Hyundai Inster city car heading to Europe with 220-mile range
Hyundai has fully revealed its Inster electric city car for the first time, promising it will set new class standards for space and range.
Based on an elongated version of the Korean market petrol-powered Casper, the Inster is described by Hyundai as an ‘A-segment sub-compact SUV’. In other words it’s a tiny city car with crossover inspired looks.
At 3.8m, the Inster sits somewhere between the Dacia Spring and Citroen e-C3 in size, which is fitting as it’s expected to be priced similarly, with rumours of a £22,000 starting price.
Its design is cute-meets-chunky, with big round headlights, an upright body shape, pronounced wheel arches, faux skid plates and big roof rails. Hyundai’s pixel-style lighting which is already in use on the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 makes an appearance on the Inster in the slimline running lights and almost full-width rear light bar.
The pixel motif on the steering wheel is also lifted directly from the 5 and 6 and elsewhere touches such as customisable door trims will allow drivers to personalise their cars. Recycled materials including plastic bottles and bio-products extracted from sugarcane are used in the interior, and onboard technology includes two 10.25-inch screens for instruments and infotainment, a one-touch sunroof and a digital key. Hyundai also says that the Inster will bring new levels of ADAS tech to the segment, including adaptive cruise control, lane follow assist and smart exit warning.
The five-door Inster has seating for four as standard but a front bench seat will also be an option. Boot space is 280 litres, although that can be expanded to a segment-busting 351 litres by sliding the rear seats forward.
Under the skin, the Inster comes with a choice of batteries and motors. Standard range cars use a 42kWh pack and a 96bhp motor while the long-range model gets a 49kWh battery and 114bhp motor.
Hyundai says the long-range car should offer 4.1 miles/kWh efficiency and a class-leading range of 220 miles when fitted with 15-inch steel wheels, although it’s not clear if the UK will get this choice. The standard range car should return 186 miles on a single charge. Both versions get 120kW DC charging that will take the battery from 10% to 80% in less than half an hour and, as is now standard with Hyundai, there’s vehicle-to-load charging. A heat pump and battery heating system will be optional extras.
The Inster is set to go on sale in Korea this summer, before arriving in Europe and the UK later in the year.
