Vehicle: 2005 Hyundai Accent5 GL with comfort pkg and 4-speed automatic
Price as tested: CDN$16470

Performance: There are pleasant surprise under Accent’s hood even though you won’t find breathtaking performance. The 1.6L DOHC 16-valver mill has 104 horses and 106 lb/ft of torque. The torquery character of this little engine provides decent refinement and responsivenss when pushed, even when mated with an automatic tranny. Despite there are still some buziness and roughness as you pushed to the top end of the envalope, it remains a hard working engine that serves its purpose well. The drawback of the powerplant has to deal with the tranny. Its lazy to upshift when this motor desperately needs it. When it up and downshifts, it feels rough and unrefined.

Handling: The Accent handles surprisingly well despite of its mickey mouse 14″ tires. Whenever you pushed hard into a corner, the tires protest before the driver reached its limitations. It is an agile car that allows drivers to push hard into a corner thanks to a properly tuned suspension that absorbs bumps pretty well without sacificing the firmness. The steering feels vague but has decent response. There are plenty of body rolls and understeer, latter due to the tires. If I am buying this car, the first thing I am gonna do its to replace all those tires.

Brakes: While its standard front discs and rear drums provide better than average pedal feel, its a thumbs down when you considered Hyundai doesn’t even offer ABS as an optional feature. When you considered a similarly priced Echo HB has standard ABS even in its base CE trim, the value equation of this Accent drops in comparison.

Interior: Considered the size of the Accent, there are surprising amount of head and legrooms inside. The cloth seats are comfy with decent support. Instrumentation gauges are clear and analog. All the controls are ergonomically correct except for the stereo. The buttons are so tiny that you can’t even make it work without gloves, good luck when wearing gloves.

Conclusion: Its a smart move for Hyundai to introduce the 5-door hatchback version of the Accent to the market. It has plenty of style, comfortable, handles relatively well and good value. Its also versatile enough to challenge its arch-rival Optra5 and Spectra5 in this highly competitive segment. If only Hyundai can make ABS standard, then it would be credible enough to take on the market leader: Echo HB, in terms of overall package.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2005 HYUNDAI ACCENT5 GL
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Performance: 2.25/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 2.25/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 2.5/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 3/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 4/5
Value-for-money: 3.75/5

Overall rating: 3.5/5