Rental car review: 2020 Hyundai Accent

[LVSteve]

Had one on a business trip. Didn't do many miles so this should be short.

2020 Hyundai Accent specs:
1.6 4-cylinder 120 bhp, CVT transmission, weight about 2600 lbs.

Engine and transmission:

Very smooth with much bigger horses than you get in Toyota or Nissan. Seriously, it whips up to speed far better than a Corolla or Versa with their small 4 bangers. The CVT is well programmed, to the point I had to look up to see if it was a CVT. Didn't do enough miles to get a really good idea about the gas mileage, but the trip meter read over 40 mpg on a freeway run and nearer 32 around the town.

Ride and handling:

This thing has video game steering. Turn the wheel and the scenery changes but you get no feedback as to why. Overboosted and feel-less like so many cars with electric power steering. Can't comment too much on the handling due to the limited miles, rain when I arrived and the potential for ice on the day I left. Did I mention the steering gave me no confidence as to what the front wheels were doing?

Ride was very good. The 15" wheels with plenty of sidewall worked well. That surprised me because the tires looked pumped up pretty hard.

Interior and refinement:

Ah, yes, where most low cost cars fall down. For sure, there is quite a lot of hard plastic, but all the switches worked and things like phone pairing worked perfectly. I could achieve a good driving position, something that's not always possible for me in budget cars. The seats were OK but I didn't travel very far, so YMMV. Heat worked fine, can't speak to the A/C as it was pretty cool where I was visiting.

As for refinement, it was typical for a budget vehicle. Engine was smooth and quiet, but there was plenty of noise from the road and the HVAC fan. The weird one was the windshield wiper system, which was very noticeable. Somebody got cheap on isolating washers when the wiper motor was fitted.

Not a bad looking little bus.

 

[Farmer17]

We got stranded in Atlanta last year and rented a Hyundai Elantra and drove it to Destin, Fl. It's the next size bigger than the Accent and we were very impressed with it and my wife was saying it was quieter than her Infinity SUV. It was very smooth with decent handling and comfortable seats and it looked fairly upscale inside and out and the power was OK, and gas mileage was excellent. It had the solid, quality feel of a more expensive vehicle and I would definitely recommend that someone take one for a drive if they're in the market for a small car.

 

[LVSteve]

Oh, one thing I did forget. The headlights were pretty good on low beam for plain halogens with an evenly spread pattern and reasonable cutoff out to a sensible, non-dazzling distance. However, the high beams seemed to be rather lacking in range, like there was not enough difference between the high and low settings. Most odd. I'd need a set of 55W auxiliaries switched by the high beam line to drive it any distance at night.Yes, I know the US DoT frowns on such things.

 

[johngalt]

Th styling is a little weird. It makes it look like it has casters for rear wheels

 

[TX-Dennis]

Hyundais tend to be solid cars. That wasn't true back in the mid eighties, though. My sister bought a 1985 small Hyundai - not sure what it was called back then. It spent more time in the shop than on the road. They've come LONG way since then. Latest JD Power initial quality survey (I know, mostly meaningless) had Genesis, Hyundai, and Kia in the first three spots - all products of the same company. I think Lincoln was next or maybe fifth place.

I can attest to Lincoln's quality in its newer vehicles - we have two of their small SUVs - a 2017 MKC and a 2020 Corsair. No issues other than a battery recall when the MKC was new, and they are quite nice - all soft surfaces, leather, real wood, aluminum, etc. The new Corsair has brushed aluminum in place of the MKC's wood trim and "Lincoln Soft Touch" faux leather seats. Leather seats are available as an upgrade, but my wife chose the base model which is still pretty luxurious. I really can't tell the difference between them and the leather on the MKC. There is one area of hard plastic on the Corsair, though. It's the center of the steering wheel. I really prefer the soft material on the MKCs wheel. I do like the updated styling and slight increase in size of the Corsair compared to the MKC, though. Both have 2.0 turbo fours. The newer Corsair has ten extra HP and a few pound-feet more torque, but they will both scoot pretty good and will chirp the tires for a second before the stability control kicks in if you punch it.

 

[mtgianni]

Did it feel like you were sitting very low to the ground? Had an Elantra as a rental a few years back. I really liked the 50 mpg but it felt like I was riding right on the blacktop.

 

[LVSteve]

Did it feel like you were sitting very low to the ground? Had an Elantra as a rental a few years back. I really liked the 50 mpg but it felt like I was riding right on the blacktop.

If you are used to SUVs and trucks, then you will feel like that, lol. The guy before me certainly like it that way. The seat was cranked down to China.

 

[LVSteve]

Th styling is a little weird. It makes it look like it has casters for rear wheels

Cellphone camera and elevated camera position probably don't do it any favors. Cars today have so much slab sided real estate that any wheels smaller than 17" look like casters.