CarBuzz has only written a grand total of two articles on the Hyundai Accent. That doesn't mean it isn't an important model for the South Korean automaker! Good Car Bad Car had the Accent as the 24th best-selling car (CUVs and SUVs excluded) in the US last year with 79,766 units sold. In an effort to keep the good times rolling Hyundai has rolled out the 2018 Accent at the 2017 Canadian International Auto Show. The new model is fairly conservative with the updates. Funnily enough it is actually less powerful than the outgoing Accent.

The engine under the hood unchanged, a 1.6-liter inline-four. Power checks in at 132 horses and 119 lb-ft of torque. That figure is a slight bit off what the current Accent makes using the same engine: 137 horsepower and 123 lb-ft of torque. The good news is that fuel efficiency is up. Hyundai claims a boost in fuel economy of 7%. The '17 automatic Accent has an mpg rating of 26/36 30 while the manual posts 27/37/31 mpg. You do the math on the expected fuel economy figures and let us know what's what in the comments. Aside from better mileage Hyundai says the new Accent's engine will provide more torque at lower rpms. The chassis is also 32% stiffer thanks to the increased use of high-strength steel.

Transmission options are still a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic with the latter featuring a "Sport" mode. That about does it for drivability improvements. We knew the new Accent was never going to be a wannabe speed demon like the recently revealed Elantra GT. An incrementally improved driving experience plus better gas mileage and updated styling inside and out should be enough to lure in buyers on a budget. The 2018 Accent steals its look from the Elantra sedan and is much slicker than the car it's replacing. Search "rental car" and an image of the old Accent is bound to show up in your browser. Interior highlights include an available 7.0-inch touchscreen equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Also, check out those front seats. They can be heated. Other worth-mentioning features include available automatic emergency braking. Pricing wasn't announced but don't expect Hyundai to stray far from the $14k-ish base price tag of the current Accent. The five-door hatch wasn't shown and may not make the jump to the next generation. Or maybe it will and we'll see it later on this year. That may very well end up being the fourth article we ever write on the Accent.