BY TONY SWAN
The designation GT has been remarkably elastic over the years, turning up on cars ranging from haughty to humble, but it still seems incongruous attached to a Korean econobox.
After all, anyone considering this car is doing so for budgetary reasons. Whether the budget is dictated by dire economic circumstances or a cheap-as-possible approach to commuting, it all adds up the same way at the dealership. And in this case, the addition looks pretty compelling. Although it's one of the cheapest cars available in America (pricing for a base three-door starts at $9994), the Accent doesn't have that old-time poorhouse feel that once set these cars apart. Hyundai has given up trying to convince us that vinyl serves just as well for upholstery and interior trim as it does for flooring. Pop another grand or so for the GL version, and it gets even more civilized, with a decent list of amenities baked into its $11,144 base price: air conditioning, AM/FM audio, tinted glass, variable intermittent wipers, rear-window wiper and defroster, and body-color exterior trim. Our test car was also equipped with the $400 Popular Equipment package (power windows, locks, and mirrors; six-speaker AM/FM audio with in-dash CD player), definitely worth the price of admission, $65 carpeted floor mats, and the package that justifies (to Hyundai, at least) the little red GT badge on the tail.
That GT package gives the Accent stiffer springs and firmer damping, bigger tire footprints on aluminum alloy wheels, white-face gauges, upgraded upholstery, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, body-color rocker-panel moldings, fog lights, and a body-color wing stuck to the rear decklid.
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