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Hyundai Accent CRDi 2012 review

This Hyundai Accent handles nicely, has minimal body roll and no bad road manners that we could find.

Value

Hyundai’s Accent CRDi is quite simply the lowest cost diesel engined car on our market. When the Accent CRDi was introduced in January 2012 it immediately replaced the Ford Fiesta LX TDCi as the least expensive turbo-diesel model in Australia.

This new oil burning Accent comes as a four-door sedan and a five-door hatchback, both at the same starting price of $19,490.

That’s a $2500 premium over the manual petrol Accent but much of that added cost will be recouped from the significantly lower fuel consumption.

Low running costs are impressive, but keep in mind you’re spending an extra $2500 to achieve the fuel savings. Some of this added cost will be recouped when the time comes to trade up.

Technology

The Accent's 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel delivers 94 kW of power, and a very healthy 265 Nm of torque all the way from 1900 to 2750 rpm.

Hyundai Accent CRDi has official fuel consumption measurements of 4.4 litres per hundred kilometres in the manual sedan and 4.5 litres for the hatch. In the glove compartment we found a box of 10 latex gloves for clean diesel filling.

Design

Our review Hyundai Accent diesel was a neat looking hatch with what Hyundai calls its `fluid design'. There are no hard edges and many who saw the flowing shape during our test period loved its lines.

We like the current Hyundai Y-shaped dash design theme. It’s clean, easy on the eye and functional. Bluetooth and MP3 are standard and there are audio controls on the steering wheel.

The front seats are comfortable and supportive. The rear seats offer good legroom and reasonable headroom and are reasonably supportive. However, the centre seat is firm to the point of being hard and has less headroom than the others. There's no storage in the rear doors.

The rear 60/40 split seats fold flat with a one-touch action. The large boot is easy to load and has a security screen.

Safety

The Accent turbo-diesel has a five-star ANCAP rating and has six airbags, stability control, traction control and ABS brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution.

Driving

Turbo-diesel engines produce a lot more torque than non-turbo petrol engines, making the Accent CRDi easier to drive. Fifth and sixth gear are highly geared for economy. In sixth gear the Accent CRDi simply lopes along at 110 km/h barely hitting 2000 rpm.

During our open road driving we found the car to be using four to five litres per hundred kilometres when driven with economy in mind. Harder driving and hilly roads could see this rise to the five to six range, but that’s still excellent. Around town we would also expect the Hyundai Accent CRDi to use fuel in the latter range.

This Hyundai Accent handles nicely, has minimal body roll and no bad road manners that we could find. It is as well suited to city driving as open roads with the turbo diesel and high gearing making it simply lope along in the bush.

Verdict

Hyundai Accent CRDi is a good looking car that doesn’t give the appearance of being a stripped down economy special. It’s simple to drive and park and its low purchase price seems assured of success in the Australian sales race.

Pricing guides

$10,990
Based on 65 cars listed for sale in the last 6 months
Lowest Price
$5,000
Highest Price
$15,990

Range and Specs

VehicleSpecsPrice*
Active CRDi 1.6L, Diesel, 4 SP AUTO $6,490 – 9,130 2012 Hyundai Accent 2012 Active CRDi Pricing and Specs
Active 1.6L, ULP, 4 SP AUTO $6,600 – 9,350 2012 Hyundai Accent 2012 Active Pricing and Specs
Active 1.6L, ULP, 5 SP MAN $4,950 – 7,260 2012 Hyundai Accent 2012 Active Pricing and Specs
Active CRDi 1.6L, Diesel, 4 SP AUTO $6,050 – 8,470 2012 Hyundai Accent 2012 Active CRDi Pricing and Specs
Ewan Kennedy
Contributing Journalist

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Pricing Guide

$5,000

Lowest price, based on 63 car listings in the last 6 months

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Disclaimer: The pricing information shown in the editorial content (Review Prices) is to be used as a guide only and is based on information provided to Carsguide Autotrader Media Solutions Pty Ltd (Carsguide) both by third party sources and the car manufacturer at the time of publication. The Review Prices were correct at the time of publication.  Carsguide does not warrant or represent that the information is accurate, reliable, complete, current or suitable for any particular purpose. You should not use or rely upon this information without conducting an independent assessment and valuation of the vehicle.