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By Aaron Gold Mar 23, 2015 Photos by Aaron Gold
Hyundai made their bones in the U.S. market with small, affordable cars, but to say they have moved on in the last decade would be an understatement.
We’ve been stunned — stunned, we say! — to see what the South Koreans hath wrought: The high-lux Genesis sedan, the sporty Genesis coupe, the well-sorted Sonata, and even the weird-but-lovable Veloster. But what ever happened to their small, affordable cars? That standard is currently borne by the Accent. It received a major re-do in 2012, when it was transmogrified from a bargain-bin special to a credible and capable subcompact. We last checked in with the Accent in 2013 when we compared it to the Chevrolet Sonic. Our verdict: The Sonic was more fun, but with its lower price, better fuel economy, and longer warranty, the Accent was the better buy.
Shades of Mercedes
For 2015, the Accent gets a mild refresh consisting of minor styling changes and an equipment reshuffle. There’s no question what Hyundai was going for here: The sedan’s new taillights bear a passing resemblance to those found on Mercedes sedans, and the white stripe along the upper edge of the headlights looks at first glance like the light-pipe “eyebrows” used by Mercedes, BMW and others. We’d like to be cynical — didn’t Chrysler attempt to dress up their 1980s-era K-cars with German styling cues? — but the truth is that the Accent looks pretty classy for an inexpensive car. Our test car looked surprisingly mature with its sober gray paint, though it was helped out by an $800 Style package, which includes 16-inch alloy wheels, projector-beam headlights with LED running lights, and rear disc brakes.
