While Hyundai has made great strides in the compact and mid-size segments, with the new Elantra and Sonata, arguably the car that put it on the map was the sub-compact Accent. While a less-than-great piece of engineering in the past, it did serve a purpose. With the second generation of the Accent, Hyundai has infused the car with many of traits of its larger siblings in the hopes of leading the segment with style, features and fuel economy. The plan is that this new value equation will result in big sales. It has.

In its first full month on sale the Accent topped segment leaders, with 6,938 units sold. “The all-new Accent outsold two great small cars we really respect in July – the Honda Fit and Ford Fiesta,” said John Krafcik, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor America. In fact, the sales numbers weren’t even close with the Accent handily out-selling the second-place Versa at 5,359 units, while the Fiesta came a close third with 5,296 units.

Krafcik credits the car’s fuel economy, design and built-in-value. “It’s a good indication that consumers are connecting with our new design, 40-mpg fuel economy, and the Assurance Trade-In Value Guarantee,” he said. “It’s a great recipe for this economy.”

GALLERY: 2012 Hyundai Accent

Click here to read AutoGuide’s 2012 Hyundai Accent Review

The 2012 Hyundai Accent broke cover at the New York Auto Show on Tuesday, but Hyundai has previewed the car before, at both the Montreal and Toronto Auto Shows, with little fanfare or media coverage.

The previous Accent was the kind of car that you bought out of necessity rather than desire, but the newest subcompact Hyundai looks like it will find homes among many, thanks to handsome styling and 40 mpg capability without any special order option packages. Motivation comes from a direct-injection 138-hp 1.6-liter 4-cylinder that makes 123 ft-lbs of torque while returning 30 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway. A 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic transmission will be offered, and automatic transmission models will feature a driver selectable Eco mode that is said to improve “real-world” fuel economy by as much as 7 percent.

Despite its diminutive exterior, Hyundai claims that interior space is so large that the car is classified as a compact. Items like stability control, ABS, and power steering are standard, while Bluetooth connectivity, an iPod connector and 16″ allow wheels are optional. The Accent will start at around $12,000 for a base model, bringing an end to the days where an Accent could be had brand new for under $10,000.

Gallery: 2012 Hyundai Accent

Hyundai has released a lone teaser image of its upcoming 2012 Accent via Twitter ahead of the car’s debut at the NY Auto Show. A cropped profile pic it doesn’t show much, but then again, we’ve already seen it.

Having been shown at several overseas auto shows with a different name on the back, the new sub-compact most recently made its North American debut at the Montreal Auto Show in Canada. We contacted Hyundai Canada and they’ve even provided an extensive gallery of pics of the new sub-compact. U.S. specs have yet to be confirmed, but look for a 1.6-liter direct-injection engine making 138-hp, plus the Accent should deliver 41-mpg on the highway.

Look for full coverage on Wednesday, April 20th and see AutoGuide’s complete 2011 NY Auto Show coverage here.

GALLERY: 2012 Hyundai Accent

Plus, see our video of the 2012 Accent from its showing at the Canadian International Auto Show after the jump:

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Hot on the heels of the debut of the Veloster at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Hyundai has unwrapped the all-new 2012 Accent at the Montreal Auto Show. This comes as a surprise as Hyundai Motor America had said the car wouldn’t break cover until the New York Auto Show in April.

A vehicle that made its name in the industry as being a low cost option for those on a budget, Hyundai aims to keep that price structure while out-doing the competition in every other aspect.

Keeping the same styling seen on the Sonata and the new Elantra, the 2012 Accent is powered by a direct-injection 138-hp 1.6-liter 4-cylinder that makes 123 ft-lbs of torque and according to the Canadian press release gets 4.7 L/100 km highway and 6.4 L/100 km regardless of whether you choose the 6-speed automatic or manual. That works out to an incredible 50-mpg highway and 37-mpg city. (Those numbers are, however, imperial and in the U.S. you’re looking at closer to 41-mpg and 30.5 mpg).

Having grown in size, the new Accent is now 70mm (2.7-inches) longer between the wheels and 5mm wider. This not only makes for added interior space, but the Accent also delivers a sizable amount of cargo volume with 14 cu-ft of trunk space with the sedan and 17.2 cu-ft with the hatch. Despite all this, weight was kept to a minimum, with the new Accent sedan weighing just 2,392 lbs, while the hatchback model is slightly heavier at 2,429 lbs.

UPDATE: Click Here to Read AutoGuide’s 2012 Hyundai Accent Review

GALLERY: 2012 Hyundai Accent

GALLERY: 2012 Hyundai Accent Live Photos

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[If the video won't work for you, watch it at AutoGuide's YouTube channel here]

Official Canadian market details can be found after the jump and details could change for U.S. market cars:

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Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik announced a five-door Hyundai Accent is coming to the U.S., boldly saying it will “kick the Fiesta’s butt.”

The announcement came in a Q&A session with readers on Jalopnik after one reader asked if Hyundai will introduce a five-door Accent.

Such bold talk is rare from a manufacturer, especially from its CEO, but we’re glad to hear it.

The five-door Hyundai Accent is expected to debut at the upcoming New York Auto Show, but we have an idea on what it will look like after it was unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show in China last month as the Hyundai Verna.

[Source: Jalopnik via Autoblog]

Several spy photos have already given us a good idea of what the next-generation Hyundai Accent will look like, but we now have the first look at the hatchback model. Unveiled at the Guangzhou auto show in China, the Accent will be sold as the Verna overseas.

In China two engines will be offered including a 1.4-liter 4-cylinder with 105-hp and 100 ft-lbs of torque, as well as a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder with 121-hp and 114 ft-lbs of torque. The latter engine is expected to be offered in the North American Accent and achieve over 40-mpg highway.

The official reveal for the next Accent is pegged to take place at the New York Auto Show in April.

Official release after the jump:

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Hyundai has confirmed it will debut the Veloster sports coupe/hatchback at the Detroit Auto Show this January followed by the new 2012 Accent in New York in the Spring.

The confirmation was given during a technical presentation by Hyundai execs at the company’s HACHI research and engineering center in Detroit on Friday. Hyundai also provided plenty of details on new engines and transmissions it is working on and while it was never mentioned specifically, we’re lead to believe that the Veloster will make use of a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine mated to a dual-clutch transmission. Power will be 138-hp and 124 ft-lbs of torque and the car is expected to achieve an impressive 41-mpg on the highway. That’s more than the 40-mpg claim Hyundai has made for the 2011 Elantra.

As for the Accent, it is also expected to get the new 1.6L (although perhaps not the dual-clutch setup), and fuel economy should be even better.

Thanks to a post on GenCoupe.com we now have several shots of the next-generation Hyundai Accent. We’ve seen a photo of a similar looking vehicle before and believed it to be the next-gen Elantra, but now there’s proof that it is in fact the sub-compact Accent. The proof comes from a shot of the rear bumper, which not-so-clearly shows that the car is a Verna – which is what the Accent is marketed as in Hyundai’s home-market of South Korea.

We have to say, we’re impressive with the look of this new Accent and it’s been a long time coming with the current model having languished far too long on the market. In many ways the Accent started the modern sub-compact trend, but has since been surpassed by almost everything else on the market. And the sub-compact segment is just starting to heat up with the Fiesta and Mazda2 set to hit dealerships this year, while Chevy’s new Aveo is also due out soon.

Over the next 24 months Hyundai is set to deliver the new Accent to market, as well as an all-new Elantra, Santa Fe and a new sporty coupe.

GALLERY: Hyundai Accent/Verna

[Source: Auto.iFeng.com via GenCoupe]