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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 will add Ioniq EVs to WaiveCar car-sharing fleet

Hyundai Motor America will add its Ioniq electric vehicles to a Southern California-based car-sharing fleet that launched earlier this year with Chevrolet Spark EVs. Hyundai reached an agreement with Santa Ana, Calif.-based WaiveCar in which Hyundai will provide 150 Ioniq EVs to the fleet by the time sales begin for the model early next year. Hyundai may add an additional 250 Ioniq EVs to WaiveCar fleets in other cities. WaiveCar is an app-based car-sharing service that debuted in Los Angeles in early 2016. The company offers drivers the cars for free for the first two hours, then charges $6 an hour for more time. WaiveCar also generates revenue via external advertising wraps around the vehicles, and also features geo-located targeted ads. Take a look at Hyundai's press release about the WaiveCar agreement here. Curiously, and somewhat admirably, Hyundai earlier this week went on record as saying the Ioniq's 124-mile single-charge range won't be sufficient in the long haul. The South Korean automaker has vowed to replace the upcoming version with an Ioniq EV for 2018 that will be able to go at least 200 miles on a full charge. That's not a bad move, considering General Motors is preparing to launch its Chevrolet Bolt EV, while Tesla is working on its Model 3. Both of those models will have 200-mile-plus full-charge ranges. Hyundai announced the incoming sales of the Ioniq EV earlier this year. A hybrid version of the Ioniq also debuted in South Korea earlier this year. Overall, Hyundai is looking to debut more than two-dozen hybrids, plug-ins, and fuel-cell vehicles to the world by the end of the decade. Related Video:

Hyundai working on clean-sheet, hydrogen-powered CUV

Autocar reports that Hyundai is working on its next hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, and that the coming vehicle will be a clean-sheet design and likely a crossover. The South Korean company will soon have its Toyota Prius-fighting Ioniq hybrid on the market, now it is said to have placed a bullseye on the Toyota Mirai FCEV. This follows news that Kia is developing a brand new fuel-cell hybrid for launch by 2020, the theory is that platform will be shared with Hyundai, who will launch it first. The bodystyle isn't confirmed, but making it a crossover would take advantage of two important factors, one being the ongoing sales boom of compact and mid-sized SUVs. The second is that according to Sae-Hoon Kim, head of the company's fuel cell research, "all customer feedback says range and boot space are the priorities." Since bigger tanks typically mean less trunk space, a crossover would offer the best opportunity for maximizing both. A people-hauler could also make design and brand connections with the Kia Niro hybrid crossover. Hyundai is hoping to get a range of 500 miles out of the new vehicle, which would mark a 25-percent improvement over the range of the Tucson FCEV currently on sale. When it arrives it will give Hyundai a dedicated player in three alternative powertrain domains, joining the Ioniq plug-in hybrid and the pure electric vehicle it promised for launch by 2017. That could be seen as merely hedging bets, but the company does believe in hydrogen, Kim saying, "Every solution leads to hydrogen; either you use renewable energy sources to create and store hydrogen, or you use traditional fuels like coal to create hydrogen. Either way, hydrogen is the way to store energy and control supply and demand."