2012-Chevrolet-Sonic-LTZ-front-three-quarter-in-motion

FIRST PLACE: Hyundai Accent

Consider these facts: The Accent achieved the greatest observed fuel economy of the group at 32.4 mpg, has the quickest 0-60-mph acceleration of the group, the strongest quarter-mile acceleration, has the shortest stopping distance of all contenders, the second cheapest as-tested MSRP, and ties the Kia for longest warranty. Impressive, no?

Plus, pretty much all the techy college-kid turn-ons are present and accounted for. Bluetooth, iPod integration, satellite radio -- all here. The engine is the same 138-hp direct-injection mill found in the Rio, but here it feels stronger, smoother, and less noisy (improved sound insulation is likely to thank for the last two), and the six-speed transmission helps the Accent stay relaxed at freeway speeds. While not quite as quiet and comfortable at a high-speed cruise as the Sonic, the Accent is really the only contender that comes close.

In fact, the Accent seemed to drive more like a small C-segment car than a B-segment car, an impression partially explained by its longer wheelbase. At 101.2 inches, the Hyundai and Kia Rio have the only wheelbases over 100 inches in this comparison. That fact, plus a fairly compliant suspension tune, leave the Accent feeling like a more grown-up car than its subcompact brethren.

"In many ways, the Accent is the most mature car here," concurs Lieberman.

The Accent's styling helps, too. Love or hate Hyundai's "Fluidic Sculpture" design language, most judges thought the Accent's interpretation was the best yet (Veloster excluded), appearing much more subtle and restrained than the Sonata. Interior styling had some takers and some passers, with plenty of praise for Hyundai's build quality but a few thinking the layout was a bit too busy.

We had other gripes. The Accent's steering continues to be a blemish on an otherwise solid car, with off-center response lacking in feel and precision. We also noticed a bit of extra movement in the car's suspension over certain surface imperfections, as is common with other Hyundai/Kia models. Still, the car remained reasonably well composed over twistier sections of our road loop, and was even called "sporty" by one evaluator, who rationalized his remark with, "though I suspect it's by accident."

"The Accent hits the mark on blending value, performance, and efficiency, so my hat's off," Kong summed up.

Well done, Hyundai.

Astute readers may notice a few dissimilarities between our findings in this test and those of our 2012 Car of the Year program. Of the cars that participated both tests, only the Chevrolet was voted a Car of the Year finalist. Yet the Hyundai won here. So what gives?

COTY consideration goes to a model's entire lineup, and Hyundai sent us a racy Accent SE hatch like this one and its quotidian, heavier GLS sedan counterpart. That six-speed automatic buzzkiller loafed to 60 mph in 9.2 seconds. Chevy perhaps cunningly refrained from sending along a ho-hum low-torque 1.8-liter Sonic sedan. This, along with our incredulity that GM might finally have created a cool B-car, advanced the Sonic to the COTY finals. Here we're zooming in on seven of the sportiest examples of the subcompact segment, and the Accent provided more value and a better driving experience to more people.

2012-Hyundai-Accent-front-three-quarter-in-motion

POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS	2012 Kia Rio	2012 Suzuki SX4 Sport Back	2012 Mazda2	2012 Honda Fit
DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT	Front engine, FWD	Front engine, FWD	Front engine, FWD	Front engine, FWD
ENGINE TYPE	I-4, aluminum block/head	I-4, aluminum block/head	I-4, aluminum block/head	I-4, aluminum block/head
VALVETRAIN	DOHC, 4 valves/cyl	DOHC, 4 valves/cyl	DOHC, 4 valves/cyl	SOHC, 4 valves/cyl
DISPLACEMENT	97.1 cu in/1591 cc	121.7 cu in/1995 cc	91.4 cu in/1498 cc	91.4 cu in/1497 cc
COMPRESSION RATIO	11.0:1	10.2:1	10.0:1	10.4:1
POWER (SAE NET)	138 hp @ 6300 rpm	150 hp @ 6200 rpm	100 hp @ 6000 rpm	117 hp @ 6600 rpm
TORQUE (SAE NET)	123 lb-ft @ 4850 rpm	140 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm	98 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm	106 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm
REDLINE	6500 rpm	6500 rpm	6250 rpm	6800 rpm
WEIGHT TO POWER	17.9 lb/hp	18.5 lb/hp	22.7 lb/hp	21.4 lb/hp
TRANSMISSION	6-speed manual	6-speed manual	5-speed manual	5-speed manual
AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO	3.83:1/2.96:1	4.12:1/2.91:1	3.85:1/2.98:1	4.63:1/3.36:1
SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR	Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; torsion beam, coil springs	Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; torsion beam, coil springs	Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; torsion beam, coil springs	Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; torsion beam, coil springs, anti-roll bar
STEERING RATIO	15.5:1	15.3:1	15.0:1	12.7:1
TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK	2.8	2.8	2.7	2.5
BRAKES, F;R	10.1-in vented disc; 10.3-in disc, ABS	11.0-in vented disc; 10.8-in disc, ABS	10.2-in vented disc; 8.0-in drum, ABS	10.3-in vented disc; 7.9-in drum, ABS
WHEELS	5.5 x 15-in, steel	6.5 x 17-in, cast aluminum	6.0 x 15-in, cast aluminum	6.0 x 16-in, cast aluminum
TIRES	185/65R15 86T M+S Kumho Solus KH25	205/50R17 88V M+S Dunlop SP Sport 7000 A/S	185/55R15 82V M+S Yokohama Avid S34	185/55R16 83H M+SBridgestone Turanza EL470
DIMENSIONS
WHEELBASE	101.2 in	98.4 in	98.0 in	98.4 in
TRACK, F/R	59.9/60.0 in	59.1/58.9 in	58.1/57.7 in	58.1/57.4 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	159.3 x 67.7 x 57.3 in	162.0 x 69.1 x 61.8 in	155.5 x 66.7 x 58.1 in	161.6 x 66.7 x 60.0 in
TURNING CIRCLE	33.5 ft	34.8 ft	32.2 ft	34.4 ft
CURB WEIGHT	2464 lb	2769 lb	2266 lb	2509 lb
WEIGHT DIST, F/R	61/39%	61/39%	62/38%	62/38%
SEATING CAPACITY	5	5	5	5
HEADROOM, F/R	40.0/37.6 in	39.6/38.0 in	39.1/37.0 in	40.4/39.0 in
LEGROOM, F/R	43.8/31.3 in	41.4/36.4 in	42.6/33.0 in	41.3/34.5 in
SHOULDER ROOM, F/R	53.1/52.1 in	53.3/52.8 in	52.8/51.2 in	52.7/51.3 in
CARGO VOL BEHIND F/R	49.8/15.0 cu ft	51.8/16.8 cu ft	27.8/13.3 cu ft	57.3/20.6 cu ft
TEST DATA
ACCELERATION TO MPH
0-30	2.7 sec	2.6 sec	2.6 sec	2.5 sec
0-40	4.3	4.1	4.3	4.0
0-50	6.0	5.8	6.3	5.8
0-60	7.9	8.1	8.8	8.2
0-70	11.3	10.9	12.1	11.0
0-80	14.7	14.1	16.1	14.7
0-90	18.4	18.9	--	19.7
PASSING, 45-65 MPH	4.5	4.6	5.1	4.6
QUARTER MILE	16.4 sec @ 84.9 mph	16.3 sec @ 84.6 mph	16.7 sec @ 81.4 mph	16.3 sec @ 83.3 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	127 ft	117 ft	123 ft	126 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.80 g (avg)	0.85 g (avg)	0.84 g (avg)	0.79 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	27.9 sec @ 0.60 g (avg)	27.4 sec @ 0.61 g (avg)	27.7 sec @ 0.59 g (avg)	28.2 sec @ 0.57 g (avg)
TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH	2500 rpm	2450 rpm	2600 rpm	2900 rpm
CONSUMER INFO
BASE PRICE	$14,350	$17,564	$15,325	$15,945
PRICE AS TESTED	$14,350	$17,564	$16,985	$17,680
STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL	Yes/yes	Yes/yes	Yes/yes	Yes/yes
AIRBAGS	Dual front, front side, f/r curtain	Dual front, front side, f/r head	Dual front, front side, f/r curtain	Dual front, front side, f/r curtain
BASIC WARRANTY	5 yrs/60,000 mi	3 yrs/36,000 mi	3 yrs/36,000 mi	3 yrs/36,000 mi
POWERTRAIN WARRANTY	10 yrs/100,000 mi	7 yrs/100,000 mi	5 yrs/60,000 mi	5 yrs/60,000 mi
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE	5 yrs/60,000 mi	3 yrs/36,000 mi	3 yrs/36,000 mi	None
FUEL CAPACITY	11.4 gal	13.2 gal	11.3 gal	10.6 gal
EPA CITY/HWY ECON	30/40 mpg	23/32 mpg	29/35 mpg	27/33 mpg
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY	112/84 kW-hrs/100 mi	147/105 kW-hrs/100 mi	116/96 kW-hrs/100 mi	125/102 kW-hrs/100 mi
CO2 EMISSIONS	0.57 lb/mi	0.74 lb/mi	0.62 lb/mi	0.66 lb/mi
MT FUEL ECONOMY	30.8 mpg	27.8 mpg	27.0 mpg	31.0 mpg
RECOMMENDED FUEL	Unleaded regular	Unleaded regular	Unleaded regular	Unleaded regular

POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS	2012 Toyota Yaris SE	2012 Chevrolet Sonic LTZ	2012 Hyundai Accent SE
DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT	Front engine, FWD	Front engine, FWD	Front engine, FWD
ENGINE TYPE	I-4, aluminum block/head	Turbocharged I-4,iron block/aluminum head	I-4, aluminum block/heads
VALVETRAIN	DOHC, 4 valves/cyl	DOHC, 4 valves/cyl	DOHC, 4 valves/cyl
DISPLACEMENT	91.4 cu in/1497 cc	83.2 cu in/1364 cc	97.1 cu in/1591 cc
COMPRESSION RATIO	10.5:1	9.5:1	11.0:1
POWER (SAE NET)	106 hp @ 6000 rpm	138 hp @ 4900 rpm	138 hp @ 6300 rpm
TORQUE (SAE NET)	103 lb-ft @ 4200 rpm	148 lb-ft @ 2500 rpm	123 lb-ft @ 4850 rpm
REDLINE	6400 rpm	6500 rpm	6750 rpm
WEIGHT TO POWER	22.3 lb/hp	20.0 lb/hp	18.0 lb/hp
TRANSMISSION	5-speed manual	6-speed manual	6-speed manual
AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO	3.72:1/3.03:1	3.65:1/2.23:1	3.55:1/2.74:1
SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR	Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; torsion beam, coil springs	Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; torsion beam, coil springs	Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; torsion beam, coil springs
STEERING RATIO	13.2:1	14.1:1	14.9:1
TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK	2.3	2.4	2.9
BRAKES, F;R	10.8-in vented disc; 10.2-in disc, ABS	10.8-in vented disc; 9.0-in drum, ABS	10.1-in vented disc; 10.3-in disc, ABS
WHEELS	6.0 x 16-in, cast aluminum	6.5 x 17-in, cast aluminum	6.0 x 16-in, cast aluminum
TIRES	195/50R16 83V M+SBridgestone Turanza EL400	205/50R17 88HHankook Optimo H428	195/50T16 83H M+SKumho Solus KH25
DIMENSIONS
WHEELBASE	98.8 in	99.4 in	101.2 in
TRACK, F/R	57.5/56.9 in	59.4/59.4 in	58.6/58.8 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	154.7 x 66.7 x 59.4 in	159.0 x 68.3 x 59.7 in	162.0 x 66.9 x 57.1 in
TURNING CIRCLE	36.7 ft	36.1 ft	34.1 ft
CURB WEIGHT	2367 lb	2765 lb	2488 lb
WEIGHT DIST, F/R	61/39%	63/37%	61/39%
SEATING CAPACITY	5	5	5
HEADROOM, F/R	39.3/37.6 in	38.7/38.1 in	39.9/37.8 in
LEGROOM, F/R	40.6/33.3 in	41.8/34.6 in	41.8/33.3 in
SHOULDER ROOM, F/R	52.5/51.8 in	53.4/53.0 in	53.7/53.4 in
CARGO VOL BEHIND F/R	25.7/15.6 cu ft	30.7/19.0 cu ft	47.5/21.2 cu ft
TEST DATA
ACCELERATION TO MPH
0-30	2.7 sec	2.8 sec	2.6 sec
0-40	4.3	4.4	4.2
0-50	6.4	6.2	5.9
0-60	8.7	8.5	7.8
0-70	12.2	11.6	10.9
0-80	16.2	15.1	14.3
0-90	21.3	19.2	17.9
PASSING, 45-65 MPH	5.0	4.8	4.3
QUARTER MILE	16.8 sec @ 81.3 mph	16.6 sec @ 84.0 mph	16.3 sec @ 85.4 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	118 ft	119 ft	116 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.81 g (avg)	0.84 g (avg)	0.82 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	28.2 sec @ 0.58 g (avg)	27.3 sec @ 0.62 g (avg)	27.5 sec @ 0.61 g (avg)
TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH	2700 rpm	1800 rpm	2500 rpm
CONSUMER INFO
BASE PRICE	$17,160	$18,160	$16,570
PRICE AS TESTED	$17,340	$19,055	$16,700
STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL	Yes/yes	Yes/yes	Yes/yes
AIRBAGS	Dual front, front side, f/r curtain	Dual front, front side, f/r head	Dual front, front side, f/r curtain
BASIC WARRANTY	3 yrs/36,000 mi	3 yrs/36,000 mi	5 yrs/60,000 mi
POWERTRAIN WARRANTY	5 yrs/60,000 mi	5 yrs/100,000 mi	10 yrs/100,000 mi
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE	2 yrs/25,000 mi	5 yrs/100,000 mi	5 yrs/unlimited
FUEL CAPACITY	11.1 gal	12.2 gal	11.4 gal
EPA CITY/HWY ECON	30/38 mpg	29/40 mpg	30/40 mpg
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY	112/89 kW-hrs/100 mi	116/84 kW-hrs/100 mi	112/84 kW-hrs/100 mi
CO2 EMISSIONS	0.59 lb/mi	0.59 lb/mi	0.57 lb/mi
MT FUEL ECONOMY	32.3 mpg	30.6 mpg	32.4 mpg
RECOMMENDED FUEL	Unleaded regular	Unleaded regular	Unleaded regular

2012-Suzuki-SX4-Sportback-front-three-quarter-in-motion

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