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2018 Hyundai Accent packs compact car style in a subcompact

Hyundai's smallest American offering, the Accent, has undergone a thoroughly substantial redesign. The result is a subcompact sedan that's slightly wider and slightly longer, and looks very much like its larger Elantra sibling. The Elantra's hexagonal, slatted grille, headlight shape, and greenhouse have all been scaled down to the Accent's smaller body. Even the taillights echo the pattern of those on the Elantra. Fortunately, the proportions weren't thrown off in the shrinking process, so the Accent is a reasonably handsome, if slightly conservative, sedan. The new Accent also sports a rather spiffy interior, at least with the red and black upholstery shown. That particular color combo wouldn't look out of place in an Elantra Sport. The dash itself isn't particularly remarkable, but it looks attractive enough and fairly straightforward. It also features a 7.0-inch touchscreen with which the occupants can use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. The seats can also be had with heaters. Hyundai touts automatic emergency braking as an available safety option. Mechanically, the big news comes in the form of chassis rigidity improvements. Hyundai says the new Accent is 32 percent stiffer, thanks in part to more high-strength steel. Under the hood is an updated 1.6-liter direct injection four-cylinder that makes 132 horsepower and 119 lb-ft of torque. This is a bit surprising, as the output is slightly less than that of the outgoing model. On the flip side, Hyundai claims this engine is 7 percent more fuel efficient, and that low-rpm torque has been improved. Plus, 132 horsepower is on par with competitors, and buyers who want to make the most of it have the option of a six-speed manual. A six-speed automatic is available, too. Pricing hasn't been announced for the new Hyundai Accent, but the sedan will show up at dealers during the third quarter of this year. The hatchback version, which has yet to be shown, will arrive in the fourth quarter of 2017. Related Video:

Hyundai, Porsche top J.D. Power APEAL study

Just as they did in the Initial Quality Study, Porsche and Hyundai have taken the premium and non-premium crown, respectively, for the 2014 J.D. Power APEAL study. This is the tenth consecutive year for that Porsche has been rated the best premium make in the APEAL study, which attempts to figure out how pleased owners are with their purchases. For 2014, it asked 86,000 owners of MY2014 cars to rate their vehicles in 77 different categories 90 days after their initial purchase. The resulting figures were plugged in deliver the APEAL score, which is rated on a 1,000-point scale.
The industry average sits at 794 points for 2014, although that's a one-percent decline over last year's rating. In this year's study, premium brands averaged 840 out of 1,000, while non-premium makes average 785. For their part, Porsche netted an impressive 882 points, while Hyundai earned an 804. Interestingly, only four non-premium brands (Hyundai, Ram, Volkswagen and Mini) finished above the industry average for 2014.
It's also interesting to see the clear delineation between premium and non-premium brands, with an eight-point gap between the non-premium champ, Hyundai, and the lowest-rated premium brand, Volvo.

Bisimoto tunes Hyundai Ioniq SEMA show car for efficiency, not power

Automotive tuner Bisimoto is probably best known for its wildly powerful SEMA show cars, such as its 1,029 horsepower Honda Odyssey, and last year's 1,040-horsepower, rear-drive Hyundai Santa Fe. But this year, the company tried something different, building a Hyundai Ioniq hybrid not for power, but for fuel economy. According to Hyundai and Bisimoto, the resulting HyperEconiq managed to repeatedly exceed 80 mpg, based on 83 tests by the tuning company. That's a seriously impressive gain considering the standard Ioniq hybrid is rated at 57 mpg city and 59 mpg highway. Bisimoto was able to do this by enhancing just about every aspect of the car inside and out. But the most obvious changes are on the outside. The HyperEconiq features a custom body kit with front and side splitters, and a rear spoiler. There are also some prominent wheel spats, something we haven't really seen since the first-generation Honda Insight. The car also features lightweight, one-piece carbon fiber wheels from Carbon Revolution, and they're shod in high-silica low rolling resistance tires. Aluminum brake calipers further lighten the car, and coilover suspension lowers the car for better aerodynamics. There are a few other mechanical changes under the skin, too. The engine features unique low-friction 0W20 oil from PurOl. It has also been tweaked so that more air can be pulled in during valve overlap, and the exhaust was upgraded to improve exhaust flow out of the engine. The overall look is rather attractive. The body kit makes the car look sportier and more aggressive, and the carbon wheels are a nice accent to the dark gray color. We're still undecided on the looks of the wheel spats, but if they're functional, it's hard to argue with them. It will also be interesting to see if hypermiling upgrades enter the aftermarket mainstream. Related Video: Featured Gallery Bisimoto Hyundai HyperEconiq: SEMA 2017 Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog.com Aftermarket Green SEMA Show Hyundai Fuel Efficiency Hatchback Hybrid Sedan hyundai ioniq bisimoto