Hyundai is set to add to its electric-only model range with the addition of the compact Inster hatchback, which is set to rival the likes of the Dacia Spring at the budget end of the EV market.
Based on the brand’s boxy Casper city car that is sold only in South Korea (which also has a van version), the EV (electric car) is powered by a 42kWh battery and a 97hp electric motor pairing as standard.
A ‘long range’ version will also be offered, which uses a larger 49kWh battery pack and a more powerful 115hp motor. While the standard car can muster up to 180 miles of travel on a single charge, while the ‘Long Range’ has a maximum distance of 221 miles on a single charge.
Both versions can charge at speeds up to 120kW, and it reportedly takes half an hour to charge the battery from 10% to 80% at that speed.
While we don’t yet know how the Inster will stack up against the likes of the Dacia Spring and Citroën ë-C3 when it comes to UK pricing, this new Hyundai line-up surpasses the Spring’s 186-mile range and the ë-C3’s reported single-charge maximum of 199 miles.
The entry-level version of the Inster is also around seven seconds faster to 62mph from launch (11.7 seconds) than the equivalent 45hp version of the Spring, due to its more powerful electric motor. Top speed is electronically limited at 87mph or 93mph, depending on your model of choice.
Likely to accommodate the larger battery, Hyundai has slightly stretched the car’s Casper foundations to just over 3.8 metres long, and the brand says that the car offers 280 litres of boot space (which expands to 381 litres with the rear seats folded).
In the cabin, the Inster comes with a ten-inch digital instrument cluster and ten-inch central infotainment display that juts out of the dashboard, the size of which is usually reserved for larger new cars.
The steering wheel lights up when the car is charging and several physical switches for functions like climate control and the parking brake are positioned on a panel below the infotainment screen.
Like the larger electric Ioniq 5 hatchback, the Inster’s dashboard is disconnected from the cup-holder centre console between the front seats, which adds a little more foot room.
Besides autonomous emergency braking – a legal requirement for new cars – the compact EV also comes with blind spot monitoring tech and a surround-view parking monitor and parking collision-avoidance assistance.
An opening glass roof and 64-colour ambient interior lighting can be specced on top of the standard offering, as can wireless smartphone charging, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel.
The car sits on 15-inch alloy wheels as standard – though larger 17-inch alloys will also be available – and the Inster will be offered with two-tone exterior paint options.
After an upcoming launch in South Korea, Hyundai says that the Inster will arrive in the UK and Europe in “due course”, and that the range will also eventually include a more rugged ‘Cross’ version. More details, including UK pricing and specifications, are likely to arrive by the end of the year.
