A couple of weeks ago, I tested the $9,990 Nissan Versa 1.6, the cheapest car in America -- at least it was for a couple of weeks until Hyundai caught wind what they were doing. Here's the car that stole the leat-expensive-car title from Nissan: The $9,970 Hyundai Accent GS Base. Is it any good? Find out in my 2009 Hyundai Accent GS Base test drive and review.
Question: Is it a good idea for Hyundai to be selling the least-expensive car in America at a time they're trying to promote nicer vehicles like the high-lux Genesis sedan? Click the "comments" link below and tell us what you think. -- Aaron Gold
Photo © Aaron Gold
Is it a good idea? Yes it is.
It is a cheap okay car with a very good warranty. While the crash test scores are not great I would guess that this car is a lot safer than a ten year old car or even a lot of five year old used cars.
Mileage could be better but these days a good cheap car is probably a great idea.
Aaron, you mentioned that the steering wheel was set a bit too low. I wonder how a 6 ft.+ tall driver would fare.
I think it’s OK. I the future, I believe the car buying public is going to become more and more open-minded, and they will mostly look at the car, not the brand. A large reason for this is the huge increase in car reviews available on the internet – like Aaron, here – and people will increasingly research/make decisions based on that. If Hyundai makes a price driven entry level car (Accent) that meets a need, and if they also happen to make a luxury car (Genesis) that is satisfies an upscale buyer, people will buy them both if they are well made and well reviewed. I think the “status” nameplate motivation will still be there to a degree, but over time it will lessen. People will buy the car, not the brand.
So this is America’s cheapest car. One thing for sure, it sure looks the part! On a positive note, I like the fact that Hyundai is true to its humble beginings and still puts out a decent starter car with a great warranty. Kudos to you Hyundai!
Not sure I agree with you George. The American car buying consumer will likely always look at the brand. This is why so many Americans won’t buy American cars. It’s also the reason that I will NEVER buy a Kia/Hyundai. I had a friend who worked at a Kia dealership in the shop several years ago. I still remember him telling me what pieces of crap Kia’s were. They were builtand designed poorly, and had tons of reliability issues. Although the brand has improved a bunch since then, according to the car reviews anyway, I’ll never forget the feedback I got from my friend. Just like thousands of Americans will never forget their experience with a 1970’s American car, and now won’t buy a modern domestic because of it.