2008 Hyundai Accent 1.6 M/T base review from United Arab Emirates

Absolutely nothing.

Also known as the Verna in some other markets, Hyundai's Accent is one little car which I owned for a very short period of time (5 months), but managed to impress me in it's own little ways!

The car which I had was the base model sporting a quite zippy 1.6L engine mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. Being the base model, the car came with power windows, central door locks and nothing much more. The cabin layout is simple and straight-forward. Once in the car, one cannot avoid noticing the hard plastics used all around; but the fit and finish is not at all bad considering the cheap price you pay for the car.

The base model came equipped with a Kenwood radio/cassette player with 4-speakers. And trust me, the speakers were in fact, too good! Frankly speaking, I never really missed a subwoofer in this car! The aircon is another strong point of the car. With the 4-speed blower's knob set at only two and the thermostat knob pointing to "Max A/C", the car instantly cools down the interior not making the driver and passenger feel how merciless the heat outside really is! Cars in the same league, including the class-leading Toyota Yaris, does not have an aircon that strong. Ride quality is above average; the car soaks most bumps on the road without letting much of harshness into the cabin. Front passenger and driver gets good amount of legroom and headroom, while the rear passengers might have a tough time with below-average rear legroom. Adults taller than 5'10 will eithr prefer to travel in the front seat, or catch a cab. Another demerit of the car is the strongly audible engine! At any speed above 120 kph, the engine noise is so strongly audible and may be unbearable to some!! The car stereo could be of some help though.

Talking about the engine; it is a 1.6L four pot unit with VVT (Variable Valve Timing). but the immense low-end torque surprises the driver. Shift into the first gear, keep the throttle half-pressed, leave the clutch and the car just springs forward while chirping the tyres on take off. Being a VVT engine, power delivery is linear across all power bands the rpm needle can point! 0-100 is achievable in a respectable 9.1 seconds; but I've heard about the automatics lagging behind by over 1 second! Top speed achievable is 185 km/h, but that kind of speed is insane for a car as small as this one! Handling is good enough with only moderate body roll with cornering limits being better than the Tiida, Yaris and the likes. Due to the lack of a trip computer, fuel economy was roughly calculated by me, to be around 15 kms/litre of gas, in mixed driving conditions and with aircon running. A full tank would cost only about 45 AED.

I had bought the car for 36,500 AED. For that price, I feel the car is good enough. Albeit the annoying engine noise, the car is definitely a good commuter and worth the penny. If the badge it wears does not matter to you, and if your use is confined to mostly city driving, this car would definitely be an excellent choice!