Review: Hyundai Accent 4D 1.4
Review: Hyundai Accent 4D 1.4
Once in a blue moon, we get something interesting to drive. While the Accent is not some limited edition special, it is still refreshing because it is one of the last few remaining compact sedans that you can get in manual form.
After a day with the Accent, I walked away thinking if you need an affordable compact sedan with loads of style, decent power and good mileage, the Accent is a hard one to beat. The other car in its class which you can buy in manual form is the Nissan Almera. While the Nissan has a roomier interior, (especially its huge rear legroom that can shame cars are much more expensive) the Hyundai is a better drive.
Boot is deep and well sized. Design of the taillights might hinder loading and unloading though.
Neat and simple design for the dashboard. Airbag count stands at six which is very good for its class.
Front and rear leg space is adequate. Shoulder room for the rear passengers when seated with three person, might be a little tight.
These days, its hard to find a steering wheel with no buttons on it! On a more serious note, steering is suitably direct and alert for this class of car but make no mistake, its steering feel is no match for any decent performance car.
Sorry, no touch screen infotainment system nor auto climate system here...
Traction control is standard which is something useful.
Six-speed manual. Haven't played with one in a long while. Shift action is light which is good for a city car. Could be less notchy though.
Clutch action is light. Good for novice drivers to get used to.
USB port useful these days. Good to find this in a budget family sedan.
14-inch wheels refreshingly tiny but thankfully doesn't look too small when viewed from far. High profile tyres makes the ride very pliant.
The 1.4-litre Kappa engine produces 99bhp and comes with D-CVVT, hyundai's speak for Variable Valve Timing. It is not big on power but feels more than enough for daily driving. Throttle response could be sharper but then again this is no sports car. Fuel consumption is claimed to be 17.5km/l but we only achieved 13km/l and a bit. I must confess there were some hard driving was involved though.
1 Comment
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now