korean accent

Every time I try a Hyundai car, I can feel its progress, and this time the Accent is no exception.

Before launching this test report, I would like to say two things: First, before the start of the test, we first received a questionnaire specially prepared by Beijing Hyundai for Accent (Accent's official Chinese name), which included One question: Compared with other 70,000 to 90,000 yuan economical sedans on the market, Accent's..., before I read the whole question, I have unconsciously started to list domestic models at this price, Fiesta, Maxima, Sail , Vizi/Vile, Fukang, Lingshuai, and the newly launched Chery A520, among which, except for the A520, which we have not tried yet, most of the others are already old, so the direct competition with Accent should be more than the price. The 90,000 yuan Fit, Lecheng/Lefeng and Swift are newly listed models.

Second, the Accent tested by this magazine in Jeju Island, South Korea, is the version sold in South Korea. The "Beijing Hyundai" logo on the rear of the car was temporarily pasted by the factory staff the day before the test drive, so that the Take pictures with us. Therefore, in this test drive, we just recorded the performance of this domestically produced "preliminary version" of the Accent as thoroughly as possible, but did not guarantee that it would fully represent the domestically produced Accent in the future.

The standard of a good car

Nevertheless, if Beijing Hyundai can really set the price of the Accent at 70,000-90,000 yuan, it will set a new price benchmark in the economical sedan market , isn't it very competitive? With the prelude to pricing, the rest depends on whether the actual performance of this car is good enough.

As an economical car, what is considered good enough? Probably should do the following:

First, let the buyer use it decently. It is well-known that Chinese consumers take a lot of face when buying a car. This is not a bad habit, but a result of national conditions. It is not easy for ordinary people to save money, so even a small car of tens of thousands of dollars must be decent enough and big enough.

Second, the space should be large enough. Most of the domestic groups who buy a car of this level like the Accent are buying a car for the first time, and they are a relatively young group (including young families and single aristocrats), so their motives for buying a car are more or less burdened, including parents. If you don't want to carry the "infamy" that makes your parents feel wronged in the car, it is very important whether the compartment space is large enough.

Third, the equipment does not have to be very high, but it must be practical, whether it is entertainment equipment or safety equipment. People all over the world want high configuration requirements. Chinese consumers are not a special case, but they value this aspect more. As a manufacturer, you must understand that you cannot blindly please consumers in order to sell cars, and you must have a bottom line, such as six discs As a car manufacturer, you must have a clear understanding of which is important, CD and ABS, instead of confusing buyers with many visible high-end configurations.

Fourth, the mechanical properties of the car should be matched reasonably, and buyers should know clearly what a 80,000-90,000 car can/should do and what kind of performance it has. This reminds me that there is a car in China, which is of the same level as the Accent. It was just right to be equipped with a 1.3L engine, but the car factory insisted on inserting another 1.6L engine. As a result, the power performance of this car is really good. It is very good, but the rigidity of its body cannot withstand the power of this engine. When cornering quickly, it is easy to feel that the frame is twisting, and the active safety becomes very low. However, many buyers do not know that after buying this car, they feel that the power is very strong, but they do not know that such a combination is a safety hazard.

For the above four points, if the car factory can achieve the first three points, it must be a good car that Chinese consumers should pay for; and if it can also achieve the fourth point, then we will say this car The car is really good enough, and this car factory can be regarded as a responsible manufacturer.

Insufficient fun

The Accent we tested this time has two versions of 1.4 and 1.6L gasoline engine with four-speed automatic transmission, which is also the power matching of the domestic Accent.

These two engines are the current main models of Hyundai Motors - the second-generation alpha series engines. However, in terms of actual performance, their power performance is not outstanding in the same class, especially the 1.4L initial power output is relatively weak, but fortunately its medium and high speed power output and smooth running have reasonable performance. The 1.6L engine with a maximum horsepower output of 110hp, thanks to the help of the VVT valve timing system, performs more calmly regardless of low-speed torque or medium-high speed output. However, compared with domestically sold models of the same level, such as the Fiesta's 1.6L engine, this machine is still slightly inferior in explosive power, which makes Accent lose a lot of fun.

Speaking of the Accent's playfulness, we believe that at the beginning of the design of this car, the engineers did not think about how much fun to control, but branded it a "family car" in its bones. Open, enough is enough. So, in addition to the power not pursuing higher performance, its suspension settings also put comfort first, although not as soft as the suspension of the Maxima (the fourth generation of the Accent), but at a faster speed When cornering, the more obvious body roll will still remind the driver that it should not be too violent.

In addition, Accent's electronic power steering is also a product of the "easy-to-open" principle. Its power assist is appropriate, even weak girls can easily fiddle with it, but the steering wheel’s ability to feedback road information is almost zero.

A family car that meets the standard

Although it is not interesting enough, after a whole day of testing, I can still say that the Accent is an economical car that meets the standard of a good car, and it is the above four points did it all.

First of all, the Accent's body design can be called "efficient" - making full use of the 4.31-meter body length, with smooth lines to outline a well-proportioned, full-bodied, overall not cramped look and feel, and more rare Yes, the Accent's image is more friendly compared to other cars of the same class, such as Vios and Lefeng. In terms of interiors, Accent also did not treat buyers badly. Not only is there no "stingy" in the design, but it also takes care of the functions. It can be seen that the designers have put a lot of effort into the details of the cabin, ranging from ashtrays to large ones. Pillow, pay attention to the unity of function and beauty.

Secondly, in the creation of the compartment space, Accent's designers slowed down the inclination angle of the A and C pillars based on the relatively high body height, creating a compartment with a good sense of space, and then the rear row The seat height is set relatively high, supplemented by a reasonable seat back inclination angle, the Accent's seating space has a very ideal performance. Sitting in the driver's seat, there will be no pressure from the A-pillar. Sitting in the rear seat, benefiting from the fact that the contraction of the C-pillar is not very rapid, the head space is abundant, and there is no sense of oppression.

In terms of configuration, although the model tested this time is not an official domestic version, the person in charge of Beijing Hyundai said that the domestically produced Accent will not be inferior to the Accent we tested in South Korea, and the domestically produced 1.4L The braking system of the model is the same as the 1.6L front and rear disc brakes, rather than the Korean version of the rear drum brakes. Simply list some standard configurations of Accent 1.6L models: ABS+EBD, dual front airbags and pretensioner seat belts, trip computer, hands-free mobile phone, power windows, power mirrors with heating, automatic air conditioning, CD audio , as well as steering wheel audio controls, etc., I believe you already know the Accent's equipment level.

Finally, it's hard to come by the fact that the Accent's body stiffness and power match is reasonable. Because the car factory did not simply use the 1.4/1.6L engine matched with the Accent as a tout, but also made efforts to improve the rigidity of the whole vehicle and reduce NVH (noise, vibration, bumps), so that the dynamic performance of the whole vehicle and driving safety are improved. solid foundation.

With the characteristics of modern cars that are easy to drive, easy to use and cheap, the Maxima and Elantra have achieved obvious success in the Chinese market, so the Accent with these characteristics should continue to be accepted by the public.

The diesel version of the car is actually better

The last thing I have to say is that just before the end of this test trip in Korea, we havetily drove two laps of the diesel version at the Hyundai Ulsan factory. Accent, it left a deep impression on us - there were five strong men with an average weight of about 80kg in the car at that time, but the car showed no signs of weakness when going up a slope of more than ten degrees; on the test track , The engine speed has not reached 4000rpm (the red zone is 4500rpm), and the vehicle speed has reached 160km/h, which is much more active than the two gasoline version cars. Therefore, we guess that if Beijing Hyundai can introduce this Accent equipped with a 1.5L diesel engine, domestic car buyers will be able to open their eyes. Of course, in the absence of the overall domestic policies and hardware facilities, it is unlikely that diesel cars will enter China.