Small-car buyers to clamour for light Accent?

Hyundai's new Accent model is the latest offering in the market for buyers who want their cars small, the equipment list long and the price light on the hip pocket.

"Falling levels of consumer confidence appear to be stimulating the move to smaller cars," Hyundai's Director of Marketing, Oliver Mann, revealed during the Accent's local launch yesterday.

Mann went on to paint a picture of a market guided by "five key consumer behaviours emerging": Fiscal restraint, a sense of consumer entitlement, reliance on market intelligence, buyer assertiveness and a migration away from traditional brand loyalty. The restraint is pushing buyers ever more in the direction of cars that are inexpensive to buy and own, but with a prevailing sense of entitlement buyers expect that cheap won't mean spartan. New small cars must provide levels of equipment that would have been unthinkable in large, luxury cars just five years ago.

As for the other 'behaviours', the market intelligence means buyers are better informed about the choice of vehicles out there — and there's nowhere for a car company to hide if it can't match the specifications or pricing of a strong competitor. Furthermore, buyers will assert themselves, demanding retailers match the pricing or value offers from other brands — and that very assertiveness is the flipside to modern consumer thinking, which makes no allowance for traditional brand loyalty.

According to Mann, all these factors add up to an ideal environment in which to launch the Accent. It's a car that's larger than traditional VFACTS light segment cars, but is priced very close or even below cars that appeal to the same sort of consumers.

The new Hyundai has joined the ranks of cars like the Ford Fiesta, the Honda Jazz/City and the Mazda2. In VFACTS-speak, the Accent is a light segment vehicle, but Hyundai already has a contestant in that segment, the i20. To accommodate the new model, the i20 range has been reduced to 1.4-litre variants, leaving the 1.6-litre Accent — available in both hatch and sedan styles — to compete with the similarly-packaged rivals listed already.

"The current i20 range, which extends from a 1.4-litre Active three-door, up to a 1.6-litre Active five-door, will be rationalised. For the 2012 model year, i20 will comprise of a 1.4-based range, consisting of Active and Elite versions..." Mann explained. The i20 Elite is reduced in price by $1000 to mark the migration to the smaller engine.

To illustrate the situation for the Accent, the entry-level Accent Active hatch with manual transmission is priced at $16,990 — the same price as the Ford Fiesta CL and the Honda Jazz GLi. Both the Ford and the Honda are very much in the Accent's target range, but the Hyundai is significantly longer than the Fiesta and the Jazz.

While it may seem that the Accent is a case of overkill, the new model sits below i30 and Elantra, applying pressure to Hyundai's competitors in the small-car segment. Mann says that the Accent also slots into the range just above the i20 — now pitched at smaller and cheaper cars in the light segment. That role was formerly the domain of the Getz, which is now effectively sold out. Only a few stragglers in dealer stock remain, and Hyundai expects those to be sold by the end of the month.

The Accent range is founded on hatch and sedan variants, in three levels of trim: Active, Elite and Premium. A 1.6-litre 'Gamma' engine powers all variants, through a standard five-speed manual or an optional four-speed automatic.

Developing 91kW and 156Nm, the four-cylinder features continuously variable valve timing for linear performance across a wide power band. In combined-cycle testing, the Accent returns figures of 6.0L/100km (manual) and 6.4L/100km (auto).

Riding on a combo of Mac struts at the front and a torsion beam axle at the rear, the Accent's suspension and steering properties have been established from local testing and feedback to the factory in Korea. It's the latest in Hyundai's model range to be tuned for the Australian road environment.

Evaluated by ANCAP, the Accent has been rated a five-star car and boasts features such as six airbags (including head-protecting side curtains) and VSM, Vehicle Stability Management. Not just a stability control system, Hyundai stresses, VSM features a central processing unit to monitor and regulate the car's electronic safety aids (stability control, traction control and ABS) in coordination with the standard electrically-assisted steering system. According to Hyundai, VSM will guide the driver in taking evasive action by varying the level of assistance through the steering wheel in the event of an emergency.

Pricing, as reported previously, competes on an even footing with the Accent's rivals for value.

At $16,990, the Accent Active offers remote central locking, tilt-adjustable steering, trip computer, electric mirrors/windows, a four-speaker audio system with USB/Aux/iPod compatibility, Bluetooth connectivity, 60/40 splitfold rear seating and 14-inch steel wheels. The automatic transmission costs a further $2000 — $18,990.

One step up in the range, the Accent Elite is priced from $18,490 for the manual variants and includes as standard premium steering wheel/gear knob/centre console, piano black/chrome decorative trim, front fog lights, four-speaker audio with two tweeters, luggage hook/net and 16-inch alloys. Also available in this level, the automatic transmission again adds $2000 to the overall price of the car — $20,490.

Topping the range, the Accent Premium is priced at $20,990 for the manual hatch (the sedan is available with the automatic transmission as standard) or $22,990 for the two auto variants. Over the Accent Elite specification, the Accent Premium features 'leatherette' trim, climate control, premium instrument cluster, Rear Park Assist, electrochromatic mirror, reversing camera and keyless push-button starting.

Keep an eye out for our review of the Accent over the next few days.

Key to pictures: Accent Active (red), Accent Elite (green), Accent Premium (blue)

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...