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HomeFeatured ArticlesHyundai Accent | A Take on the Esteem

Hyundai Accent | A Take on the Esteem

Well, there were some cars in the early 2000s in India that defined sheer driving pleasure. Such car came with bare bone safety features, after all, it wasn’t mandatory in those time. One such car is non-other than ‘Hyundai Accent’. The Accent came to in the Indian shores in the late 1990s. Instantly the car was a hit. Lets us have a peek into what the car had to offer in those times.

Hyundai Accent | Insights

The car came to Indian in 1999 with a lot to offer. Especially on the inside and the outside, the car offered the-then latest features and was considered an overall perfect package.

The car was known for not just transporting people but also was perfect to take the twisties. The car boasts of very good vehicle dynamics. Here is why the car shines.

Powertrain and Transmission

Hyundai as a brand offers a lot of engine options when it comes to their cars. Yes, at that time Accent was no different. The car came with 3 engine options.

  1. A 1.5-Litre SOHC engine that produced 96hp and about 134Nm of peak torque. Yes, the motor was very powerful but indeed not the most power Accent.
  2. The Hyundai Accent was also offered with a 1.6-litre DOHC petrol engine which was capable of producing 106hp and about 144Nm of peak torque. Such power with a naturally aspirated engine was commendable. This engine was able to propel the car from 0-100km/h in nearly 10 seconds. The fun part is the car could achieve a top speed of about 190Km/h.
  3. There was a Diesel too which was a 1.5litre turbo-diesel producing 86hp and about 186Nm of peak torque.
  4. As said earlier the car was focused towards driving, so all the engines were offered with a 5-speed manual transmission and there was no automatic transmission.

On the Inside

Indeed the car didn’t have basic interiors. The car came with some first in class features, with top-notch built quality.

  1. The car had power windows for all the 4 doors.
  2. Well, the rear defogger in the car was standard.
  3. The car came with a single din stereo slot.
  4. There were some small things which are worth mentioning.
    • Starting with a dead pedal. Yes, The car had a dead pedal to rest out left foot. This is what some cars still don’t offer.
    • The Steering wheel was thick and chunky which was satisfying to hold. In addition to that, it had extra bolsters on the 3 and 9 o clock position on the steering for extra grip when driving aggressively.
    • Hyundai Accent also came with the headlight height adjust back then.
    • The throws of the stick shift transmission were also very less.

This is what the Hyundai Accent will offer you. All these features and engines were spread across its generations. Talking about the generations the car enjoyed about 14 years here in India.

The second generation in India (GTX) | 1999

1999 Hyundai Accent
1999 Hyundai Accent

The Hyundai Accent started its journey in the year 1994 which was it’s first-generation and that never came to India. Hyundai Decided to introduce the sedan in 1999 with the second generation globally. Since then the car only got minor interior and exterior changes.

First Facelift (Viva and CRDi)| 2002

Hyundai Accent GLS
Hyundai Accent CRDI

This is when the car got its first facelift with a couple of changes on the inside as well as the outside. At that time there were two cars introduced in the market. One was the Accent Viva and the other was the CRDi, that is the diesel Accent. Both of which were feature-packed.

Second Facelift (GLS and GLE) | 2004

Hyundai Accent GLE
Hyundai Accent GLE | Image Courtesy: Team-BHP

Just after two years the car again got an overhaul. In the year 2004, two new variants were introduced namely GLS and GLE. The GLS variant came with the more powerful 1.6-litre petrol engine and the later with the 1.5-litre petrol engine. In addition to that, the GLS was equipped with more safety features such as ABS, EBD, and airbags. On the inside, the car came with a digital odometer and power-adjustable ORVMs.

Hyundai Accent GLE | Interior | Image Courtesy: Team-BHP
Hyundai Accent GLE | Interior | Image Courtesy: Team-BHP

Third Facelift (Executive) | 2009

Hyundai Accent Executive
Hyundai Accent Executive

Hyundai Accent was a hit in the Indian market and the company introduced yet another facelift with minor cosmetic changes in the year 2009. It was the Hyundai Accent Executive. Under the hood, it was the same as the GLE variant. Also, the car got a leather-wrapped steering wheel as well as the gear-knob.

Hyundai Accent Executive
Hyundai Accent Executive | Interior

Fun-Fact

In 2005 Hyundai launched its new sedan the Verna, guess what is the rebadged Accent. Consider this, in India since then the car is named as Verna whereas the same car is named as Accent in the global markets even the 2020 Hyundai Verna.

Conclusion

In the year 2013, Hyundai saw a steep decline in the sales of the car so decided to pull the plug on the car. Hence, the car was discontinued from the Hyundai Lineup and made way for the new upcoming premium hatchbacks as the car was aggressively priced.

  • During the Hyundai Accent’s tenure, it enjoyed no competition in terms of performance and dynamics. Well, as we know the people in India don’t like to drive much and are willing to be chauffeured around. That is sad because all the cars since which were focused toward the petrol heads have failed.
  • The Hyundai Accent was pitched with the like of the Maruti Suzuki Esteem and. Both of which were jokers, as they were decent in everything and masters of nothing.

Fun Read: Ford Escort | First Ford Car In India Or Was It?

Utkarsh Bhardwaj
Utkarsh Bhardwajhttps://gomechanic.in/blog
Technical Content Strategist at GoMechanic | Big Time Petrolhead with the passion for building cars and driving those beauties.

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