The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Wednesday. March 28. 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER D3 B e s t W h e e l s O a k v i l l e HyundaiAccent GSi packs a lot offun in a compact car 2001 Hyundai Accent GSi By Rob Beintema SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER After all, I figured I had the car pretty well down pat - just another Korean-built economy car with thrifty fuel consumption, enough get-up-and-go to go and get the groceries, reasonable compact car interior accommodation and value-for-the-dollar pricing, thanks to one of the lowest bottom lines in the industry. Ho-hum. But, after picking up my GSi test car, I popped into a Tim's for a takeout coffee. I watched a sport ute pull up beside the Accent, depositing a couple who paused, pointed and paced a slow circle of inspection around the car. I never did ask if they were in the market for a second vehicle or whether the feeding and keeping o f an expensive SUV was starting to wear their sport utility dreams a little thin. But their interest in the Accent was obvious. Now. we can chalk up that initial spark of inter est to innate small car cuteness and an eye-catching color - a garish red that painted the Accent brighter than a hothouse tomato. Or. maybe it was because the freshly washed Accent still sparkled less than a kilometer from Hyundai headquarters. But while this was the first time I noticed people checking out the Accent GSi, it certainly wasn't the last. And let's give at least some credit to the styling. The Hyundai Accent's last bumper-to-bumper makeover was for the 2000 model year. I wouldn't exactly describe this latest generation Accent as a radical restyle but the freshened look gives the car adds a bit of European flavor with stronger character lines muting the previous gen's jelly-bean blandness. A bolder grille is bracketed by larger halogen headlamps. Along the sides, a shoulder line sweeps from front to rear. In back, GSi versions, in particu lar - like my test car - offer a little more styling drama than the squared-off sedans. The leaner, more athletic rear quarters with straked lower fascia are topped with the sporty statement of a look-at-me I didn't expect any real surprises from the 2001 Hyundai Accent GSi. spoiler. The Hyundai Accent comes in two basic body styles - 3-door hatchback and 4-door sedan. The entry-level 3-door hatchback GS - the bar gain basement model - comes stripped down but with a very nice starting price - $12,195. Now, wait a minute, calling this a stripped down model isn't really fair. The GS does include bodycolored molding and bumpers, digital clock, tach. tilt steering, de-powered dual airbags and a few other basics. Power steering adds $400. You can pick and choose extra goodies from the option list but it would probably make more sense to bump up to the next level with the sporty Accent GSi. The Accent GSi lists for $14,295. Whoa, you might say. That's over two thousand bucks more than the GS. And, let's face it, if price wasn't a priority, you wouldn't even be considering the Accent would you? But the GSi package includes the power steering " and a long list of added features like AM/FM CD, rear washer and wiper, manual sun roof, power locks, and a little more pizzazz, courtesy of funky, flecked seat cloth and door trim, white faced gauge and a leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter knob. The sporty interior image is reflected on the outside by added side sill moldings, fog lamps, GSi badging and the spoiler. More significant performance enhancements include wider and lower profile P185/60R14 tires mounted on alloy rims instead of steel wheels, a sport tuned suspension and, last but not least, more power under the hood. The original stock 1.5 L engine makes less than a hundred horsepower - 92 hp at 5500 rpm, to be exact - and, while I once managed to chase higher-pow ered Tiburons up and down some mountain roads, Hyundai execs must have tired of power complaints and comparisons with competitors. For 2001, upscale Accents - the GSi and the GL sedan - benefit from a boost in power, courtesy of a 1.6 L 4-cylinder engine that makes 106 hp at 5800 rpm and 107 lb-ft of torque at a lower and more useable 3000 rpm peak. That's a nice little bump in bravado but you're still going to want to make the most of the motor, flogging the engine with late shifts through a rubbery-but-able, standard 5-speed manual tranny. Unless you're one of those poor saps stuck on the Don Valley Parking lot every day and feel that you (sigh) really, really ought to have an automatic. I drove all the different versions of Accent when the new car was launched as a 2000 model. This lat est generation of Accent is wider, taller, longer, big ger in all dimensions inside and out. The wheelbase has been extended by 40 mm to 2440 mm and overall width is up by 50 mm to 1670mm. Hyundai engineers have also made the .Accent's structure stiffer and stronger. The "A" and "B" pillars have been reinforced and stiffened with injected foam. The cowl crossbar has been strengthened to reduce steering vibration. Side sills, centre panel and roof structures have all been upgraded. The doors are now double-sealed and floor panels have been fitted with vibration absorb ing material to reduce interior noise. Inside, the stretched wheelbase translates into more interior space. More headroom, more legroom and more hiproom. Retesting the Accent reminded me just how much room there is. The interior dimensions com pare favorably with Hyundai's bigger, upscale mod els. In fact, although rear seating still requires some compromise from the driver for adequate legroom, the tall car architecture of the Accent provides more rear headroom than most Hyundais, rivaling the numbers of the new top end large sedan XG 300. A fact appreciated by the taller members of the family. And while comings and goings from the back of most small 3-door hatchback usually involve a lot of grunting, groaning and Houdini-like contortions, my wife made special note of the easy access to the rear, thanks to doors that are wide enough and light-weight front seats that slide efficiently out of the way with the merest push. We've tested cars that were twice the size, twice the price and twice the pain to get in and out of. Don't get me started about squinting to read Hyundai's teeny, tiny radio dials and their tic-tac buttons but my kids countered every argument with admiration of the removable faceplate and just the way the stereo sounded. Maybe it's just time for bi focals. "This radio rocks, Dad," they told me. Okay, okay. Not much else to complain about. I could get all nit-picky here but considering the price and positioning, I always cut econo cars some slack. "I just love it," one young woman told me when she parked her silver-colored GSi near mine. Potential customers should note that power win dows are only available in the sedan; air condition ing ($750) and auto tranny ($1100 plus installation) are extra in all models; and some of the fancier col ors add a $125 paint charge. But the 2001 Hyundai Accent GSi still offers pretty good value for the dollar in a compact car that's relatively cheap to buy, economical to run and even fun to boot. It's worth a test drive. HYUNDAI OF OAKVILLE 7 TIME P r e s id e n t's A w a r d W i n n e r Award based on highest level o f customer satisfaction for sales and sen ice. DISCOVER THE DEST VALUES ON THE ROAD TODAY LEASE FROM -fl 0 /> $ 1 7 9 PURCHASE F IN A N C IN G ' On all A ccent m odels Up to 48 months 1 . 8 ° PER MONTH /48 MOS. DOW N P A Y M EN T S E C U R IT Y D E P O S IT F R E IG H T & P.D.I. on 2001 A ccent & Sonata MSRP 512,195** 2001 SONATA GL LEASE FROM PER MONTH / 48 MOS. $1,995 DOWN PAYMENT MSRP 520,495*' % PER MONTH /48 $1,495 DOWN PAYMENT FREIG HT AND P.D.E. INCLUDED. $0 SECU RITY DEPO SIT PURCHASE F IN A N C IN G ' On all S onata m odels. Up to 36 m onths LEASER FROM^p LEASE $25,250 FRO M sP W V l 1 PER MONTH / 48 M0S. $3,995 DOWN PAYMENT % F IN A N C IN G ' PURCHASE On all Santa Fe m odels. Up to 48 m onths T h e Oakville B eaver R e a c h in g m £ tfr th e c m n u in ifg Long Lasting P rotection: 3-year/60.000km ` B um per-to-flum per" Lim ited Warranty · 5-year/100.000km Powertrain W arranty · 5-year Anti-P erforation Warranty · 3-year/60.000km 24 Hour Roadside Assistance Program, lea sing program avail able from Hyundai Financial Services based on 2001 Accent GS 3-dr $199,2001 Sonata GL $289. Bantra GL $199, Santa Fe $299. per month for a 48 month walkaway lease. First monthly payment required. Security deposit lAccemt $0. Sonata $0, Elantra $0, Santa Fe $299) Freight and POE for Accent Elantra AND Sonata included. Taxes, license and $350 lease aquisition fee extra. 20,000km mileage allowance per year apples. Additional km charge of $0.10. All MSRP prices exclude freight license, POE and taxes All purchases anc lease offers are for a limited time 0 A C . and may not be combined with any other offer. See Hyundai of Oakville for details. Offer good ini March 31/01. HYUNDAI O F O A K V IL L E ) 1071 S P E E R S R l ) . (West of 4th lane) HAMILTON QEW TORONTO For su b scrip tio n in fo rm a t io n call 8 4 5 - 9 7 4 2 9 0 5 - 845-7791