Hyundai Accent SE = new Grassroots Ride?

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/09/in-the-autoblog-garage-2008-hyundai-accent-se/

2500 lbs, a B&M shifter, a real throttle cable and a 110hp twincam 4cyl? I'm sure its not a world beating car but these things are cheap. Hell, you can buy a new base model Accent hatch in Canada for $9,999!

Anyone driven these things? I'd rather save up for a Mini Cooper but I'm sure others feel different. Hyundai certainly makes a good product. My mum's Santa Fe is a wonderful car (for what it is) and the new Genesis is pimp.

That would be an awesome hot hatch, all hyundai needs to do is stuff a 2L under the hood.

Anyone driven these things? I'd rather save up for a Mini Cooper but I'm sure others feel different. Hyundai certainly makes a good product.

Parents had a rental car (autotragic). My father said it hauled ass up to 140km/h with 3 people in it.

it looks pretty for a hatch, and it plays the part.

Horrible build quality though. (like 1980's GM horrible)

gm s build quality has improved?

Ive been eying these as well, Ive a friend who picked one up a bit ago, but i haven't had a chance to look it over yet. just going from specs, looks like you have move up to the SE model to get the good stuff, then that puts you over the 15k mark, but then again you also get the "sport tuned" suspension , 16" wheels, and a host of other goodies, i like the warrentee, though i suppose id void that pretty quick...

I drove one when they first came out in 07. I wonder if they've changed the shifter, because that one felt like crap. Very loose, vague & rubbery overall. Although it was better than the shifter in the Suzuki SX4 I test-drove this week.

I looked at one of these as a possible new car, but what killed it for me? No cruise control seemed to be available on any trim level in either the hatch or the sedan....did I somehow overlook it? The hatch looks pretty good, I like the small size, but the styling of the sedan looks more....mature? more...resolved?

I once drove a mid '90s Accent 2 door for a day. It's not a BAD car, as long as you tell yourself "this is pretty much the bottom of the automotive ladder" (I think that "honor" now goes to the Kia Rio) "and, if I wreck this thing, it won't kill me to see it go to car heaven." Accents don't strike me as the kind of car you develop an attachment to, like a Fiesta or a Mini. They are capable, JUST, but exciting? Not to me.

27 MPG? In what is positioned as an econobox? Thanks, but I'll pass on keep the new Corolla or Fit on my short list.

They did admit to 27mpg while kicking the snot out of it. Unless they changed a lot a guy at work knocks 35 out of his and he drives it harder than necessary.

I had a 05 Accent GT. I realize it was a different body, but some observations from it.

Handled really well, and although slow and underpowered, it was fun to drive. The shifter was crap,and apparently hyundai copied to much off of Mitsu, as the 2nd gear syncros began grinding nearly from day 3 of ownership. Build quality was so/so, interior materials were crap, gas mileage was poor for the size/power. The biggest problem however, was it just didn't hold up to "spirited" driving. If you expect it to be like a mazda and be designed to be driven all the time, it's not, it will let you down. I traded it in at 37k, and got 9K out of it (10.5K new so I was happy). I Really wanted a Tib.GT as they are amazingly fun to drive cars, but after my Hyundai experience, I'm going to steer clear for a while.

I liked these since the first day I saw them. There aren't enough small 2dr hatches to choose from, and if I were looking for one, Its the first car I'd drive. A little (a lot, actually)on the heavy side, but what isn't too heavy these days?

"this is pretty much the bottom of the automotive ladder" (I think that "honor" now goes to the Kia Rio) "

Is this not the same car as the Kia Rio?