1997 Hyundai Accent MVi 1.5 from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Leaking sunroof on delivery replaced by dealer. Front tyres (Kumho) only lasted 18,000 miles (replaced with Pirellis). Other than that the cars been perfect for 29,000 plus miles.

General Comments:

98 bhp from 1495cc engine provides good performance and is good fun to drive. Good spec for £10,500 but could do with central locking. Front passenger seat annoyingly does not return to same position when letting passengers in the rear. Make a statement - go for the yellow one (I wish I had). The MVi is the Accent to have.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 17th May, 1999

7th Jul 2002, 06:14

I have found the MVI not bad in performance, after having it for 8 months.

I agree with the faults of the rear seat, and need of central locking in the car,

The antenna is rather annoying, from the point of view of its location, it comes out every time a tape is changed, will be disabling that soon.

Also I find the paint is too thin, stone chips are easily gathered on paint-work.

27th Aug 2002, 13:28

Ridiculously underrated car. I got mine when it was 2 years old with just 7000 miles on it from franchised dealer (probably any previous faults resolved by 2 listed previous owners??)

The car replaced a Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 16v Sport and is superior dynamically in almost every way - steering, performance, handling and ride. The quality of the trim plastics deserves criticism as it scratches easily and the carpets go 'hairy' after a while, but the seat fabric is very hard-wearing.

The car has required almost nothing bar petrol, tyres and routine servicing in the 33,000 miles I have covered in it. Only glitch was a water leak which had the spare wheel well filled with water to the brim - traced to a duff hatch rubber seal which was replaced for less than 30 pounds.

1997 Hyundai Accent XS 1.3 petrol carb from South Africa

Faults:

Gearbox replaced, inner door handles replaced, front tie rod split pin and nut. Intermittent squeal on clutch and strange "hooting" noise from carb - NO ONE can help and it doesn't seem to affect the performance so ???

The gearbox was replaced under warranty, no complaints from them at all! Inner door handles started to disintergrate, must be a known problem as they were also replaced w/o complaints or cost. They get 10/10 for service on these - unfortunately 0/10 for not checking the steering before sale and at 2nd service, luckily the tie rod came off the front wheel and steering was lost at a very low speed at a stop street so no harm was done - just think what would have happened on the motorway!

General Comments:

Generally O.K. for a secondhand demo model (30 000 km when bought). I think the gearbox was abused by the test drivers as it steadily became harder to get it into reverse then later 3rd gear. Not a tarburner but gets you there without fuss and is very economical - about 7.5l/100km. Original free 3 yr/100 000km warranty extended by free! 2yr/80 000 km warranty by Hyundai Select (Hyundai's own 2nd hand dealerships), we've still got 3+yrs/120 000 km of warranty to go! Will go for 2nd hand/demo Elantra 2l or 1.8l next.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th April, 1999

1997 Hyundai Accent Coupe i 1.3 petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Never seemed to get wheel tracking correct - needed new tyres after only 20,000 miles.

General Comments:

A cheap and fun car to drive. A very powerful engine for the price - probably why the interior and accessories are very basic. But if like me you're not fussed about electric windows, etc. then I'd recommend this car to you!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th April, 1999

1997 Hyundai Accent GS 1.5 from North America

Faults:

I have had trouble with the slave cylinder for the clutch. Every now and then it would go to the floor. There is a service bulletin on this problem.

General Comments:

This is a great car to drive, cheap and very economical. I can barely squeeze $9.00 worth of gas into this car and can drive on it for almost two weeks. The Hyundai in my opinion blows the Honda Civic away.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th June, 1998

1997 Hyundai Accent GT 1.5 liter DOHC 16-valve from North America

General Comments:

This car is fun to drive. At about US$3000 less than the hot Japanese rivals such as Honda Civic or Nissan Sentra (U.K: Sunny), the Hyundai Accent GT scores well in every aspect. I didn't see this Korean built car as inferior to the other Japanese cars. Hyundai really puts a lot of effort to make this car good, and asks customers to forget "the old days of Hyundai..."

Unfortunately, the Hyundai Accent GT has been dropped in 98, replaced by the GSi model which only uses a SOHC 92hp smaller engine, instead of DOHC 105hp powerplant. I think Hyundai are making a very "serious mistake." I still think people are willing to spend some extra money to get a better performance engine!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th March, 1998

7th Jul 2007, 19:39

As a fellow '97 GT owner, a mistake it was indeed!