Hyundai Accent Sport is a veteran with virtues at $16K

The Accent, the light car segment leader, has been around for about six years. Instead of a replacement, Hyundai makes a value pitch with the Sport grade, at $16K the manual.

1. The $15,990 drive-away price is a tease.

The automatic, which accounts for the majority of sales, starts at $17,490 drive-away. Add $495 for metallic paint or drive a white one or another colour called “Sunflower”.

Accent Sport: 1.6-litre engine and 16-inch alloy wheels.

2. Five-year warranty gives peace of mind.

Hyundai’s sister brand Kia has the longest factory-backed warranty at seven years (although Holden and Honda are also offering seven-year deals until the end of this month) but the Accent’s coverage is still above average at five years. It means you should still have a sliver of warranty left on it when it comes time to sell, given most people sign up for finance periods of three to five years.

3. It’s showing its age.

Sport cabin: Six-speed auto replaces CVT; Apple CarPlay but not Android Auto.

This generation Accent was introduced in 2011 and a new model would customarily be due by now. But car makers are extending the life of their cheapest models because they have the slimmest profit margins — and yet still cost as much to engineer and develop as bigger and more profitable cars, such as compact SUVs. In June, Hyundai replaced the Accent’s 1.4-litre engine with a more powerful, slightly thirstier 1.6-litre. It also added 16-inch alloys and cruise control. Apple CarPlay (but not Android Auto) and rear-view camera are also part of the package. Android devices are relegated to using a USB connection or Bluetooth for audio.

4. It’s not best in class to drive.

The Accent may top the sales charts in its class but a lot of rental car deliveries helped push up those numbers. The extra fruit has done little to make the Accent drive better. The engine, although gutsy (103kW/167Nm), has an unusual and uneven throttle feel. Even matched to the six-speed auto (rather than the previous constantly variable transmission), it feels a bit uncoordinated and, at times, the transmission feels sticky, not changing gears when it should. It’s also noisy. Others in this class — such as the similarly priced Toyota Yaris or dearer Suzuki Swift and Mazda2 — have smoother and more refined engines and transmissions.

5. Regardless, you’ll be safe.

Good safety rating: The Sport has a rear-view camera and five crash test stars.

It has six airbags, rear-view camera and a good crash test rating. Tested locally in 2011, this generation Accent scored five stars for safety in ANCAP crash tests and recorded relatively high scores in the individual criteria that contribute to the good result overall. In the aggressive 64km/h offset crash — in which 40 per cent of the front of the car strikes a fixed barrier, to simulate a crash into oncoming traffic — the protection of the driver and front passenger dummies was rated as “good” or “acceptable” with a total score of 14.66/16. The cut-off for five stars is 12.5 out of 16.