Faults:

Nothing yet.

General Comments:

At the time I bought this, it was probably the only new car I could afford (at the time it was the cheapest production car available in the US), and while Hyundai's reputation for reliability seemed a bit hit-or-miss, I decided beggars can't be choosers and took a chance on it. I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised by this car. While it is the most spartan and bare-bones automobile since the VW Bug, it has been reliable and inexpensive to run.

The "Blue" designation is basically a "heater and key" car. It didn't even come with a radio! No A/C, no traction control, anti-lock brakes, tooth brushers, ego boosters or anything else. I had a stereo installed a few days after I bought it, and put new tires on at around 25k miles, and that's about it.

Performance is okay for a little car; it isn't a rice rocket, but it zips around town nicely enough; I wouldn't want to drive one of these with an automatic transmission, though.

The seats aren't very comfortable on long trips, but overall the car is fine for day-to-day driving. I average about 320 to 360 miles per tank, so the MPG is in the 34+ range; pretty good considering my lead foot.

I live in Southern California, so the lack of A/C can be a bit uncomfortable during the summer, but I can't say I want to pay $1000 for the A/C kit (plus installation). Rolling down the windows is good enough for me (I drove this car through Death Valley in the middle of the summer as well and survived, so I guess you just have to be old-school and tough it out sometimes).

Maintenance is very basic. If I remember correctly, the plugs should be changed every 30k miles or so (an easy half-hour job) and the timing belt needs replacing every 60k, and, of course regular oil changes. The car is easy to work on and I've never bothered to take it in for anything (though I'll probably take it to a dealer for the timing belt). The warranty from Hyundai is very good, 60k bumper to bumper and 100k power train, though I have heard that the company is not always very good about honoring it -- knock on wood, I won't have to find out.

For a cheap, no-frills car, you can't ask for much more.

Faults:

Nothing, it's perfect.

General Comments:

My Prius was at the dealership under warranty. I travel for work, so I had to hold my rental for 15 days.

The Accent was so reliable, it was so persistent with me as I traveled from state to state with it. The handling is awesome, and it is much more fun to drive than my Prius.

I loved that car! I put 5k miles in it in 15 days. It did not complain once.

Faults:

I had this car as a rental. I don't think anything has gone wrong with it. Everything still felt tight and solid.

General Comments:

As stated above, this car was a rental. I had it for three days while my 2001 Camry was in the shop for a sway bar replacement. With that being said, I am comparing the 2010 Accent to the 2001 Camry. By the way, I was never fond of my Camry.

This was a base Accent, the only "options" it had were an automatic transmission and an MP3 hookup (which I didn't use). It had manual windows and manual door locks.

I only had the rental for three days (137 miles), so I will comment on what I can.

The performance was decent for a car of this class. It accelerated well, but it revved extremely high for a calm, smooth acceleration in feel only. Noise during acceleration was abysmal. From zero to thirty on a city street, the engine would often go up near 4,000 RPM. The brakes were mediocre.

The seats were EXTREMELY comfortable! This was a nice awakening from my Camry. The seats fit well and had nice contours. There was plenty of foot room, and my feet did not feel cramped after three miles like they do in my Camry.

The controls were well-placed EXCEPT for the radio on and volume switch. All the switches lit up well, with an "ice blue" color. The gauges were very easy to read, but the dimmest setting is still too bright for the gauges, but perfect for the radio display.

My one complaint about the car was noise. I realize it is a bottom-end car, but it was just so loud inside!

Also, the car felt very lightweight and swayed in the wind at highway speeds.

I did not measure gas mileage, but it is a fuel miser because I only used roughly three gallons over 137 miles (a little over 40 MPG highway).

In conclusion, I recommend the 2010 Hyundai Accent based on my three-day rental. It is fuel efficient, comfortable, and the controls are logically laid out. Driving it was a good experience!