Hyundai tried its luck on the 3-doors hatchback market with the small-sized Accent, which worked in some countries.
When a carmaker builds a very affordable vehicle, it has to consider that customers will use them for pizza delivery. But Hyundai didn’t care about that. All that it wanted was to offer a good car, well equipped, at a bargain price. And that was the 3-doors Accent.

Based on the same platform as the third generation of the Accent, the 3-doors version was just a way to increase the company’s profit from the same base, and it worked. Its design was not the most successful for the Korean carmaker, but the rounded shapes and sloped tailgate got the customers’ attention. The ascending beltline and the roof-spoiler made the vehicle look sportier than it actually was. For the Canadian market, the carmaker offered an enhanced version with flared wheel-arches and rocker-panels. The taillights were triangular-shaped and placed above the rear bumper to protect them against small parking bumps in the rear.

Inside, the carmaker installed bucket seats with high bolstering and a wave-like dashboard. Its center stack and instrument cluster were the same as those from the four- and five-door versions. There was a straightforward layout with a tachometer, a speedometer, a fuel gauge, and a coolant-temperature.

Hyundai offered two gasoline engines for the Accent 3-doors. It was considered useless to offer a diesel version, even though the carmaker already had the highly fuel-efficient 1.5-liter diesel unit.