2018 Hyundai Accent Limited

It’s a bit ironic that Hyundai named a car with a very traditional design, the “Accent.” An accent, whether it’s referring to a varied speech pattern or a grammatical mark, typical signifies a quality that’s out of the ordinary. The 2018 Accent isn’t out of the ordinary. If anything, it’s a throwback to the heydays when sedan ruled the automotive market. But ordinary isn’t a bad thing – in fact, it can be refreshing, particularly when it’s done right. At its core, this is where the Accent stands out – it’s a sedan that gets the important things right, even if it’s doesn’t stand out from the crowd.

What I Dig About the 2018 Hyundai Accent Limited

Mr. Personality – Handsome comes to mind when describing the 2018 Hyundai Accent but it’s not handsome in the polite, “Can’t think of any other compliment” sort of way. The Accent gets a lot of things right when it comes to sedan design and it’s an overall pleasing experience. Nothing too flashy here but expertly placed lines and carefully moderated pizzaz make for some conservative but fun aesthetics. The six slated grill, for instance, is just the right size for the Accent’s nose and doesn’t draw too much away from the running lights or the hexagonal bulging that creates a slightly aggressive front end. I especially love how Hyundai elongated the roofline, so much so that it almost reaches the top back of the trunk. It’s a subtle design cue thats meant to remind the beholder of a luxury car … and it works.

Heads Up – Perhaps the elongated slopping roofline served more of a purpose than a stylistic one, because there is a surprising amount of headroom in the Accent. At 6 foot, I jumping in and out with little effort and once seated, I had plenty of room to spare. Leg room is also generous, even if the seats were a tad rigid.

Junk in the Trunk – Sedans are everyday “workhorses” and as such should have plenty of cargo space to haul around more than just passengers. The 2018 Accents provides a surprising amount of cargo space in the trunk – 13.7 cubic feet of space to be exact. Plenty of room for luggage and more.

Come for the Price, Stay for the Warranty – Hyundai isn’t overselling it’s Accent and despite the lack of features on the base trim, the Accent sits at a very decent price for its size and performance.  The Limited trim I tested does start at almost $19k but it comes with automatic braking, a hands-free smart trunk, LED taillights, fog lights, a sunroof, Forward Collision-avoidance Assist, and 17-inch alloy wheels. The base SE trim starts at $14,995 and comes with a rear back-up cam and a 5-inch touchscreen. Not too shabby for a communter sedan with plent of cargo space. Couple it with a 5 year/60,000 mile warranty and you have a worthy investment.

Miles and Miles – At 28 mpg city, 37 highway, and 31 combined the Accent gets respectable fuel economy. Again, the car’s weight – a slim 2,500 pounds – surely plays a factor in squeezing the most miles out of a tank of gas as possible

What Doesn’t Jive With me on the 2018 Hyundai Accent

Uninspired Dash Design – The Accent Limited that I spent a week with came equipped with the 7-inch touchscreen that worked perfectly well and was a pleasure to use, especially when I connected my phone and utilized Android Auto. But the dash design surrounding the screen is a bit mediocre. To be fair, there are some interesting curves that allow for a sense of motion towards the shifter, but for my tastes nothing else stands out. Knobs and dials are all easily accessible by both driver and passenger but an bulge that brings these controls outward towards the cabin makes the dash look bloated.

The Road Struggle is Real – Handling of the 2018 Accent was responsively nimble but acceleration was expectedly conservative. Once the Accent reaches higher gears on the highway, there is some noticeable struggles to maintain power. Nothing extreme but there you’ll hear start the engine whine when its pushed in the slightest. The Accent packs a 1.6-liter inline-4 engine under the hood that produces 130 hp and 119 lb-ft of torque. Not an engine to write home about but gets the job done, even if it shows it limitations at higher velocity.

No Hatchback Love – This year, Hyundai did away with the hatchback option on the Accent and it’s sorely missed, in my humble opinion. It’s an appealing sedan even without the hatchback option but the sloping roofline already resembles a fifth door so a hatchback design wouldn’t be too far off. Hatchbacks might be a niche market, so the cost-benefit might not make sense.

The Sedan is Dead, Long live the 2018 Hyundai Limited

It’s popular in the current state of the automobile industry to claim that sedans are slowly dying and while they are indeed dwindling in numbers, there will always remain a place for reliable sedans like the Accent. Not everyone needs an SUV or a truck to get from point A to point B; sometimes a sedan is all thats need. Hyundai’s Accent might just be the sedan for the job.