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Rating

Verdict As useful as Prince Andrew

I’ve always thought that being a motoring journalist is a bit like being Prince Andrew. Hugely good fun but, in the big scheme of things, not very important. But now that I’ve just driven a Hyundai Accent, I’m not so sure.

I can understand the reasoning of an uninformed buyer. On the face of it the Hyundai Accent appears to be the same sort of size and shape as a Volkswagen Golf. If you’d heard of neither, you’d look at the Hyundai’s £9,400 price tag and almost certainly wonder why the Golf costs £3,000 more.

This then is where motoring journalism starts to make sense. Because having driven all the family hatchbacks you might be considering, I can tell you with absolute certainty that You Should Not Buy A Hyundai Accent. Dynamically, the Accent is possibly the worst new car on the market today.

On its own, however, I know this is not enough of a deterrent.

So consider the implications of depreciation. The pipe smokers’ bible, known as Which?, recently found that some Korean and Malaysian cars lose 77% of their value in the first three years compared with a 50% loss on various European alternatives.

So there it is – I do hope that my review has been helpful. Or at least more useful than Prince Andrew.

Price when tested (Jan 2005) £9,395

Model discontinued

Engine 1493cc, three cylinders

Power 81bhp @ 4000rpm

Torque 136 lb ft @ 2250rpm

Transmission Five-speed manual

Fuel/CO2 56.5mpg (combined) / 145g/km

0-62mph 14sec

Top speed 106mph