Best price Deals On The 2012 Hyundai Accent GLS
MSRP: $12,445
The Hyundai Accent has been around since the 1996 model year, and is now in its fourth generation. The 2012 model, which had its North American debut in January 2011 at the Montreal Auto Show, has been totally redesigned. For many, including us, the redesign couldn’t have come soon enough.
In past years, the Accent has cost under $10,000. While this is good for the pocketbook, Hyundai made some serious sacrifices to get the price that low. Most of the sacrifices were in the safety department, and the Accent had some of the worst crash test scores in the entire industry. When you combine low crash test scores with subcompact size, the car becomes what industry wags like to call a “penalty box.”
Luckily, Hyundai has seriously addressed safety on the Accent for the first time. This car is known as a Verna in China, and got a perfect 5-star rating. It is a touch bigger than the old Accent, and gets slightly better gas mileage. It has changed its interior and exterior. And the price, while about $2500 more than the 2011 base model, is still among the economy end of the subcompact food chain.
The 2012 Hyundai Accent GLS is a compact sedan, and is available in only the GLS trim level. It has a 1.6 liter, inline 4-cylinder engine that produces 138 horsepower. It has 14-inch steel wheels, front-wheel drive, and a 6-speed manual transmission. It is rated at 30 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway.
The Accent comes with a tilt-only steering wheel, a height-adjustable driver’s seat, front bucket seats, a 60/40 split-folding rear seat, cloth upholstery, full-power accessories, air conditioning, speed-proportional power steering, a rear defogger, and a trip computer. The audio system has 6 speakers, AM/FM/satellite radio, a CD/MP3 player, and an audio jack.
The Accent also comes with side front airbags, side curtain airbags, active front head restraints, antilock brakes, stability control, and traction control. We don’t have the actual tests from China, nor do we know how extensive they are, but the Accent did get a 5-star rating, which is a lot better than some of the 2-star results it got a few years ago.
Conclusions and driver feedback:
We really don’t know where to start here. This car is so different from the last few years, that it really should have been given a new name, and the Accent name should have been retired. First of all, the exterior has been given sharper angles and aerodynamic tweaks that make it look a lot nicer than the previous generation. Also, the interior looks a lot better. The design is quite modern, and the materials have been upgraded. It’s still an economy car, but it doesn’t look like they cut corners in the interior materials anymore.
The move from subcompact to compact has produced more cabin space, and it has resulted in a lot more headroom and legroom, especially in the back seat. Five can ride comfortably, and reasonably-sized adults can fit in the back seat, though we wouldn’t recommend anyone over about 6-1 to sit in the back. The trunk has 13.7 cubic feet of cargo space, and folding down the rear seat will provide approximately 25 more cubic feet of cargo space.
The Accent is tweaked more toward passenger comfort, allowing the small size and light weight to provide the agility that would require a stiffer suspension on a larger car. When you put it all together, you get a surprisingly good experience. The engine is powerful enough for decent acceleration from a stop and smooth cruising on the freeway. The steering is pretty responsive and doesn’t take a lot of effort. The suspension, while it isn’t recommended for racing turns, does a great job of keeping the Accent on the Bell Curve. The ride is comfortable, and there aren’t any of the jolts that a lot of smaller cars give you.
All in all, the Accent is probably the most-improved vehicle in the business. The compact/subcompact market segment is being fiercely contested right now, but the Accent deserves a spot in the arena. We couldn’t have said that a year ago.
The verdict: definitely worth a test drive. And if you have last year’s model, trade it in yesterday.
Options and miscellaneous caveats…
The main option here is an upgrade to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The transmission has a “fuel-saving” eco mode, but it gets the same mileage in eco mode as the manual transmission.
Once you get the automatic transmission, you can order the Premium package. That gets you Bluetooth, audio controls on the steering wheel, cruise control, upgraded interior trim, keyless entry, foglights, and 16-inch alloy wheels.
It also comes as a 5-door hatchback, which has GS, GLS, and SE trims. The GS is more sparsely equipped, and the SE is like the GLS with the Premium package and the addition of a rear spoiler and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. The hatchback doesn’t really change the suspension, though, and the drive and ride are pretty much the same as the sedan.
A 5-year, 60,000 mile warranty is included with all Accent sedans or hatchbacks.
Basically, the Accent has gone from being a laughingstock to being a car that is attractive, solid, and gets 40 mpg on the highway. We cannot overstate how big of a development this is for Hyundai. Like Ford, they have finally figured out how to make a very good compact car. Congratulations are once again in order.
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