Simply stated, the 2018 Hyundai Accent is a good car. It has a nice-looking interior with spacious seats, user-friendly tech features, and decent trunk space for a small sedan.
On the road, the Accent gets good fuel economy and handles well. While it tends to accelerate a little slowly for my tastes, it certainly does offer a lot of value for a car at its price point — so, yes, the redesigned Accent is good news for subcompact shoppers.
Let’s start right there with pricing — whether you want to compare base trims or high-end trims, the Hyundai Accent’s price falls in the middle of the pack among subcompact cars. The Accent’s base SE trim stars at about $15,000. The mid-tier SEL trim starts at just over $17,000, while the top-of-the-line Limited — the car I got to test drive around Miami — starts at just under $19,000.
For the 2018 model year, Hyundai completely redesigned the Accent. In addition to the styling and technology updates, Hyundai dropped the hatchback body style from the Accent lineup.
This Hyundai sedan seats five comfortably. The front seats are well-shaped and supportive, while the rear seats have plenty of room for two adults (as long as they aren’t super tall), and three isn’t a stretch if you are just driving across town.
Cabin features include plenty of hard plastics inside, which is common in this class, but it looks good and does not feel cheap.
Additionally, this car is well insulated from outside noise.
And back in the boot, the Accent offers nearly 14 cubic feet of trunk space, which is a solid total for a subcompact sedan. That is room for about nine shopping bags or luggage for a weekend trip.
Standard features in the Accent include Bluetooth, a USB port, and a four-speaker audio system with a five-inch touch screen. Available features include a sunroof, two additional USB ports, and a six-speaker audio system with a seven-inch touch screen, satellite radio, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto.
Unlike some competitors, the Hyundai Accent offers just one engine choice — a 130 horsepower four-cylinder. It is stronger than some rivals’ base engines, and it delivers satisfactory performance in most driving situations. With the automatic transmission, the Accent gets 28 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway.
The Accent’s ride is smooth in general and handling is surprisingly good. This is not a sports sedan, but this Hyundai handles corners at speed without much trouble.
Also in the good news department, the Accent comes standard with a rearview camera. Available driver assistance features include forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking. My Limited trim model came with some nice features such as a sunroof, forward collision warning, and heated front seats for that one chilly week a year in Miami — well, this year two weeks…
Yes, the Limited is the most expensive trim, but it is not that much more than the SEL trim, so you might as well go all the way up to the Limited.
In summary, the 2018 Hyundai Accent proves that buying a subcompact car does not mean you will be driving something extremely basic.
The car’s exterior is stylish, and its driving dynamics have improved. With all of the improvements made to the new car as well as its long warranty, the 2018 Accent might just win over buyers who would otherwise only consider a used vehicle.
Grant Miller is the publisher of Miami’s Community Newspapers. He may be contacted by calling 305-662-2277 or via email at Grant@CommunityNewspapers.com.
