Has anyone bought a 2012 Accent yet ?

I rented one two weeks ago and put about 900 miles on it. Mostly flat freeway driving at 60-70 mph. My mpg average was 36 mpg. It was a decent car, however it seems to be made for around town driving, not freeway and certainly not Texas long distances. Horsepower was sufficient but lacked torque.

Dislikes:

1. Car had a lot of road noise and I had to wear ear plugs.
2. The left arm rest has absolutely no padding and is hard on the elbow. Passenger seat has no left arm rest.
3. I did not like the blue info screens. They cannot be seen with polarized sunglasses on.
4. The gas tank seems to be 10 gallons. 10 gallons is not enough fuel for for Texas. I had to fill up about 20 miles from my destination.
5. The head rests are horribly bent forward making the front seat people bend their heads forward and downward. It is very uncomfortable if you sit upright. I'm not into the laid back barrio brother style of driving.
6. The sun visors do not extend and are insufficient.
7. No electric trunk unlock. Had to use key or cable.

The fuel tank is actually 11.4 gallons, about 10 useable in reality. If you got 36 mpg, it is not much difference in range of full sized cars with 15 gallon tanks and 25 mpg. Not so good in Texas, but one of my co-workers fills up every 4 to 5 weeks here in New England

As for your dislikes, what is your regular driver? The Accent is a $15,000 entry level car and everything in that class is about the same as what you experienced and features it lacked. I'd miss those arm rests and trunk lock too, but I'd not expect them on a low end car. I drove a Yaris for about 40 miles and was glad for it to be over.

Personally, I'd not consider one for the reasons you mentioned. I think we're spoiled. Maybe an Elantra would be a better fit if I wanted smaller.

I rent a car about every two weeks, somewhere in the USA, and found that the head rest problem happens in most cars. Its not just me, other people complain, also.

My own daily driver is a 2006 Kia Spectra (H-Elantra). Its one of the most comfortable to drive cars I have ever had, but... its noisy and I have to wear ear plugs and it only gets 24 mpg around town. By far its the easiest to work on I have ever had.

Paul, I want to clarify that it was a 6 speed AUTO trans. 2012 Accent you rented, right ? I test drove one and took it up to 50 mph and thought it was sufficiently quiet without the radio on . I was especially delighted with the acceleration response of the re-designed

1.6 (?) litre motor , the feel of the steering , and the enormous leg room being 6'3" tall . Do you remember how many RPMS you were turning in 6th gear going 70 mph ? What KIND of noise where you getting that you found objectionable ....wind noise, engine noise, or ???? . Thanks. Dave.

Good question about the trans. I don't know how many speeds the trans had though. It was a 2012, 1.6L, with 8474 miles when I got it. IIRC, it ran at about 2950 rpm at 70 mph. The last gear is usually o/d, but the first

4 or 5 make getting there easier. I guess power and noise are relative to the driver's previous experiences. The Accent had ok power. The road noise was as bad as my Kia. In other words, ear plug time. Thats normal for a small, light weight car. IMO, its a nice around-town car but not meant for freeway driving. The mileage was good at 36.

For quiet, like when I have to pick up one of the VP's at an airport somewhere, I rent a Ford Taurus. For power and handling fun, I rent a Ford Fusion V-6. But neither of those are entry level.

Ok, thanks for the added info. I think the Accent will fit the bill for my limited driving . Have you driven another entry car that was more impressive for the money ?

I've driven less impressive. Aveo, Yaris.

I think the Accent will be nice around town car.

Trying to remember what all I rented in the last year without pulling up all my expense reports.... ... I am limited to what ever small to mid size is available at rental places. These are the ones that I remember. There were more. Several of them more than once. Toyota: Yaris, Corolla, Matrix, Camry, Prius: I don't like Toyota. Chevy: Cruz, Malibu, Impala: I liked the Cruz and Malibu. Ford: Mustang, Fusion, Taurus, Focus, Escape: Fusion is my fav rental. Dodge: Avenger: ok but I had to forcibly remove the plastic chrome from the dash and console due to terrible sun glare. Chrysler: 200: ok Hyundai: Accent, Sonata: ok Nissan: Versa, Sentra, Altima: ok

I'm still trying to find an Evo to rent! Paddle shifting mountain roads is great!

I own one. We have about 4100 miles on ours so still breaking it in. There are pro's and con's about the whole vehicle. Like someone else said, you need to judge the car for what class it is. Most people who buy this car are needing a new cheaper car to operate. Cheap gas, cheap maintenance, cheap payments, etc. etc.

This is my second Accent, we traded in my 2004 for this one. Comparing those two are night and day different. To your original question about gas mileage, it will all come down to how you drive it. I've been 335 miles on one tank all in town. That was driving VERY conservatively. I do not drive like that at all, but wanted to see how good it would do.

Real word, I average about 24 in non-econo mode, and about 26.5 with it on. I personally do not like the econo mode, but try to use it. On the highway at 70mph I average about 38.5 with the A/C on. Someone posted that they were turning 2950 rpm's at 70mph but I don't know how they did that. Mine turns about 2100-2200 at 70 with the A/C on. I don't even turn 3000 going 80. Oh, mine is the automatic, nothing fancy just regular.

I will say this, this car without being heavily loaded, me by myself and at about half a tank of gas will scoot. I have surprised many of people by smoking them. I'm talking light to light here. That kind of driving is about the only thing that makes this car any fun to drive, well the $22 to fill up helps as well.

Thank you for catching my typo. I meant to type 1950, not 2950.

My experience with the Elantra is that it'll get the 40 MPG in actual highway driving (relatively steady speed, not braking and reaccelerating), but that you need to stop very infrequently to get the 29 city. Stops seem to have a very detrimental effect on fuel economy. Haven't received any fuel economy complaints on the Accent, so I haven't done any analysis.

Great. Thanks.