After driving the Hyundai Inster I’m convinced it’s another small EV success story

Introduction

The Hyundai Inster is my kind of EV. It’s small and efficient, but it also arrives packing lots of personality. Alongside the likes of the Renault 5, the Fiat Grande Panda, Citroen e-C3 Aircross and, more recently, the all-new Renault 4, I’m now spoilt for choice when it comes to affordable compact electric cars. That’s a good thing after being subjected to lots of battery-powered SUVs that, whilst being comfortable and all, often lack much in the way of charm. Frequently, they aren’t very efficient either.

Refreshingly, the Hyundai Inster is a more reduced proposition, which falls nicely between the A and B segment and directly into the compact arena. I’d call it a city car as that’s what it’s perfectly suited to, with a small footprint making it easy to get around town. Equally though, the Hyundai Inster is something of a driver’s car, with oodles of fun potential on tap once it’s taken out into the sticks and thrown around a bit.

Considering its diminutive stature, the Hyundai Inster is a five-door hatchback that’s way bigger on the inside than I’d expected. I’m impressed with the power options here too, with a long range 49kWh battery pack being the one to go for unless a smaller battery is going to be fine for hops to the shops. There’s a single electric motor, well over two hundred miles of range and three trim options to choose from. Pick from, er, the 01, the 02 or a rugged-looking top-of-the-tree model in the shape of the Cross.

The styling

Back in its native Korea, the Hyundai Inster started life as the Caspar, which also comes as a petrol edition. For Europe, the Inster has been tweaked a bit, and the overall look is definitely fun and funky. Lower trim levels lack the extra design pizazz of the Cross edition but all levels of this little car work, although I think it needs a bright, zingy colour like the delicious Sienna Orange to bring out the best of those angular lines. Hyundai offers it in matt finishes too, which add an industrial edge to the car, but I don’t think they really do justice to the shape.

Nevertheless, no matter which direction the Inster is viewed from, there is something interesting to be found. The front end, with its trademark Hyundai pixel headlights and cutesy round LED daytime running lights give the car a distinctive entry point. There’s a handy charging port in the nose as well. I like the boxy arches with their plastic liners too for the sides, while around at the back there is a continuation of the pixel-lighting theme with a brake bar that runs across the tailgate.

Head for the Cross model if you want to max out the funkiness, as that packs skid plates for good measure, along with some cool trim flourishes for the interior. However, the interior on any of the trim options is rock solid. I think this is one of the most distinctive cockpits currently on offer, with a heady blend of practicality mixed with eye-catching details.

There’s the neat design of the driver’s seat, for example, and great little storage spaces all over the place. The biggest surprise, though, is that space levels are excellent in the front and not bad in the back either, topped off with generous headroom. The boot space isn’t the biggest, but Hyundai has come up with a compromise because the rear seats can be moved to suit your needs. It’s all very cleverly thought out.

The drive

I wasn’t expecting the Hyundai Inster to be quite as zippy as it is. This is quite an upright car, so I thought it might be a little all over the place in the bends, but it’s surprisingly stable and well planted. There’s enough power too, with 113bhp a good amount of torque on tap. Around town, that makes the Inster’s front-wheel drive setup work perfectly. However, out on the back roads it felt like it was suspiciously easy to spin the little Hyundai’s wheels and that was in the dry.

Nevertheless, during my time behind the wheel this car is typically Korean, in that the efficiency seems very decent with up to – and occasionally over – 5 miles per kWh possible. The 220-plus mile range seems perfectly achievable and, because the battery pack isn’t huge, it’s relatively quick to recharge via 80kW DC. Not the fastest, but fine for this sort of car. Overnight charges at home, too, should be the perfect way to go with running this car on a regular basis.

The performance stats aren’t exactly blistering, with 0-60mph arriving in 10.4 seconds, and a top speed of 93mph. I tried the Hyundai Inster on a section of dual carriageway though, and once it got going it moved along very nicely. The best moments, however, were had when I was trundling around country lanes and also working it through crowded streets. Parking the Inster into tight spots was a breeze too. Best bit, as is often the case with EVs, has to be the one-pedal driving option.

The technology

Hyundai’s Inster comes with a drive layout that will be very familiar to anyone who’s driven other models in the range. There’s the chunky drive selector down by the steering wheel, which is also laid out with functionality in mind. In front of the wheel, there’s a very neat little pod that displays driving and efficiency information. This can be customised and some of the graphics are great, like the way one view shows animated cubes that emulate flames when Sport mode is engaged. Standard dials can be viewed if preferred, mind.

Across the top of the central part of the dash is where Hyundai has squeezed a 10.25in touchscreen, which is high enough to work with and not be too distracted from the road. Hyundai has the touchscreen arrangement well-honed by now and I liked the way it worked here. Down below the screen and central vents, there’s an array of physical controls plus buttons that matter. Back over on the steering wheel, drive modes can be controlled by a circular button, again like that seen in other cars from the range.

Hyundai Inster verdict

The Hyundai Inster is a hit for me, even though there are several other temptations when it comes to buying a compact EV right now. Of the three model variants, the 02 with the larger battery pack for £26,745 is the one to go for; it’s got some great trimmings, including 17in alloys and roof rails for additional head-turning appeal. Some might find the kooky interior design a little too much for their tastes, but I love the sense of fun that oozes from every millimetre of this car.

Hyundai Inster technical specifications