Sure, the Accent won't be feasible for many families, rebellious or not. If your family has more than four people, this subcompact won't even be in the running. If you've got older kids, an outing with the entire family might lead to legroom complaints. However, the Accent's size wasn't a problem for my family of three, and it really got me thinking about how I could get used to driving an affordable car.
My hatchback test car with a standard six-speed manual transmission was fun to drive for the first couple of days. I was almost convinced that I could ditch my crossover and become a rebel mom, too, but after taking the Accent on the freeway, I knew I wouldn't be heading to the dealer for a trade-in any time soon. The Accent was responsive and handled well around town while I was running errands, but at higher speeds, it seemed like it would blow off the road at times. I wouldn't go so far as to compare it to a tin can tooling down the highway, but the car did feel lightweight.
The Hyundai Accent comes as both a hatchback and sedan, which has a starting MSRP of $12,445. The base GS hatchback starts at $14,595; my test car, a SE trim hatchback, had a $15,925 sticker price.
EXTERIOR
With an all-new body style for 2012, the Accent is a real standout in the subcompact class, and it definitely looks more expensive than its price. From my test car's bold Marathon Blue paint to its sporty, fluid styling, this modest five-door is a looker. I could hold my head high when parking in a crowded lot or pulling up to any destination as people surprisingly exclaimed, "That's a Hyundai?"
The five-seater has a low step-in height, making it easy for kids to enter and exit it. Adults will want to watch their heads, though. I'm just 5 feet 4 inches tall and when standing next to the Accent I could see over its roof.
The hatchback body style gave me better access to the cargo area and made loading things like my stroller into the back a little easier, thanks to a deep-set space. Full disclosure: I had to remove one of my stroller's wheels to get it in the back, but it fit along with a couple of grocery bags and a shopping cart seat cover! If I wasn't so lazy, I could've folded the 60/40-split rear seats for even more cargo space.
What I really liked about the Accent was filling up the gas tank for not a lot of cash. Its 138-horsepower, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine gets an EPA-estimated 30/40 mpg city/highway with regular unleaded gas. Saving money is always a welcome scenario for a family, and it felt great to check the trip computer and revel over the gas mileage I was averaging. Just the fuel economy alone had me thinking about how nice it could be to put an Accent on permanent family duty.
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