Hyundai Getz / Accent Test Drive Report

**niky** · May 1st, 2006 11:07 PM

I'd say it feels even faster. I can cream any Vios with my RS, but driving the 1.5 CRDi, it felt like it was in an entirely different league. Obviously, yung top-end niya wasn't as good, but there was so much torque that it gave me goosebumps.

It felt Vios fast when I drove it conservatively, but on the second run, the agent allowed me to give the engine full head. It was breath-taking.

That bothered me until I saw the specs... 235 NM of torque... from 1900-2750 rpm. That's more torque than the Ford Lynx RS (+45NM), the new Focus and Mazda3 2.0s (+50NM) or even the new Honda Civic 2.0 (+47NM)... which means that while the 2.0s could hand it its ass on the highway, they'd be hard pressed to keep up in traffic.

**carlocaraddict** · May 1st, 2006 11:08 PM

torquey indeed!

**tebs** · May 1st, 2006 11:42 PM

Add to that the fact that it is much much lighter than the fords :D

**mbt** · May 2nd, 2006 11:52 PM

I test drove the Accent turbodiesel in the fort as well...

The engine is indeed remarkable. The fuel economy should be too.

Unfortunately, the designers spent too much time on the engine and forgot about the rest of the car. Simply put, the car feels like it's a generation behind the class leaders. The steering is horrible. The shifter is a long way from Honda land. The clutch is an ultra-light thing that takes concentration to work smoothly. The cabin is filled with rock-hard plastics that scream econocar. The buttons and switches feel slightly junky. The stereo unit is a chintzy thing, the articulated DVD screen notwithstanding. The feature set is disappointing. The doors make a cheap sound when slammed.

Apart from the powertrain, there's nothing in the car that feels sophisticated. Not a bad car, don't get me wrong, but I'd give Hyundai a few more years until it starts contesting for the lead.

**niky** · May 3rd, 2006 12:19 AM

As for controls, the shifter may not be Honda-ish, but it's not clunky, at least. The steering is devoid of all feeling, but so is the steering in the Jazz/City... of course, the Jazz/City twins have a better chassis, so this defect is less obvious.

As for handling quirks... it remains to be seen how a Getz or Accent feels on decent tires. Cheap cars... cheap tires.

Good call on the clutch, though... I didn't catch that one, but my companion had a hard time getting used to it. Must be the practice I get with the similarly uncommunicative RS clutch.

Oo nga... I forgot to mention the DVD stereo (fakey fakey chinese brand... not confidence inspiring), but it isn't standard.

Yes, it's true that the interior is cheap, but Toyota gets away with cheap looking materials and dull stereos, too. Mazda has good looking interiors, but the plastic isn't really that good, either.

With Hyundai, they don't need to match the best... just have cars that are decent and reliable, at a price point below the competition... the Accent, unfortunately, isn't at the price point it needs to be... It'd be a decent sell at 700k, but at 768k, it's plain ridiculous. I still think the Getz is perfect at the price point.

Still... I am surprised by how much better it is than previous generation Hyundai/Kia products. Maybe by the mid-model change, they'll catch up with the Japanese.

They're already causing problems for the lower and mid-rung players in the car market... and they're starting to get a bigger share of the market.

**mbt** · May 3rd, 2006 12:35 AM

niky,

i'm biased, i drove the accent after getting out of the mazda 3 and new civic :bwahaha:

**niky** · May 3rd, 2006 01:16 AM

Ah... that explains it...

Hanep ang Civic... kahit hindi siya yung loaded version, special talaga ang itsura ng loob.

**orly_andico** · May 3rd, 2006 12:02 PM

i've seen a few of the audi-esque sonata's driving around, and they certainly look special enough..

the accent is ridiculously priced though. it doesn't look particularly special on the outside to deserve a 70k (!!!) price premium over the matrix CRDI which has the same passenger handling capacity and much better cargo handling, albeit at the weight of a midsize car and so definitely less zippy.

**niky** · May 3rd, 2006 12:51 PM

Maybe it's Hyundai's way of ensuring the Accent doesn't become a taxi special? It could so easily become the modern Isuzu Gemini if the price was similar to the Getz. In fact, since there's no 'contract', I could buy one and use the fare to partially cover my car payments.

...hmmmh...

**theveed** · May 3rd, 2006 01:03 PM

Nice writeup dude... That's heckovalot of torque hehe... How can we even mention the Vios and Jazz into the mix when it comes to that.

Expensive for a Hyundai though (Accent), especially if the looks are too conservative...