2016 Hyundai Accent Active REVIEW, Price, Features | Larger Than Most, And Big On Value
WHEN IS A LIGHT HATCHBACK NOT A LIGHT HATCHBACK? WHEN IT IS THE NEW 2016 HYUNDAI ACCENT ACTIVE, AS IT TURNS OUT.
Stretching 4.15 metres from tip-to-toe, the Accent sits between segments for size, but it is now priced like sub-four-metre-long light car competitors such as the Mazda2.
The Active is the entry ticket to the Accent range, and indeed the whole Hyundai line-up. It is priced from $14,990 plus on-road costs with a six-speed manual or $16,990 (plus orc) for the automatic continuously variable transmission (CVT) tested here.
But if you want to drive a bargain, Hyundai has had the pencil out with sharply-priced ‘driveaway no-more-to-pay’ offers since the realigned five-door hatchback and four-door sedan range arrived late 2015.
Vehicle Style: Light hatch
Price: $16,990 (plus on-roads)
Engine/trans: 74kW/133Nm 1.4 litre 4cyl petrol | CVT automatic
Fuel Economy claimed: 6.2 l/100km | tested: 8.0 l/100km
OVERVIEW
Previously, the i20 was the cheapest model in the Hyundai range, but it has now disappeared from the Australian market, forcing the Accent to fill the gap.
And fill it, it has. Accent sales in the first quarter of 2016 are running at more than double that of last year, and it is now sitting at second place in the light-car segment, falling only nine units behind the top-selling Mazda2. Culling the price of the Accent Active by $2000 has meant replacing the previous 1.6-litre engine with a smaller 1.4-litre unit, and flicking the four-speed automatic for a CVT.