I must admit, I was scared to death to finally review this car. All I had heard about how Hyundais were not worth the paper you sign on to own one, and nothing had gone wrong. So I thought for sure that as soon as I wrote this review, I'd have problems. But I digress.

This car is my first car, and it's really great. I got my 2000 Retro Red Accent new from the dealer in August. I got it all souped up too, with an automatic transmission, 4-doors, power everything, 100 watt CD-player, power sunroof, rear spoiler, and keyless entry. It's also worth mentioning that I paid $70 for floor mats :-). I named my car Rhiannon, so all future references to that name are actually referring to the car. Here's a rundown of how things are going:

ENGINE/TRANSMISSION
This car requires a much lighter touch than my mom's Suzuki Esteem, which I learned to drive on. The Accent's transmission tops out at 93-95 horsepower, and you can tell. The engine is sort of loud, but bearable, and it makes you feel like you're zooming along. This car CAN zoom. You'll be driving along at 70 m.p.h. without realising it. However, sometimes the transmission will stick for a second in too high a gear, usually right after you've climbed a hill and the car should be settling down. You have to let up on the gas for a second, but she settles. Rhiannon also has a tendency to jump into passing gear instead of just moving up to the next gear. This can probably be attributed to the light touch and quick need to switch gears. But it should also be duly noted that while these transmission glitches happened, they don't happen every day of my life.

LOOKS/STYLE
I got the brightest red I could have, and after adding a sunroof and a spoiler, all my friends envy this car. It's no Mustang, but it's sporty and can hold it's own. Plus, it comes in nice hip colours, such as bright blue, bright green, and the aforementioned bright red. My mom calls it a "young people car", compared to the Hyundai Elantra, which she says is an "old people car". Go figure.

ROOMINESS/COMFORT
This car is really nice to drive in. The backseat is typical of a passenger car, with enough room to put your feet on the floor but not enough room to hold a convention. The driver's seat is fully adjustable (I expected it to be able to flip upside down too, but it didn't), and had adjustable lumbar support. I have a history of backpain, but once I adjusted the lumbar support, I don't have backpain in this car. However, my mom is 6 feet tall, and her head grazes the roof. She has to duck when I close the sunroof, or else her hair sometimes gets caught (:-).

DASHBOARD/CONTROLS
All of the dials in this car are easy to understand. They are circular and turn like a clock, and the pictures are big and easy to read. This car has an air conditioner that can freeze you out in minutes if you let it. The heat also works pretty quickly. A/C is an option though, make sure you pay extra to get it if you live someplace where you'll need it.

WARRANTY/SERVICE
It's time to rave about the warranty. 10yr/100,000mile powertrain. 5yr/60,000mile bumper to bumper is my main concern here. I probably won't ever have to pay for repairs, and Hyundai will also pay for towing, and does 24-hour roadside assistance, even for dumb stuff like locking your keys in your car. As for service, my particular Hyundai dealer kind of sucks. When I first got my car, the glove box was sagging (it's pretty heavy and is only held by one little latch). After "fixing" it, it still sags the same, and the service guy took my cigarette lighter to boot, so there's a little hole in my dash.

OVERALL
I love this car. She's my baby, and if I could do it over again, I'd buy the same car. I'm glad that I paid extra and saved to have the added comforts (like the sunroof and the CD player), because it makes this car more fun. The price is supposedly around $8,000, but that's for a bare-bones naked manual-trans coupe. If you want A/C and power windows/locks, it's up to $9,000. If you want an automatic transmission and/or 4-doors, it's up to $10,000ish. Mine cost around $14,000 with all the little niceties, taxes, and delivery included. But I still think this is a good deal, considering you may never have to pay for repairs, aside from the occasional oil change. This car is great.
Amount Paid (US$): 14,000ish
Condition: New
Model Year: 2000
Model and Options: GL, auto., A/C, power package, CD, sunroof, spoiler, keyless entry