Honesty is a rare and underappreciated quality, whether we’re talking about advertising, political candidates, or automobiles. And so we celebrate the utter honesty of the 2016 Hyundai Accent Sport, which delivers on its promise of being decent basic transportation with a whiff of sportiness.

As the direct descendant of the self-destructing, Reagan-era Hyundai Excel, the Accent benefits from low expectations. That it far exceeds those leaves us impressed with this little runabout. Indeed, the only way the Accent might be more honest would be if it were called “Excel,” a name Hyundai abandoned after it was irreparably tarnished.

Although it certainly shouldn’t be named “Accel.” As with other cars in this class, acceleration isn’t a strong suit, even when equipped with the reasonably enjoyable six-speed manual transmission of our test car. At just over 2500 pounds, the Accent Sport is a featherweight that doesn’t pack much punch; its 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine produces 137 horsepower and 123 lb-ft of torque in the higher reaches of its rev range. Its best launches were achieved by dumping the clutch at 4000 rpm; 60 mph arrived 8.6 seconds later. Modest performance is par for the segment, though, where the Toyota Yaris, the Nissan Versa, and the Ford Fiesta are all less powerful and slower to 60 mph. The Accent ranks with the Honda Fit and the Chevrolet Sonic at the quicker end of the spectrum (note that we’re comparing manual-transmission versions here).

So what makes this Accent a “Sport”? Functionally, not much. The mechanical differences between the Sport model and the base SE hatchback mostly involve replacing the SE’s rear drum brakes with discs. They’re housed within larger, machine-turned 16-inch aluminum wheels wearing 195/50R-16 tires (versus the SE’s 14-inch steelies with wheel covers and 175/70R-14 rubber). At the track, the Accent delivered a reasonable 0.80 g on the skidpad but took a disconcerting 189 feet to stop from 70 mph—the grip number is little better than most small cars’, but the braking figure, while not far off from competitors, is in full-size pickup territory. To their credit, the brakes exhibited no fade in repeated stops, and the pedal felt nice and firm. (Another note on the braking performance: It was 15 feet longer than we saw in a comparison test, in which an Accent SE had the best brakes among six cars; this new number would have placed the Hyundai last in that category.) The Sport badge holds up a little better by comparison with other Accent trim levels with smaller tires, which fared less well when we last tested the little Hyundai.

View Photos STEVE SILER

The “sport-tuned” steering is precise, if light, and engenders some confidence; despite the car’s penchant for understeer and body lean, there’s still something delightfully naughty about thrashing a small car with such meager grip on a curvy road. Its chassis may be less entertaining than those of the Fit, the Fiesta, or the Mazda-built Scion iA (soon to become the Toyota Yaris iA), but it’s no dullard. That whole “driving-a-slow-car-fast” trope applies. Driving it hard, we recorded 29 mpg, which beats the EPA city fuel-economy rating; we fared better with the Fit and the Scion.

Back in the city, the one-finger steering effort and comfortable ride make parking-lot maneuvers and negotiating traffic easy. That’s how most Accents—“Sport” or not—will be used. The Accent’s driver’s seat, upholstered in gray cloth, proved to be a not-bad perch for the daily commute. The dashboard is pleasantly designed, with Hyundai’s dressy blue nighttime illumination, an information display between the gauges, a mix of quality-grade materials, and precise fits between the various elements. Dash, door panels, and console materials are almost entirely hard plastics with a small cloth insert in each door, yet they somehow manage not to look as cheap as the sub-$20,000 price point suggests. While sparse, the leather trim found on the steering wheel and the gearshift knob were more supple and pleasing to touch than that on some high-priced cars. Sightlines to the front and side are excellent, with a convex inset in the driver’s-side mirror facilitating lane changes—a good thing, since the rising beltline and smallish rear window in this four-door hatch restrict the view out the back. The car also could benefit from some additional sound insulation, as engine and road noise become excessive as speed rises.

While the Accent is priced and marketed as a subcompact, there is no shortage of space inside. The rear seats offer a theater-style raised hip point for cross-your-legs room, and the 21-cubic-foot cargo area (with all seats raised) is larger than the trunk space in even the largest three-box sedans and one cube more than the one-category-up Mazda 3 hatchback. Drop those 60/40-split rear seats and its 48 cubic feet still tops the Mazda 3. Not a bad showing for a car barely 13.5 feet long, although we should note that the Honda Fit is both shorter overall and boasts 53 cubic feet of cargo capacity with the rear seatback folded.

View Photos STEVE SILER

Only $1750 separates the stripper Accent SE hatchback from the Sport; in addition to the aforementioned rear disc brakes, sport-tuned steering, and upgraded rolling stock, that extra dough brings fog lights, a rear spoiler, cruise control, exterior mirrors with turn signals, audio controls on the steering wheel, a telescoping steering column, Bluetooth connectivity, upgraded upholstery, piano-black dashboard trim, and a sliding armrest storage box. Other than the six-speed automatic with manual shift control, available for an extra $1000, there are no options; the only added feature on our test car was a set of accessory floor mats. Navigation? Use your phone (or a paper map). The reverse sensing system consists of the rear bumper. Leather seats? Sunroof? Forget them both. If you want more stuff, the next-step-up Elantra starts at $17,985, just $530 more than this car’s $17,455 out-the-door price.

We think slathering too many options onto a car like the Accent is akin to putting four inches of chocolate frosting atop a single-layer yellow cake. Just let it be what it is. The Accent provides honest, roomy, basic transportation without punishing the buyer for having a small budget. The slight whiff of sportiness here is enough icing for this cake.

Specifications VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback

PRICE AS TESTED: $17,455 (base price: $16,495)

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 97 cu in, 1591 cc

Power: 137 hp @ 6300 rpm

Torque: 123 lb-ft @ 4850 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:

Wheelbase: 101.2 in

Length: 162.0 in

Width: 66.9 in Height: 57.1 in

Passenger volume: 90 cu ft

Cargo volume: 21 cu ft

Curb weight: 2506 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:

Zero to 60 mph: 8.6 sec

Zero to 100 mph: 25.6 sec

Rolling start, 5-60 mph: 8.9 sec

Top gear, 30-50 mph: 19.5 sec

Top gear, 50-70 mph: 20.5 sec

Standing ¼-mile: 16.9 sec @ 84 mph

Top speed (C/D est): 120 mph

Braking, 70-0 mph: 189 ft

Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.80 g

FUEL ECONOMY:

EPA city/highway driving: 27/38 mpg

C/D observed: 29 mpg

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