Hyundai Accent reviews

2006 Hyundai Accent Interior Features

Perhaps more than anything it's the interior of the new 2006 Hyundai Accent that has been improved over the 2005 models. For starters, there's a much better view out. The hip point in the driver's seat is two inches higher than in the old Accent, giving the driver a better view of the road. The new Accent cabin has a conservative two-tone interior color scheme reminiscent of larger cars and it's trimmed out quite nicely, helping it avoid the feeling of an econobox.

The dashboard wraps around to the door panels and the center stack is nicely integrated, with large, well positioned, climate control knobs. The big speedometer and tachometer are located in a nicely contoured instrument pod in front of the steering wheel. Smaller fuel and coolant temperature gauges are set inside, along with a small LCD readout for the odometer and trip meter as well as an indicator of the selected gear.

The seats are contoured and finished in a classy cloth material that feels high quality. The driver's seat is eight-way adjustable on all models.

The rear seat splits 60/40 for additional storage capacity. For better rearward visibility, the three rear-seat headrests slide down into the seatback when not needed, a design referred to as shingle-style. There's even a fold out center armrest with two cupholders in the rear.

Rear-seat leg room and headroom is not too bad unless the car is full of six-footers. Getting into the back seats was made easier by locating the rear wheels farther back, so the wheelwell does not intrude into the door opening as much.

Several nice touches prevent the Accent from feeling like a cheap econobox. Among them: dampened grab handles, a thick roof lining, center folding front and rear armrests, a tilt steering wheel, a micro roof-mounted antenna, driver and passenger side-illuminated vanity mirrors, cabin air filtration, remote trunk and fuel cap releases, and a windshield shade band. There are decent size pockets with a cup holder in each door. In addition there are other storage places and a big glovebox.