1998 Hyundai Accent Sport review from North America

The steering wheel lock does not engage.

One minor exhaust leak after off-roading.

Off-line performance is a little sluggish.

Built like a disposable. The interior is seriously difficult to disassemble for upgrades.

This car surprised me from the moment that I first gave it a test drive.

High quality for an affordable price.

The car handles very well and I found that the slight oversteer was easy to get used to.

I found the interior surprisingly comfortable for such a compact car. There is enough room inside for myself, my girlfriend and our camping gear to all fit comfortably.

Although I haven't had the car for very long, I can tell that this car is and will continue to be ultra-reliable. It starts on a dime and idles like it is running on nitrous.

The most impressive thing that I discovered about this car is its off-road capabilities. I'm not saying it is a monster truck ready to take on rivers and boulders and crush parked cars, but this baby can handle the dirt roads quite well. Hyundai uses a specially tuned version of the Accent for WRC Rally competition and I can see why. I took my '98 Sport on a camping trip and my buddies couldn't even keep up in their truck. The only problem I encountered was a small exhaust leak from a sharp rock that I had failed to avoid on my trip.