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Comments: 1-15, 16-23
Nothing.
I use this site to research vehicles I am considering the purchase of, and am considering buying an '08 Hyundai Accent. As there are not yet any reviews for them on this site, I will give my opinions about my test drive today of both the automatic and manual transmission models.
Today I drove both, and these comments apply to both the standard shift and the automatic. I like the car a lot. For its size, it's roomy, the controls seem to be arranged nicely, it's comfortable, it drives and rides very well for a compact car, feels tight going down the road, the doors and hatchback open and shut precisely, the rear seats fold down nicely to allow for hauling cargo.
I live in PA, and test drove the car on the highway as well as hilly secondary roads. The 1.6 liter never felt strained or inadequate, especially with the manual shift. I would imagine that the standard shift, as usual, will get much better gas mileage than the automatic, as that eliminates a lot of unnecessary shifting.
If you enjoy driving a standard, as I do, this car is fun to drive. The shift pattern is tight and precise, just plain fun to drive. Reverse is before first gear, and requires you to pull up the lever on the shifter, just like the older VW's. I drove it and was looking for reverse at the end of the shift pattern, like I'm used to, and then noticed that it's on top, and is slightly different than a standard H pattern.
I do have one complaint about the standard shift: at 60 miles per hour, the car runs at about 2900-3000 rpm's. The car shows the redline at around 7000 rpm's. I'm just concerned with long trips at 75 or 80 miles per hour on major highways; I didn't have the chance to get the car up to that speed to see what the tachometer reads, but I surely will if I buy this car. That was the only issue I had with the car during my brief experience with it in a 15 mile test drive. This car seems to be well worth the price, at first glance, and I probably will end up buying it.
I wrote this comment, and would like to say that I drove the Toyota Yaris today, and have changed my mind. The Hyundai is a good, maybe even very good little car, but after driving the Toyota, it's easy to see how badly the Toy.'s quality makes the Hyundai look bad. So, if I can get the Toyota salesman to deal with me, I'm for certain buying the Yaris. It is nothing short of excellence.
My experience with the Yaris is that it has the worst braking in its class and nowhere near as good as Accent. This fact is shown in various performance publications. Also the Yaris has terrible cornering ability for such a small car and that dashboard in the Yaris is a pathetic cost cutting measure by Toyota. You should have gone with your first instinct my friend.
Here's one of the outstanding differences between the Accent & Yaris that seldom is pointed out:
The Hyundai Accent, Toyota Yaris & Honda Fit have the same external width. The Accent has 1 to 3 inches more interior width than the Yaris. The 3 extra inches are in the valuable shoulder width level. The Accent has ~1 inch more interior width than the Honda Fit, which is known for its space efficiency.
The Toyota Yaris is toted as being the best non-hybrid gasoline car in America. The Accent is EPA rated somewhat below the Yaris. Yesterday tho, I went to Mt. Rainier & 5500 foot Chinook Pass from sea level in a 2008 Accent. There & back the Accent posted an excellent 42.6 MPG. So the Accent ain't slouching in the MPG race.
This Toyota Yaris quality? Is that why Accent uses 6 airbags & Toyota only 2? Is that why Accent warranties their cars for 100,000 miles & not 36,000 miles? Is that why the Accent is quieter at speed than the Yaris? Maybe you say Yaris has better quality only because the Yaris costs more?
The Hyundai Accent is not in the league with the Yaris... It is WAYYYY ahead of it!! As a car lover and mechanic I love to drive different cars. The Yaris is, to put it bluntly, MUCH more cheaply made than the Accent. The handling, braking and overall road feel are worse. Hyundai has worked wonders with its cars in recent years, winning much (and deserved) acclaim. The Hyundai's warranty puts the Yaris to shame. If a car is REALLY good, it's manufacturer should have no qualms about putting a longer warranty on it. That should tell you something right there.
My best friend owns a 2005 Hyundai Accent with over 60,000 miles. I've driven it on trips with him, and it is a very good, solid little economy car. It has never yet had a single repair of any kind. The new 2008 Accent is way better still, and has really beautiful styling for a small car (unlike the "water bug" Yaris). I'm very patriotic and don't drive cars not made by American companies, but in the case of Hyundai I believe in giving credit where it is due.
Just bought an '08 Accent; actually a few months ago, it now has about 3700 miles on it. I just filled with gas tonight and got 35 mpg out of the last tank and I haven't turned the a/c off for about 2 weeks as it's been in the high 80's where I live. I've owned enough cars to judge them by quality, and this SEEMS to be a very solid little car. However, it's my first Hyundai after 3 consecutive Toyota's, and Hyundai has some VERY big shoes to fill to impress me. Three Toyota's over a span of 15 years, and I made ONE repair outside of regular maintenance, when I replaced a starter in my Tacoma at around 90,000 miles. That's about $100 of repairs in 15 years and roughly 300,000 miles of driving. Although I don't really like the looks of the Yaris, it's still a Toyota, and nothing else can compare to one other than a Honda. I bought this Hyundai because of the warranty and the pricetag, so time will tell if I made a mistake or not. If I get 150,000 trouble-free miles on this Accent like I did with my Toyota's, then I'll be glad to rank them with Toyota. Not yet. My '93 Tercel got 40 mpg 15 years ago and I drove it like I stole it. I'm babying this Accent and have not gotten above 36. Not complaining; 36 is very good. But don't be too quick to say it's better than a Toyota. I seriously doubt that. It'll have to be nothing short of perfect, like my Toyota's all were, to impress me in the long run.
Hi 21:59...I had a beloved Tercel too. Feather footing was the only way to get 40MPG with it, & that only on a long flat highway. I loved my Tercel, but other cars I've had, AVERAGED 42 & 45MPG with 50 & 53MPG highway highs. As for my previous comments on the Yaris, Yaris should have more interior space width-wise. Also, with the back seats up, the Accent has 60% more cargo space than Yaris. Don't get me wrong. I love small cars, but you give up quite a bit of interior room to get extra MPG with the Yaris.
We got Accent for thousands less than Yaris with more airbags & better warranty. I'll take a better warranty vs theoretical better repair records, specially when paying much less. So far our Accent is 100% without one squeak, creak or rattle.
I feel that Accent has a nicer interior than Yaris.
Saying all that tho, someone just reported 60MPG with their Yaris while feather footing thru Yellowstone Nat'l Park!
TOYOTA?? PERFECT?? Have you not read the hundreds of horror stories on the Tundra, Highlander, Sequoia and Camry sites?? The Toyota Camry and Tundra are currently rated FAR below Hyundai (or most any other car) in reliability. The Yaris has the dubious distinction of being on at least 1 "worst cars" list (it's probably on others I haven't read yet). The longest-lived vehicle in the October 2007 Consumer Reports articles on vehicles that go over 200,000 miles with no problems was a FORD. it had 488,000 miles and was still going strong.
It is just amazing how such myths (and they are that) about imports being so reliable can just keep rolling along. 150,000 miles is not a lot. One of our Fords was traded at 325,000+ miles and one of our Chryslers was sold at 240,000+ miles. My family currently has a GM car with over 270,000+ miles. The total repairs on all three of these vehicles over a 31 year period (the GM car is a 1977) has been less than 6 monthly notes on a new Camry.
I made the comment for June 29 & 17:49...Yes, Accent got 42.9MPG going up 5500 foot Chinook Pass from sea level. The next day on a lower 1400 foot mountain pass, Accent got 45.2MPG! Start feather footing people. The new cars can get great MPG... maybe 10+MPG over the EPA rating if you drive carefully. That 45.2 MPG... if I'd kept driving I wouldn't have had to fill for 500 miles!
Look, this was my review. You couldn't give me a Ford for free. I'd literally buy anything else before a Ford or GM. I've owned ONE of each and will never make that mistake again. Those are the only two makes of cars/trucks that have left me stranded and walking home. They're junk. All of them.
17:58, Again, I doubt that anyone reading here cares about Ford and Chevy junk. Despite your car club memberships, Ford still makes junk. This is a Hyundai review; I wrote it so that people possibly looking for an Accent can have some feedback. I wouldn't and didn't bother looking at Fords when I bought, because they're junk and I don't buy junk.
Again, with comment 22:05, Saying "I didn't bother looking at Fords" says it all. This clearly indicates that the commenter has absolutely NO BASIS for then saying that "Fords are junk". You cannot know WHAT anything is unless you look at it. That's like saying "I never ate ice cream, but I hate it". If you have no basis for your statements, then they are of no value in this forum.
Ummm. I am in the market for an economy car, my Subaru just got junked because of a flash flood.
I bought a 99 Accent in 2001 and drove it for four years without one mechanical problem. It was the best little car I've ever owned, I liked it much better than the SUVs.
I made the mistake of buying a Subaru Impreza in 2005 new, and it was quite the piece of junk, I'm glad it got totaled.
I can't wait to get my hands back on an Accent, this time new!
When I wrote comment 10:23, I wasn't necessarily putting down Hyundai. They have come a very long way and have actually surpassed Toyota in quality and performance (in a 2006 Car and Driver comparo the Sonata beat out the Camry).
Although I'm opposed to trying to destroy the jobs of hard-working Americans, and buy nothing but domestic, I will acknowledge that Hyundai and Kia have both come a very long way. What I can't stomach is people who know absolutely nothing about domestics making unfounded statements such as "I didn't look at Fords because Fords are junk". That shows an irrational and unfounded bias.
I love to drive lots of different cars, and I've driven a number of them, including Toyota and Hyundai, in order to make a well-informed decision in buying a car. Before I bought my last Ford (in 2007) I test drove several imports and cars from all three of the domestic companies. I felt I got more car, a better warranty and better value in my Ford. I can base that on an honest comparison and not make statements like "I didn't look at Toyota, because Toyota is junk". I DID look at Toyota, saw that it had a very poor warranty, poor build quality, did not drive as well and was over priced.