2000 Hyundai Accent: Overview

Vehicle Highlights

Hyundai redesigned its lowest-priced car for 2000 with new styling and slightly larger dimensions. Accent offers 2-door hatchback and 4-door sedan body styles. Wheelbase increases 1.6 inches, overall length about 5 inches, width by almost 2, and weight by up to 192 pounds depending on model. Interior and cargo volume change little. Hatchbacks come in L or GS trim, the sedan in top-level GL form. A 1.5-liter 4-cylinder continues as the sole engine. A 4-speed automatic is optional on GS and GL in place of the standard manual transmission. Accent remains one the few mainstream passenger cars that does not offer antilock brakes. Power steering is now standard; it had been unavailable on the L hatchback. This South Korean automaker's basic warranty is among the industry's longest: 5-years/60,000-miles bumper-to-bumper, 10-years/100,000-miles powertrain.

COMPETITION

This crowded segment is best represented by two exceptional cars--one a Best Buy and the other a Recommended. Our Best Buy is the Honda Civic, which offers a wide range of bodystyles, engines, and equipment levels. Civic is a solid car that has good performance, a nice ride, and is very civilized.
Topping the Recommended list are the Volkswagen Golf and Jetta. They easily could be Best Buys as they are better than the Civic in many ways. However, they are also the most expensive cars in this segment. Other Recommended choices include the no-frills Chevrolet Cavalier and Dodge Neon, the slightly-upscale Chevy Prizm and clone Toyota Corolla, and the roomy Mazda Protege.
If you are looking for a Budget Buy we recommend you stay away from the Hyundai or Daewoo models and take a look at the Ford Escort.