I read quite a few epinions about this car. I think you either love of or hate it, but I think those that do not like it forget that this is a small car that does not cost much and there should not be tons of gadgets and a cool superbly designed interior in superb fabric.

I have decided to write this review in order to defend this car that I learned to like.

Note: This is absolutely not a technical review. If you want these details, read the product description because I cannot explain them! :) LOL

Why A Hyundai

First of all, the goal of this car was to get a first car for my sister and me. For both of us, it would be the first driven car of all times! Thus, we went a little used car shopping with mommy (yes…. I am lucky!). After a few dealers and seeing the advertisement on TV for the Hyundai Accent, we decided it was at least worth a test drive.

It was actually really difficult to convince my parents to give a second chance to Hyundai for they had long ago owned one of these infamous Excel car. One of which would leave us with windows wide open in winter and doors that would not open among other problems!

Guarantee

As it is mentioned often enough in the other reviews, the guarantee offered on this car is an important advantage, 10 years bumper-to-bumper and a 24 hour road service. The road service is pretty good because I once ended up in a ditch and the towing was there 20 minutes after (and it was a pretty busy day with all the snow!).

Space

This is a compact car, but there is a lot of space in it. I play hockey. Once, I brought 4 people with e, and we were able to fit 3 hockey pouches in the trunk, one being a goalie equipment. That should give you an idea about the space there is in there! :) Another time, I bought a two-piece set for my bedroom from IKEA. We were able to fit everything in the car (with me and my boyfriend comfortably in it) only by unscrewing the big pieces as people were passing by incredulously! :)

I have the two-doors version and you can easily fit three adults in the back seats. They will be confortable. There is also quite enough space for legs, both in the front and back seats. My boyfriend is pretty tall, but he has no problem driving this car.

Winter Must

Yes, living in Montreal, there is snow in winter and it can get pretty cold! :) One of the first things I would tell you is that winter tires are not an option in the snow, you NEED them! I spent my first winter without them and I ended up in a ditch once, doing a right-turn at about 30km/h (OK, a little fast for a right-turn, but still! And it only happened once, this is the same time as the time mentioned above. I am a good driver!!!!! :) ).

Bring On The Tests

Here is all that happened to my car in the year and a half we’ve had it.

My sister got out of a parking spot without looking to well and the right side (over the wheel) got smashed by a van. Nothing happened to the direction or anything. I fell in a ditch in winter (maybe a foot deep, but full of snow) and needed to get towed, my boyfriend went over a huge branch going 60-70 km/h and I hit a sidewalk (not fast though). Another guy decided to get out of his driveway without looking behind him. He hit my rear-bumper and nothing happened.

We are up to almost 34,000km on the car (1km = 1.6mile)) and the brakes are still good. Needless to say that first drivers on an automatic do a lot of breaking!

All these little things that happened to our car are not major crashes or anything, but these added one to another on top of the not too good driving in our first months, the car does not seem to have been hurt by them.

Gadgets

While this is a budget car, there are still a few things on it. We have a CD player in it with and AM/FM radio that is really great. By the way, the sound of this system is really great, and it was the one that came with the car. I maddened a few of my friends that spent quite a bit of money on their car’s sound and ours is at least comparable, if not better.

We did not get the A/C, but it is an option. There is cute little cup holders, but McDonalds’ big Cokes are little in the way of the radio when put in these. They are still very practical though.

The driver’s seat can be adjusted 3 ways; the closeness from the driving wheel (of course!), the height of the bench and the angle of the seat. All in all, it gets pretty comfortable.

Speed and Acceleration

The acceleration of this car is far from being perfect. I have also tried the manual transmission, and although it is a little better, it still is far from perfect! But again, it is but a budget car! :)

This car can go pretty fast. I actually travel at around 120-130km/h on the highway without trouble. The windows make a little bit of noise, and I cannot say it is the best car for long trips, but it still is OK. I took it up to 150km/h a few times, but I do not stay at that speed for two reasons; there are police officers in Canada! And my tires are not good enough and the car gets unstable past 140. The engine still holds on though and does not seem to be forcing too much! :)

Conclusion

Sorry for the long review, but I had to get everything off my heart. At first, I was very skeptical too, but I learned to love this cute little town car. (It is also a pleasure to park downtown!).

Thank you sincerely if you did truly read up to here! :)

stef

Amount Paid (US$): 150
Condition: New
Model Year: 2000
Model and Options: Automatic transmission, Two-doors