People carp that I review too many high-ticket luxury cars that only fat cats can afford.
I plead nolo contendere, which is Latin for "no contest" — the weasel plea that allows you to claim you were framed after you get out of jail.
But I think I deserve a suspended sentence in this case, or at least credit for time served. Why should I take the fall for the car companies just because they like to send their priciest, full-zoot rides into the media arena?
Actually, you can't blame them. Would you want some newspaper car critic out in Utah reviewing the best your lineup has to offer, or would you send him some stripped-down ("de-contented" is the industry word) slug headed for a corporate car pool?
You see? You must jog in the other person's Nikes before you deny him the bronze medal, if I may be allowed an Olympic allusion.
All this self-righteousness is my way of setting you up for this week's test car, a 2000 Hyundai Accent GL, the base price of which is under $10,000. More than $300 under, to be precise, so don't you feel bad now for convicting an innocent man?
But I hold no grudges. Just remember the Hyundai Accent the next time I write about the latest $90,000 Mercedes-Benz.
I feel particularly smug about reviewing the Accent, all new for 2000, because it's not just a cheap car, it's a very good car, and probably the best value I've come across in a long time. The California Automobile Club agrees with me. Earlier this month it named the Accent GL "Best Overall Value," beating out the Toyota Echo and Kia Sephia.
Let's get specific about price. The four-door GL's base price is $9,699, which includes a nice array of stanard equipment, including airbags, intermittent wipers, rear-window defroster, AM/FM cassette stereo, remote trunk, fuel door and hood releases; 60-40 split-rear seat, tach and digital clock, carpeted trunk, center console with cup holders . . . hardly a stripper.
My tester came with a $1,250 options package that added air conditioning, power windows/locks/mirrors and a 100-watt CD upgrade to the sound system. Carpeted floor mats and mud guards added another $115, and the delivery charge brought the bottom line to $11,064. The only convenience goody I missed was a cruise control.
But if price were everything, we'd all be driving Yugos, right? But the Accent is no Yugo; it's not even a Hyundai — at least not the Hyundai of the 1980s that cost the Korean carmaker its chance to make a good first impression when buyers found that the Excel's low price equated to tepid performance and poor reliability.
But give Hyundai credit, it has hung in through all the turmoil that has hit the Korean auto industry in recent years, and it has kept improving its products.
The Accent is the subcompact of the Hyundai lineup, which includes the compact Elantra, Tiburon sportster and top-end Sonata.
Despite its small size, the Accent is roomier than some other subcompacts I've tested and can accommodate four adults in reasonable comfort on its new wheelbase, which is 1.6 inches longer than its predecessor's.
It's even somewhat fun to drive, powered by a 1.5-liter 12-valve SOHC engine that seems smoother and peppier than you would think possible for a 95-horsepower four-banger. My tester had a smooth-shifting five-speed manual transmission that makes the most of those 95 ponies, but a four-speed automatic is available as an option. My advice for buyers in this category: Learn to drive a stick shift.
If you do, you'll be rewarded with fuel mileage of 28 mpg in city driving and 36 on the highway — I averaged 35 mpg in my week behind the wheel, which was heavy on the freeway miles. With regular unleaded at about $1.59 a gallon, this is more than a fringe benefit.
Still worried about past reliability problems? Hyundai thought you might be, and that's why it offers the "Hyundai Advantage," which is the best warranty available for any car: bumper-to-bumper coverage for five years or 60,000 miles, which is more than than you get on most cars at twice the price.
You also get 24/7 roadside assistance coverage for five years (no mileage limit) that includes emergency towing, lock-out service and some coverage for expenses if your trip is interrupted for car problems.
Finally, original owners get limited powertrain coverage for 10 years or 100,000 miles, and it stays in effect if you transfer ownership to another family member. If you sell it out of the family, the new owner still gets the five-year, 60K warranty. Oh, and there's no deductible on the coverages, not even its five-year, 100,000 anti-perforation warranty (body holes caused by rusting). Sounds like Hyundai believes in its products to the max and, apparently, buyers are getting the message. Hyundai sales topped all of 1999 through the first eight months of 2000 and are up 60 percent year-to-date.
E-mail: max@desnews.com