2006 Hyundai Accent Test Drive

By now, regular readers will have sussed out that I’m a huge fan of small cars. I think they are a big part of the solution to North America’s import oil problems. The 2006 Accent, a great new sub-compact from Hyundai, eschews quirky styling tricks. This plain and simple three-box, four-door sedan is small on the outside but very roomy inside. And it’s got a huge trunk, good fuel economy, terrific warranty and great price. MSRP: $12,995; EPA city/highway MPG 32/35 manual, 28/36 automatic.

First Glance: Big enough for most

It looks exactly like what it is – a small, very functional 4-door passenger car using traditional "3-box" styling – one box for the engine, one for the occupants and one for their stuff. At first, its plain-as-pudding looks can be a bit of a letdown. They were for me anyway. The Accent is completely without design eccentricities, and I really wanted it to be quirkier as befits its ultra-small-car stature. But by the end of my test week, I had grown really fond of its functional if understated form.

A mid-size car (like, say, the Chevy Malibu) is actually quite a bit bigger on the outside than a sub-compact like the Accent. But this differential is not always reflected in the sub-compact’s usefulness as a people and cargo carrier. A well thought out sub-compact like the Accent will hold nearly as much as or more as a less-well-planned mid-size.

The extra space in a mid-size car seems mostly to be useful for carrying a 3rd full size person in the rear seat. But if you’re like many North Americans, more often than not it’s you and maybe one other person in the car. Occasionally you might carry enough for a weekend away, or you might go on an IKEA shopping spree. Even for that, the Accent is plenty big enough.

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In the Driver’s Seat: Why sacrifice?

The first impression I got on climbing in through any of the Accent’s four large doors is that it was way bigger inside than I imagined. While the rear doors are somewhat smaller than the fronts, they’re still big enough to allow easy access for average size adults.

I’m 5’11” and weigh 180 lbs. With the driver’s seat set for me, there was a good 3 inches of headroom as well as lots of elbowroom in both the front seats and the rear seats. Even if you’re 6’3” and weigh 250lbs, I’ll bet you won’t feel cramped in this car.

Unlike many new mid-sizers I can name (OK, the Acura TL and Pontiac G6), visibility is outstanding from any seat in the house. Rear seat passengers can even see out over the driver’s headrest without banging their heads on the roof liner.

While interior room is the big story about the Accent, there’s a lot more to interest buyers. It has an 8-way adjustable driver’s seat, cupholders galore, a 60/40 folding rear seat back, as well as all kinds of pockets, nooks and crannies for your stuff. It also has a host of comfort and safety features as well as standard six air bags and (optional) 4-wheel disc brakes with antilock control. So despite its small size, you’re sacrificing very little with the Accent.

On the Road: Efficient but noisy

The front wheel drive Accent is pulled along by a modern 1.6L, DOHC, inline-4 aluminum engine with continuously variable valve timing. It puts out 110 horsepower and 106 lb-ft of torque, more than adequate for a car weighing only 2400 lbs. It's peppy with the 5-speed manual transmission, less so with the optional 4-speed automatic.

Put the pedal to the metal and the automatic displays its major shortcomings. It kicks down a gear and the engine revs skyrocket, filling the cabin with a loud buzz. Clearly what’s needed is another gear or two or even a CVT. If you like to drive aggressively, it's best to "stick" with the 5-speed manual (pun intended).

This car has an incredibly tight turning radius, which is a delight in tight city maneuvring. The Accent feels equal to the Toyota Yaris – my favorite city car - in this respect.

While there's more to the Accent than fuel efficiency, economy is a very important part of the ownership experience. Expect an honest 30mpg in normal mixed city/highway driving, perhaps more on long commutes. This is at least double what you’ll get in similar driving in a bloated SUV, and half again better than most oversized, over-powered so-called family sedans and crossovers.

Journey’s End: Accent will change opinions about subcompacts

In case you haven’t noticed, we’re squabbling with some very nasty folks these days. Many of our differences concern their oil, which they don’t want us to have mainly because we need it so badly. While we’ve still got quite a bit of our own, it won’t last too many more decades if we continue to burn it up in big useless gas guzzlers. The importance of cars like the Accent is they allow us to stretch out existing oil supplies while alternatives are being developed.

All you'll be missing with the Accent (and other new fuel-efficient sub-compacts)is the bulk. In reality most of that bulk on so-called “full size” passenger vehicles is pretty much useless. It won’t protect you in a serious collision. Your car’s basic structure and safety equipment such as seat belts and air bags do that. And it doesn’t allow you to carry much more than a sub-compact like the Accent does.

The new Hyundai Accent could be the car to change North Americans' opinions about sub-compacts. Up to now, we have tended to avoid tem in droves. Maybe it was a chicken and egg situation. We didn’t buy them because there weren’t any decent ones available and vice versa. That's no longer the case – and the 2006 Hyundai Accent proves it.