It used to be, I would get three, maybe five compact cars to test drive in a year.
The demand was for large hulking SUVs and the car companies obliged by jamming the press fleets with Durangos, Escalades and Yukons.
Times have changed and compact cars and their wallet-friendly, gas-sipping tendencies are back in the in-crowd.
The new Ford Fiesta pounced on this new market fluctuation and won over a lot of fans with its debut 2011 model.
Like me.
The Fiesta is an attractive, easy-to-get-used-to small car with a likeable price tag. The week I got to test drive it in the fall of 2010, it completely won me over. (Except for that slight bump in the road when I accidentally locked Emmy inside and none of the professional car jackers I know could get the door jimmied and we had to call 911. This was unfortunate on many levels, but especially when the flotilla of emergency vehicles pulled up to my house, drawing an insane amount of attention to my bad parenting skills. Not a fan of the no exterior locking mechanism in the Fiestas).
Anyway, the party's waning for the Fiesta.
Hyundai was planning ahead and debuts the all-new Accent at a time when buyers are looking for the next “little” thing.
The 2012 Accent has a more powerful engine, a new four-door hatchback style and an upgraded interior.
In the compact car segment, Hyundai has given the Accent the upperhand as far as ponies under the hood.
With 138 horsepower stemming from a DOHC 16-valve gasoline direct injected engine, the Accent has more power than last year’s power king, the Fiesta.
Boasting an mpg rate of 40 mpg on the highway, the 2011 Accent bests the Civic’s 36 mpg, and the Corrolla’s 35 mpg.
While the interior accents, textiles and design are pretty utilitarian, the Accent hatchback offers about 21.2 cubic inches. That’s almost 6 inches more than you can get in a Fiesta.
Adults fit fine in the front, though an overweight adult might find the seat a little on the narrow side - you'd have to check it out to be sure. Three kids fit in the back, but if I had to get more than one carseat in, it would have made it really tight for three kids.
Alas, prices for the Accent went up too. You can’t get an Accent for under $10,000 anymore. But it’s still pretty reasonable.
The base Accent GLS starts out at $12,445. The mid-grade GS with automatic transmission comes in at $15,795 and the SE trim with auto transmission is $16,795.
To be completely honest, this is the kind of car my family can afford. When you combine the warranty Hyundai offers with the reasonable price tag and the high build quality (PEOPLE - it's as good, if not better as a Honda, Nissan, Toyota, etc.) if we needed a car right now - this would be on our short list.
So far, the 2012 Hyundai Accent is the car to beat in the compact car segment.
And it’s pretty far in the lead.
High-quality materials, easy-to-use layout sway me towards liking the utilitarian interior.
Lots of room in hatchback rear. Did I mention I like the lines of the hatchback better than the sedan? Just a personal preferance.....
You could get two car seats safely latched in the Accent. Hopefully if you have three kids, they like being squished really close together, because three kids/two car seats in the back seat of the Accent is really pushing it. Not to mention all the bickering you'll have because they can all reach each other for torture/aggravating purposes....
Easy to read with lots of vehicle information available.
Comfy seats, sides are well bolstered, but a tad narrow.
Accent comes as four-door sedan or five-door hatchback.
Here is the hatchback model I like. Dislike that color though.....yuck! I test drove a pretty silver hatchback GS with automatic transmission
