The Hyundai Accent won’t return to Canada for another model year — marking the end of an era for a vehicle that used to be the country’s most popular small car.
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Hyundai says that it will stop producing the Accent for Canada at the end of 2020. In recent years, competing models like the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, and Chevrolet Sonic have also been discontinued in Canada.
The Accent is still a reasonably strong seller, but it has rapidly been overshadowed by even more popular options. Overall, buyers (and automakers) seem to be losing interest in the subcompact car segment amid booming crossover sales.
Over the past few years, Hyundai has expanded its lineup to include more small crossovers. Instead of sticking with the Accent, it will instead concentrate on getting potential customers behind the wheel of the Kona or the new-for-2020 Venue.
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“In the midst of the most aggressive product offensive in Hyundai history, we are rapidly improving the breadth and depth of our successful product portfolio,” Hyundai Canada CEO Don Romano stated in a news release. “The successful introductions of both the Hyundai Venue and Kona represent great opportunities to offer the very best award-winning vehicles on the market to our customers who are seeking entry-level and well-equipped transportation.”
The Venue and the Kona are Hyundai’s most affordably priced crossovers. However, customers considering those models instead of the Accent will have to pay quite a bit more. The Accent currently starts at CA$14,949. The Venue’s starting price is CA$17,099, while the Kona is the most expensive at CA$21,249.
In Canada, the Accent is currently available only as a hatchback (the sedan was cut after 2019). It carries a 1.6-liter Smartstream engine, which is good for 120 horsepower and 113 lb-ft of torque. All three trim levels are available with Hyundai’s new Intelligent Variable Transmission, while two offer a six-speed manual as well.
Driving.ca notes that Hyundai has sold more than 460,000 Accents in Canada since the model first arrived. So, although the Accent’s days at dealerships are numbered, it won’t be disappearing from Canadian roads any time soon.
A longtime editor/writer and recently transplanted Hoosier, Caleb Cook lives in Xenia, Ohio. His favorite activities are reading and listening to music, although he occasionally emerges from the heap of books and vinyl records in his basement to stand blinking in the sunlight. Once fully acclimated to the outside world again, he can be observed hanging out with his wife, attempting a new recipe in the kitchen, attending movies, walking the dog, or wandering into a local brewery to inquire about what’s on tap. See more articles by Caleb.