Hooniverse “Find the Beauty” Weekend – The 2007 Hyundai Accent 3-Door
Hyundai is on a roll lately, but prior to 2006 their styling has been hit or miss. One of the misses was the second generation Hyundai Accent, their smallest car offering here in North America. This is a direct descendant of the unloved Hyundai Excel, as the two are virtually the same size, wheelbase, and engine displacement. However, the third generation Accent 3-Door was a real surprise, as it was quite good looking. Was this the turn-around design Hyundai needed?
2nd Generation Above, 3rd Generation Below
The 2000 Hyundai Accent was truly an ugly car, and not in the “so ugly it’s cute” category either. Hyundai was on what I would call an Industrial design theme during these years, and the Accent was worse off for it. Let’s start with the grill testure, which was really just cooling slots that were cut into the one piece plastic bumper cover. The rear was a little better, but still nothing to remember the car b
3rd Generation Above, 2nd Generation Below
On the other hand, the new 2007 Hyundai Accent 3-Door was stunning compared to its predecessor. Here is a car on the same wheelbase that has a very shapely rear end. This car displayed a fastback shape, and was a better design because of it. The front end was treated to an actual grill, with a more stylized set of headlamps. The overall proportions are a lot better.
The New 4th Generation Accent
The latest Hyundai Accent has a modern design, which actually blows away all the other Accent models, and showcases the current Hyundai Design philosophy that all their current models show. But let’s get back to the 2007 version… Would you at least agree that this design is actually pretty good looking? Let me know what you think.
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- Hooniverse Early Korean Car Weekend – The Hyundai Excel
- Hooniverse Weekend Edition: Hyundai Throws Down A Challenge…
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I would absolutely agree that the 2007 Accent (3door) is a marketable improvement over the 2000 version. As an aside, the interior of the 2007 is pretty ingeniously designed to maximize interior room and had very good materials for its segment. I find this really is the genesis of the styling roll that Hyundai is on now.
I'm pretty sure the picture at the top isn't a regular Accent 3-door, but the Accent SR, which had a different bodykit (wider fenders, lower sideskirts, different wheels) as well as some performance improvements (stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, air intake).
Someone had one for local club racing and it looked like fun (c'mon, every bright orange car is fun). It's definitely better looking than the regular trim of the same year. The latest redesign looks awesome.
I've always liked the looks of the latest 3-door. The slope of the roof reminds me of a Henry J.
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I would not go further than calling the third generation Accent 'good-looking'. A friend has one as his commuter car. It seems well-built and drives nicely. The real beauty of the thing as far as I can see is that it always returns mpg in the high 30s.
Odd story.
In Vegas, we lived next door to a guy who had a $700K motorhome, a Ferrari 512, and an F355.
The car he put the most 'value' on was the first-gen Hyundai Accent, 'cause he could tow it behind the motorhome.
BTW, he was a professional poker player, long before it was televised. He also said, what you see on TV is crap and that the real action is in the side bets of the games you don't see.
I wonder what side bet he lost to get stuck with that Accent. Actually, it might come in useful for betting purposes– show them a pic of you at home, then bet your newest car against theirs.
I have 52k trouble free miles on my Accent and I do like it a lot. Even with all the options, its still very basic though. The seats arent very comfortable (yaris seats, and fit seats, for example are way more comfy.) I would argue the build quality (not materials) is better than my wife's 2012 focus though, less squeaks and noises on mine, more consistent panel and trim gaps…its a well put together car.
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