3,847 km - Arrivederci Accent

On my last trip in the Accent back to the Toronto Star, I plug in the iPod for the first time. Like others have noted before, the auxiliary imput is standard on the cheapest car in Canada. You’ll pay extra in some luxury cars. The very decent sound produced by the radio wipes out the sporadic engine drone which seems to happen at 4000 rpm.

I could be quite happy with this car, though like Kenzie, I’m not sold on the 2-door, it’s awkward for me to stow stuff in the back. Too bad the 4-door sedan is as bland as a strip mall.

The best thing was showing the Accent to people who might never consider it. As one of my guests said, “I wouldn’t be caught dead in an ugly car,” yet she was quite happy to be seen in the Tango Red cheap mobile.

If Richardson was going to be the next driver I’d make sure I tuned all the radio stations to Oprah and Friends as my last act of civil disobedience.  <p>

Arrivederci Accent.

3,804 km - A little pedal heavy

I’m just about to start cleaning up the Accent to take it back to the Star for a new tester to take over.

On Saturday my husband drove it to Collingwood and showed it to his sister and father. They both were surprised how much they liked it. Even sitting in the back seat got the seal of approval from my sister-in-law.

Now about the mileage. Let’s start here. I always remember my father making notes every time he filled up his Pontiac Bonneville with its big 427 engine. I say, what is the point unless you are prepared to change the way you drive?

I got pretty dismal mileage . .  . but with the exception of the trip to Collingwood, it was all city driving, and I guess I’m rev happy. And I showed it to a lot of people and I wanted to showcase the perky engine, and I carried bikes and root vegetables, you know . . . so I averaged 11.5 L per 100 km. So shoot me.

3,154 km - Cruise in the Accent

Near my house in Hamilton there’s a Cruise Night every Thursday at the waterfront.

I took the Accent down just as things were winding up and parked it next to a ton of metal -- a Cadillac Fleetwood.

There were no objections. In fact the Cruise crowd (well, two of them) liked the look, the colour and the intent of the Accent and felt that it had decent room.

A woman slouching near the Fleetwood pointed to the battleship and said, “I bet it’s easier to drive than this thing.”

3,136 km - Mayor kicks Accent tires

Took the Mayor of Hamilton, Fred Eisenberger for a ride in the Accent today. He enjoyed the break -- I took him away from a meeting about bed bugs in public housing.  That’s all I’m going to say about that for now.

Most people tell me they find the styling of the Accent bland, but they all like the perky colour of the Star’s long-term tester.

Here it is looking important in front of Hamilton’s historic CN station.

My observation today is that the surface of the steering wheel is like gripping a pumice stone, might want to wrap that if I owned it.

 

3,120 km - Hanging out in Hamilton

Today I took the boss of the Art Gallery of Hamilton for a ride in the Accent. Louise Dompierre had some positive comments about it and some good questions, basic things we sometimes forget like does it get blown off the road by transport trucks? I’ll research them for my full review in Wheels.

Tomorrow I pick up the Mayor of Hamilton for a spin. Fred Eisenberger leans to green. I think he’ll like the fuel economy of the Accent, but he’s a tall Dutch guy so we’ll see how he fits in.

3,095 km - Roll your own

If I owned this car I  would look into ways to modify some of the faults.

Like all the storage bins inside are hard, slippery plastic. I’m sure at a hardware or kitchen supply joint you could find rubbery things to line the bins. Right now, glasses or a cell phone skitter around like cockroaches on tile.

I just noticed the back windows are fixed. It would drive me nuts as a passenger that I couldn’t roll down my own window.

3,085 km - Great 'mileage'

Sunday’s a day of rest for the Accent. It sits home while I return the Audi TT to home base in Ajax I take a Go train, Go bus and my own feet to get home. The Accent gets great mileage on days like today.

3,085 km - Accent or Audi?

After driving the Accent around town and a short jaunt to the country, my husband says, “There’s nothing I dislike (at this point!). I like the look of it, the radio is good. It reminds me of the little cars in Europe.”

He did find having to plod around the car locking the doors and hatch, “mildly annoying.” But hey -- we all need more exercise.

I am also testing the Audi TT Roadster 3.2 Quattro. It costs $75,750. It has one more gear than the Accent. If you bought the Accent instead, you’d save enough to buy a small condo in Collingwood. Isn’t that the way to look at it?

So far I don’t like the Audi $65 grand more.

3,063 km - biking with Hyundai

Wasted 3 hours watching the Tour de France with my husband, but now inspired he’s off to ride his bike. I prepared the Accent to load the road bike.

The two- door style makes it awkward, I have to climb in the back to lift the bottom seat cushions, take the three headrests off in order to fold seats flat. There might be an easier way to do this. I’ll consult Popular Mechanics.

The folded seats create a lip-so you can’t just slide cargo in-it has to be lifted over the lip…not too bad with a light bike-but a heavy one would be a different story.

We don’t have kids - if I owned the car I would be tempted to leave the back seats folded down, and search for a portable cargo mat that would make the floor flat. Accent-bike-husband gone to recreate the Tour.

3,049 km - what the doctor ordered?

I hope to gather a lot of peer-to-peer review of the Accent.

So on Day One I show it to a friend. Justin de Beer is in the hammer and tong business -- he's an orthopedic surgeon replacing joints like's he's on the Toyota assembly line.

I squirt the Accent into his driveway and he dives into the back seat, the passenger and driver's seat to see how is 6-foot-1 frame fits.

He likes the wide doors which let him into the back with ease: "I'm a big guy with a bad knee and there's no problem getting in and out, and there's decent leg room back there."

De Beer is looking to unload an SUV at the end of his lease, he's not into status cars and he wants to save on fuel. The Accent gets two thumbs up.

"I don't feel hemmed in," he says as he rows through the gears in his driveway. He's putting it on his test drive list.