Hyundai Accent

The Hyundai Accent (sold in some regions as the Verna and until 2000 in Australia as the Excel) is a small family car produced by Hyundai in South Korea, India, Russia, Turkey, and Iran.

The Accent is produced for the Chinese market by Beijing Hyundai Co., a joint venture with Beijing Automotive Industry Corp. For Russian market it is assembled by TagAZ plant in Taganrog. In Mexico, the Accent is marketed by Chrysler as the Dodge Attitude, previously Verna by Dodge. In Venezuela, Chrysler marketed the Brisa de Dodge until 2006. The Brisa is assembled by Mitsubishi Motors at its plant in Barcelona, Venezuela. Since 2002, the Accent had been the longest-running small family car sold in North America. In Puerto Rico, it has been sold as the Hyundai Brio.

1st generation (1995-1999)

The Hyundai Accent (X3) was introduced as a replacement for the Excel for the 1995 model year. It continued to be called Excel in some markets, such as the Netherlands and Australia. In France, it was called the Hyundai Pony.

In Australia, the X3 proved so popular (due to its low price) that it was the third best-selling vehicle in the country in both 1996 and 1998. In the latter year, it achieved more than 44,000 sales (a 5.5% share of the total market), a record figure at the time, for an imported car. Between 1994 and 2000, some 200,000 X3s were sold in Australia, making it arguably the most successful imported vehicle in the country's history.[citation needed]

The Accent was sold in saloon (sedan), hatchback, and coupé form in the UK, with a choice of three engines for each: a 1.3 12v (85HP), 1.5 12v (92HP) and a 1.5 16v (105HP) petrol. There was no diesel option (until the 2003 redesign). A GSi spec car was the top-specification Accent with front power windows and a radio/cassette player.

The MVi-spec coupé version won particular praise for its handling agility in the UK. Although the Accent was cheap to buy and insure, its engines were quite thirsty; the 1.5-litre returned 33 mpg average according to list figures.