Updated Dec 11th, 04
The Accent is 4 years old now and has covered about 70, 000 km. Its been driven hard and fast. Over rotten Bangalore roads and slightly better highways all over karnataka.
Good things first:
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Driving is super easy. One hand or rather a few fingers is enough to drive around the city. The power steering feels good in the city. A bit vague on highways but you cant really go more than 100-120kmph.
The engine likes to be revved hard. Step hard on the accelerator and In 1st 2nd and 3rd gears the car shows decent speed and can keep up or outbeat most cars.
The engine is not as silent as other cars. It has a low growl and feels more powerful than it is. But I like the sound actually.
Even after 4 years the car still feels solid and well put together. No squeaks or rattles.
The interiors have borne abuse well.
The body is still in good shape. No rust anywhere even though it was used in Mangalore for a long time. The paint is still in good condition. A few scratches here and there but thats all.
If theres only 1-2 people in the car it manages to handle potholes pretty well. Bad roads are also taken care off. You can safely drive at 80-90 kmph over bumpy and roadless areas (Ex: the stretch between Hubli and Panjim).
A bit more sound from the suspensions than I would have liked. It might be because the wheels are too small for the car. An inch or two extra diameter and things might have been different.
Problem is when the car is packed with 5 passengers. The suspension cant handle it and the car just sinks. But thats already discussed below.
Every single light still works.
No problems at all from the power windows and auto lock system in 4 yerars.
Inside the car
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Interiors could have been better. Its a bland shade of grey, but no complaints.
Some cup holders are too small for the average Mug and the bottle holder is too narrow.
Has a cigarette lighter. Useful for me.
The AC is pretty decent if slightly noisy in full blast.
The wiper control has a feature to vary the speed. This is in addition to the normal hi and low settings. Cool.
The driver has a footrest for the left foot. Very helpful as it reduces the time to make gear shifts.
Cost
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Pretty expensive fuel wize. It only averages 8-10 kmpl (36 miles to the british gallon).
Did a major maintenance job last month. Replaced a lot of bushes, tyres, some tinkering, suspension components, exhaust, etc...
The bill was around Rs.25, 000 ($500). No wonder the dealer welcomes you with a big smile and positively oozes sugar when you come in.
Overall
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On the whole I’m pretty happy with the car.
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Only meant for smooth korean roads. Five of my family with me driving took off to Tirupati.
The car felt unsafe above 120 kmph. It would start straying all over the road.
The brakes are too soft and the nose digs in when you press the brakes a bit hard.
The worst part is the low ground clearence. 5 of us with a couple of suitcases and I had to take all the potholes at 5 kmph. I had to cross road humps by driving diagonally across or else the middle part of the frame and the rear bumper would scrape across the road hump.
The gear shift lever takes a while to get moving. Cant explain properly but you cant shift gears fast enough.
Good points :
Fully loaded and meant for lazy people to travel on smooth highways sipping gin and smoking a cigar.
Good storage in the boot.
Looks kinda royal like. like an expensive car. I think its like the Mysore maharaja coming to the dussera festival on his elephant.
Bad points:
The car is a pig to drive.
Soft ride like you’re rolling on a boat.
Tight gearshift, the revs take a while to go down or else you just cant shift gears.
Unsafe above120kmph
Bad mileage only 8-9 kmpl