2006 Hyundai Accent Review

Specifications

Accenting Your Wardrobe or Accentuating Life

The 2006 Accent brings Hyundai one car closer to completing of its 24/7 program - a plan that institutes 7 new vehicles in 24 months. The new car is slightly bigger and a great deal better in every way - something truly exciting in the subcompact segment.

For good reason Hyundais executive staff and dealers are also getting excited about the new entry.

“The Accent has always been a popular vehicle, but recently, this segment has become highly competitive,” commented Robert F. Cosmai, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. “We believe drivers will once again embrace this all-new Accent with
its segment-leading standard safety features, increased interior space,
and content that is typically not available in this segment, all of
which should accelerate this Accent to the front of the pack.”

Ive always thought of the Hyundai Accent as a great car. In fact, its even on my list of “fun” vehicles - an exclusive list that many cars dont make due to its strict criterion. And now, with the all-new, redesigned 2006 model, its just that much better.

I recently attended the launch event for the Accent, incidentally on my birthday - sorry, a woman never reveals her age - and what better way to spend a birthday, or for that matter a birthday week, than in the company of fellow colleagues testing out a batch of fun little cars? Well, maybe the time would be more enjoyable with Fernando Alonso or Jenson Button, but Im sure my time will come.

While the Accent might not be the most exhilarating car on the face of the planet, it is very important to the Hyundai family and due to its low window sticker, much more relevant to the majority of consumers than some high priced exotic. To illustrate how important this vehicle launch was, there were three men in blue, er, yellow, escorting the Accent entourage (not refering to the upcoming on-again, off-again Hyundai Entourage minivan) out of town. I thought, “All this for a pack of subcompacts?” Yes. Perhaps the police knew that a clan of crazy journalists couldnt be trusted on their own, even with barely more than 100 horsepower each at our disposal, and might run amok while racing around town. Hmmm… most likely not. The police escort was there to keep us in line, literally, for our voyage to the ferry terminal, so that we could uniformly load onto the ferry and embark on our Pacific Northwest island adventure.

While police escorts and birthday banter makes for interesting gossip column fodder, Im sure its the car you want to hear about. At first glance, the redesigned Accent is easily recognizable. The exterior boasts some healthy new curves and a few fresh features, like a chrome-accented grille, aerodynamic headlamp clusters, larger wheels and tires, and body-colored door handles and mirrors. While it might not look all that much larger from the outside, it is. The wheelbase has increased by 2.3 inches and the track has been widened to 57.9 inches in the front and 57.5 in the rear, making a total increase of 1.4 inches.

Not only have its outside extremities been stretched, but resultantly its larger inside too. The Accent has class-leading interior volume, with 104.6 cubic feet (100.9 cubic feet in the previous model year). The drivers seating position has also been raised by 2.0 inches to optimize visibility and comfort. Furthermore, the new Accent comes with a two-tone color scheme and large analog instrumentation, tilt steering, and best of all, an 8-way adjustable drivers seat with fold down arm rest. Its combination of features makes the Accents interior cozy and convenient at the same time.

While subcompacts might not have the most engine output on the market today, the Accent has class leading ponies (although the engine and output figures are shared with the Kia Rio) thanks to the revamped 1.6-liter, 16-valve, DOHC engine, now equipped with CVVT technology, allowing for 110-horsepower at 6,000rpm and 106 lb-ft or torque at 4,500 rpm. The CVVT engine not only allows for more total output, but also enhances fuel economy - it uses an estimated 32 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway when fitted to the 5-speed manual transmission, allowing the Accent to be placed in the ultra low emissions vehicle (ULEV) category.

So its bigger, roomier, more powerful, and yes, even more environmentally friendly… this keeps getting better, doesnt it? Well, theres more. It handles very well too. On the trip up the island, my driving partner and I encountered almost every possible form of weather condition in one day that the West Coast normally might expect to experience in a week. During some parts of our drive there were dry roads and sunny skies, while elsewhere the roads were covered in rivers and lakes of rain due to a torrential downpour. Luckily there was no snow. No matter the weather or road conditions, whether we were driving on the highway on dry pavement or zigzagging through the wet and windy mountain roads, the Accent easily adapted. Its stable, confidence inspiring handling comes from a set of front MacPherson struts, comprised of coil springs and gas shock absorbers, coupled with a torsion beam rear suspension featuring the same coil spring and gas shock setup. The ride is smooth at highway speeds and on city streets, not to mention quiet due to the many quality enhancements, sound deadening materials, and improvements in overall body construction to reduce road, wind and powertrain noise.

Ive already touched on some of the cars interior upgrades, but sitting inside just felt a whole lot roomier than the previous generation Accent. A 2005 model was on display in the hotel parking lot for comparison purposes, helping me to refresh my memory. The third generation Accents interior runs parallel with the new Tucsons and the Sonatas; each is finished extremely well, with high-grade materials and extremely tight panel gaps. This might seem like a given in todays automotive world, but youd be surprised at just how many cars, especially upper scale cars, that dont deliver such attention to detail.

The Accents 8-way adjustable drivers seat also helped me find the optimal seating position, which made the trek up the island all the more comfortable. The buttons and knobs are all in close proximity, as is the 5-speed manual transmission gear selector -the standard transmission for all three trim levels.

Speaking of trim levels, the Accent comes in the base GS model, then GL and GLS. All are four-door sedan configurations and all incorporate the same engine. This said… if a 3-door hatchback is what tickles your fancy, youll have to wait until the 2007 model year as it will be introduced in early 2006. The differences in current 4-door trim levels only reflect standard and available features and options, not outward appearances - wheels and tires aside. What sets the top of the line Accent model, the GLS, apart from its competition is its set of 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS and EBD. In the subcompact class, only the Toyota Yaris offers ABS and then doesnt complement the anti-skid technology with 4-wheel disc brakes; ABS is not available at all with the Kia Rio, Chevrolet Aveo or Suzuki Sprint+.

While on my route, I had the base GS trim complete with manual windows, door locks and transmission. While stripped to its essentials, at the end of the day its a sturdy and sassy subcompact. The base Accent sedan should start around the $9,500 to $10,000 mark,
similar to last years model, and it will nevertheless come with 6 standard
airbags, front disc and rear drum brakes, P185/65R14 tires with wheel
covers and an AM/FM stereo with a CD/MP3 player. I cant say I put this audio system to the test because I enjoyed the conversation with my driving partner much more than the lousy songs that were playing on the radio. Its decent and works. Need I say more?

Now that I think of it, there arent too many not-decent things about the Accent. It has ample cargo volume with 12.8 cu-ft behind the rear seats, visibility is commendable from most angles, gas mileage is great… gosh Im stumped. Its by no means a “perfect” vehicle, as no vehicle priced under $10,000 could be, but it just has so many strong points that its hard to nit-pick the bad ones.

Up until this point, Ive never really thought about the name “Accent.” To me, rather than just “accenting” a complete wardrobe this car “accentuates” life. It makes its driver feel good, not only because it achieves a ULEV rating while only sipping away at fuel, or because it has a great five year bumper-to-bumper warranty, but its a car that I find really makes an emotional connection with its driver.

And as I have experienced with the new Tucson, Sonata, Azera and now Accent, this is the direction Hyundai is taking with all of its cars. Instead of it being a brand people look to because its overall pricing is lower than the competition, or because its cars offer more features for the money than the rest, its becoming a brand that people want to buy into because of the emotional connection that can be had with its cars.

The 2006 Hyundai Accent fits such a description. Its one small car with a whole lot of goodness to give.