New Hyundai Inster 2024 review: quirky EV is appealing despite its high price

Verdict

It would be easy to dismiss the new Hyundai Inster on price alone – especially in top-spec 02 trim. But this is a car that equates to more than the sum of its parts. It’s tough, spacious and good to drive, plus it’s refined, efficient and well equipped. If you can resist the retro appeal of a MINI Cooper or Renault 5, but want something striking that’ll never fail to make you smile, the Inster is a compelling alternative with a personality of its own.

It is notoriously difficult to make money building affordable small cars. Many have tried, most have failed – it’s the reason so many superminis have been consigned to the history books in recent years.

That issue is only exaggerated when you factor in the added cost of electrification; it’s no coincidence we’ve got so much choice when it comes to big, heavy SUVs, yet so few EV options in the city-car segment.

But Hyundai has never been one to conform to industry trends, and as such, is about to launch a brand-new sub-£25k small electric car to hit the new Renault 5 and MINI Cooper exactly where it hurts. It’s called the Inster – and yes, before you ask, that does appear to be a fleeting reference to the much-maligned ‘Insta’ social-media generation.

Based on the Korean-market Casper, the Inster has been transformed from petrol to electric for its European debut. Available with a choice of two batteries – Standard Range and Long Range – and two specs, it’s on sale now priced from £23,495.

At first glance, that makes the Inster look really rather expensive. It’s almost 50 per cent more than a basic, petrol-powered Hyundai i10 Advance, and nearly £5k more than the flagship N Line car. If you’re looking at electric cars, it’s a good £1,500 more than our reigning Car of the Year – the Citroen e-C3.

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Yet take a seat inside, and the package immediately starts to make more sense. The Inster’s doors close with a reassuring thunk, and the cabin appears pleasingly upmarket. There’s loads of kit on our top-spec car, too, though opting for the 02 over the 01 does add a chunky £1,700 to the price. It’s only available with the bigger battery and more powerful motor, too, inflating the cost by a further £1,550.

If you can do without the frivolities on the 02, you can get an Inster fitted with a 42kWh battery that’s good for 203 miles to a charge. This version makes do with a 96bhp electric motor; 0-62mph takes 11.7 seconds and top speed is a still reasonable 87mph.

These 01 cars come with 15-inch wheels (which aren’t nearly as handsome as the larger 17s – at least to our eyes) and automatic headlights, plus climate control, twin 10.25-inch screens, smartphone integration and a load of big-car safety systems. You can select 01 trim with either the 42kWh or 49kWh battery – the latter also benefitting from a punchier 113bhp motor.

You’ll need to step up if you want the bigger wheels, roof rails and LED lights, as well as heated front seats and wireless phone charging. The 02 spec is only available in conjunction with the larger battery and motor.

This is the car we drove, with a couple of options that aren’t UK relevant – namely the panoramic roof and the blind-spot monitoring system. Regardless, the light Newtro Beige and Khaki Brown fabric gives the Inster a light and airy feel – only emphasised by the tall body and large glasshouse.

Practicality is impressive for such a small car, actually. No matter which of the four seats you’re sitting in, you’ll have plenty of head and leg room – even as a taller adult. The completely flat floor in the rear only emphasises this feeling of space, and (on 02-spec cars) you can rake the seats right back if you need more room.

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Do so, and the boot is on the small size, but if you’re not carrying anyone in the rear you can push the split-fold bench forward to make space for bigger bags or extra shopping. There’s a clever board that fills the void between the boot floor and the rear seats too, which stops loose items falling down the cracks. Cabin storage is neither here nor there, but no worse than what’s on offer in the Inster’s main rivals.

On the road, the Hyundai has a large-car feel, in that it’s quiet, composed and even relatively punchy given the comparatively small electric motor. This is a car that weighs less than 1,425kg even in its lardiest form, so there’s not a lot of mass to haul around; the instant torque makes the Inster feel faster than the numbers suggest, and strong motorway manners mean you needn’t feel confined to the city, either.

Arguably the biggest issue – at least on our pre-production test car fitted with the bigger 17-inch wheels – is the ride. It’s by no means a deal-breaker, but the dinky wheelbase means it can bounce about a bit at lower speeds. Things improve the faster you go, but if you’re planning to use your Inster purely as an urban runaround, we’d consider saving some cash and going for the 01 with its smaller rims.

But while that short wheelbase might have an adverse effect on comfort, it gives the car a pointy feel not dissimilar to what you’ll find in the latest MINI Cooper. With the weight down low, the Inster handles really smartly, with the ability to cover ground faster than you might expect. The steering is numb, however – a MINI is sharper in this respect.

Most people buying a car like this won’t be too worried about rapid charging speeds, which is good because the 85kW maximum (73kW on smaller-battery cars) is merely par for the course in this part of the market. It’ll take around half an hour to go from 10-80 per cent on suitably-speedy DC charger, or overnight using a conventional home wallbox.

More relevant is efficiency – an area where cars like the half-pint Hyundai come into their own. Admittedly, we only averaged 3.8 miles per kWh, but our demanding test route of mostly rural roads and motorways was hardly representative of what an Inster driver might encounter on a daily basis. That efficiency figure equates to a range of around 186 miles; we’d hope for 200 miles in the real world – possibly more given every car gets a standard-fit heat pump.