Vive Le Quebec Special: Hyundai Accent Is Now Canada's Cheapest New Car

by Derek Kreindler

Published: January 15th, 2015

vive le quebec special hyundai accent is now canada s cheapest new car

The Nissan Micra has officially lost its title as “Canada’s Least Expensive New Car”. Now, the cheapest new car is now the Hyundai Accent.

A new promotional program by Hyundai to celebrate the signing of a Canada-South Korea Free Trade Agreement has seen the base 2015 Hyundai Accent L Manual ( aka the “Quebec Special, with no A/C or other creature comforts) priced at $9,400, or $600 less than a base model Nissan Micra. Even the Mitsubishi Mirage starts at $12,198 in the Great White North, making the Accent, and the Elantra L Quebec Special an incredible value.

Of course, two things stand in your way.

While these two cars are qualitatively and quantitatively superior to the Micra and Mirage, you’ll have to find them on dealer lots first. Not an easy task outside of La Belle Province, where people demand these loss leaders in real quantities.
You’ll almost certainly want to upgrade to a better trim level. No A/C is a major drag in many parts of the country.

#Canada #Hyundai #HyundaiAccent #Mitsubishi #MitsubishiMirage #Quebec #QuebecSpecial

Derek Kreindler

More by Derek Kreindler

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 58 comments

Maestromario on Jan 15, 2015

I'm surprised how many Nissan Micra I see on the road in Montreal.

Like Reply
Big Al from Oz on Jan 16, 2015

Those prices seems quite cheap. What is the average or median wage in Qubecistan? The Accent would make an ideal second car, cheap to run and it would be reliable enough.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

EBFlex Garbage but for less!
FreedMike I actually had a deal in place for a PHEV - a Mazda CX-90 - but it turned out to be too big to fit comfortably in my garage, thus making too difficult to charge, so I passed. But from that, I learned the Truth About PHEVs - they're a VERY niche product, and probably always be, because their use case is rather nebulous. Yes, you can run on EV power for 25-30 miles, plug it in at home on a slow charger, and the next day, you're ready to go again. Great in theory, but in practice, a) you still need a home charger, b) you paid a LOT more for the car than you would have for a standard hybrid, and c) you discover the nasty secret of PHEVs, which is that when they're on battery power, they're absolute pigs to drive. Meanwhile, to maintain its' piglike battery-only performance, it still needs to be charged, so you're running into all the (overstated) challenges that BEV owners have, with none of the performance that BEV owners like. To quote King George in "Hamilton": " Awesome. Wow." In the Mazda's case, the PHEV tech was used as a performance enhancer - which worked VERY nicely - but it's the only performance-oriented PHEV out there that doesn't have a Mercedes-level pricetag. So who's the ideal owner here? Far as I can tell, it's someone who doesn't mind doing his 25 mile daily commute in a car that's slow as f*ck, but also wants to take the car on long road trips that would be inconvenient in a BEV. Meanwhile, the MPG Uber Alles buyers are VERY cost conscious - thus the MPG Uber Alles thing - and won't be enthusiastic about spending thousands more to get similar mileage to a standard hybrid. That's why the Volt failed. The tech is great for a narrow slice of buyers, but I think the real star of the PHEV revival show is the same tax credits that many BEVs get.
RHD The speed limit was raised from 62.1 MPH to 68.3 MPH. It's a slight difference which will, more than anything, lower the fines for the guy caught going 140 KPH.
Msquare The argument for unlimited autobahns has historically been that lane discipline is a life-or-death thing instead of a suggestion. That and marketing cars designed for autobahn speeds gives German automakers an advantage even in places where you can't hope to reach such speeds. Not just because of enforcement, but because of road conditions. An old Honda commercial voiced by Burgess Meredith had an Accord going 110 mph. Burgess said, "At 110 miles per hour, we have found the Accord to be quiet and comfortable. At half that speed, you may find it to be twice as quiet and comfortable." That has sold Mercedes, BMW's and even Volkswagens for decades. The Green Party has been pushing for decades for a 100 km/h blanket limit for environmental reasons, with zero success.
Varezhka The upcoming mild-hybrid version (aka 500 Ibrida) can't come soon enough. Since the new 500e is based on the old Alfa Mito and Opel Adam platform (now renamed STLA City) you'd have thought they've developed the gas version together.