Designers at Hyundai's California styling studio contributed to the new appearance of Accent. As with other Hyundai products in recent revisions like the sporty Tiburon coupe and flagship Sonata sedan, they managed to integrate some forceful and edgy styling devices into the little car's shapely profile.

The overall form consists of a low-slung wedge marked by a steeply raked windshield and tall wrap of window glass, with a fast slope to the front hood and a brief back deck with blunt tail. Hard-edged lines on the hood sweep inward from thin windshield corner pillars to a bold horizontal grille with egg-crate segmentation and flanking clear-lens headlamps. A body-colored bumper underscores the prow design and fog lamps drill directly below headlamps on either side of a low front air dam. More sharp lines stretch from the front lamps to tail and form shoulders pitched above the relatively flat door panels, which are interrupted only by modest flared rings around wheelwells on front and back fenders. At the rear, corner tail lamps in oversized delta-shaped designs resemble designs common on current European touring sedans.