of its competitors,
the Accent’s power to weight
ratio is very good because the
car weighs just 959 kilograms
(2,114 tbs.).

Subjectively, the car feels
lightweight and nimble, and
certainly not underpowered.
The engine makes sporty,
growling sounds under accel-
eration, though it’s a little
thrashy at higher revs.

Ata steady cruising speed
of 100 krn-h, the engine turns
over 3,000 r.p.m. in fifth
gear, higher than average, but
not unbearable.

Fuel consumption is excel-
lent: 8.4 1/100 km (34
mp.g.) in the city, and 5.8
1/100 km (49 m.p.g.) on the
highway, enough to travel up
to 790 kilometres on its 46
litre fuel tank.

With its short 94.4 inch
wheelbase, small 9.8 metre
(32 feet) turning diameter,
and independent suspension
(front MacPherson strut/rear
multi-link with front and rear
stabilizer bars), the GSi is a
great handiing car, a snap to
zip in and out of traffic, easy
to park in spots marked smal!
cars only, and has relatively
short stopping distances.
Outward visibility to the
front, sides and rear is very

Price as tested: $13,495

good, and the rear window
includes a defroster and rear
wiper for improved rainy day
vision.

The one thing hampering
an otherwise enjoyable dri-
ving experience is a manual
shift lever with unusually
long, clunky throws. The only
thing in its favour is that the
shifts don’t require a lot of
effort, and after a week in the
driver's scat, I got used to
“rowing” the GSi down the
road.

At night, the headlamp’s
low beams are rather weak,
but the standard yellow-
coloured fog lamps really do
cut through the fog and make
the GSi visible to motorists

Technica! data

automatic)

travelling in the opposite
direction.

The Accent’s interior has a~

contemporary rounded
appearance not unlike some
more expensive cars, and
includes such niceties as cloth
inserts in the doors, simple,
round white-on-black gauges
that are easy to see, and a
handy dead-pedal to the left
of the clutch pedal to rest
your foot.

One complaint: the steer-
ing wheel obscures the radio’s
volume and sek controls.

A driver's airbag is now
standard equipment, but a
passenger airbag is not
offered. An AM/FM /cassette
plaver is also standard, but air

Curb weight: 959 kg (2,114 Ibs.)

Base price: $13,495
Type: two-door, five-passenger hatchback
Layout: transverse front engine/front-wheel-

drive

Engine: 1.5-lirre four-cylinder, SOHC, 12
valves

Horsepower: 92 @ 5,500 r.p.m.

Torque: 97 Ibs.-ft. @ 4,000 rp.m.
Transmission: five-speed manual (four-speed

9.3 Turbo

The Saab 9-3 offers you performance in the broadest sense of the term.
For us at Saab, performance is more than simply having a powerful, free-
revving engine up front. Every detail which can sharpen your contrel
behind the wheel is related to performance. We've designed the Saab 9-3
to provide a close, intuitive link between driver, car and road — to
enhance your perception of all that is happening. You can drive more by
instinct, leaving you free to concentrate even more on the traffic.

Wheelbase: 2,400 mm (94.4 in.)

Length: 4,103 mm (161.5 in.)

Width: 1,620 mm (63.8 in.)

Height: 1,394 mm (54.9 in.)

Trunk space: 303 litres (10.7 cu. ft.)

Fuel consumption: City — 8.4 1/100 kms
(34 m.p.g.); Hwy — 5.8 1/100 kms (49
m.p.g.)

) MORREY SATURN SAAB ISUZU 294-1831

REY’ 4451 Lougheed Hwy at Willingdon,

Burnaby

§

FROM

34,115

iness

conditioning is not available
as a manufacturer’s option,
although it may be offered as
a dealer option.

To facilitate entry to the
rear seat, the front passenger
seat slides forward automati-
cally when its backrest is
flipped down, but as is com-
mon on many two-door cars,
the seat doesn’t automatically
slide back to its original posi-
tion when the backrest is
flipped up.

With a rear hatchback and
split folding rear seats, the
Accent GSi has a lot of usable
cargo area — about a third
more than the Accent sedan
— and there’s a rear cargo
cover for privacy.

All Accents come with a
three year/60,000 km war-
ranty and a five year/100,000
km powertrain warranty.

The GSi’s base price of
$13,495 includes everything
mentioned above except an
optional automatic transmis-
sion.

Though not as refined as
some of its more expensive
competitors, the Accent GSi
nevertheless delivers a fun-to-
drive experience at price you
can swallow.

Mon
36 mos with
$6,110 Dn + taxes:
tofal paid $20,474

www. morreyautogroup.com