Hyundai INSTER prices from £23,495

03 Oct 2024

The Hyundai INSTER electric city car will be available from £23,495 for the ‘01’ model with a 42kWh battery and a 97PS electric motor, providing a welcome antidote to all the big new SUVs coming to market.

Even better, the INSTER weighs from just 1,305 kg for the model with the 42kWh battery – which is around half of the weight of many SUVs.

As well as ‘01’ and ‘02’ trim levels, there will also be a ‘Long-Range’ INSTER with a larger 49kWh battery delivering up to 229 miles when fitted with 15-inch rather than 17-inch wheels (the 42kWh battery model is capable of a maximum driving range of 203 miles). The 49kWh battery is paired to an electric motor delivering 115PS of power, delivering a 0-62mph acceleration time of 10.6 seconds.

If you’re looking for an energy-efficient EV, the INSTER is expected to have an energy consumption figure of up to 4.2 miles per kWh; if you’re still grappling with miles per gallon figures for petrol cars, then 3.5 miles per kWh for an EV is around average, and 4.0 miles per kWh is good – so 4.2 miles per kWh is above average and gets a gold star.

The INSTER features an 85 kW DC rapid charging speed (72kW for the Standard Range with the smaller 42kWh battery), which means that a charge of the battery from 10% to 80% at a public charger should be possible in around 30 minutes. The INSTER also comes equipped with an 11 kW on-board charger as standard, so you can benefit from three-phase charging at a workplace, which is faster than 7.4 kW home charging.

Clever EV-stuff includes Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) functionality, so you can plug electrical devices into the INSTER and the car can power them – either internally for items such as laptops, or externally for kit such as camping equipment. The EV also has a heat pump and battery heating system included as standard.

A four-seater, Hyundai says that the INSTER’s front row seating provides ‘walk-through’ access (although in our view tall people are likely to struggle to walk through a small city car?). All seats can be folded flat – including the driver’s seat. The second-row seats are split 50/50 and slide and recline – allowing the 280-litre boot to increase in size to 351 litres. Not bad for a car measuring just 3,825mm in length (many SUVs are around 5,000mm long).

The INSTER is available in nine exterior colours: three solid finishes of Natural Ivory, Atlas White, and Jungle Khaki, a metallic option of Sienna Orange, two pearl finishes of Buttercream Yellow and Abyss Black, and three matte options of Bijarim Khaki, Dusk Blue and Aero Silver.

The prices of the model choices are: INSTER 01 42kWh 97PS – £23,495; INSTER 01 49kWh 115PS – £25,045; and INSTER 02 49kWh 115PS – £26,745.

The INSTER is based on the CASPER, a petrol-powered model on sale in Korea from Hyundai – yes, the same people that brought us the IONIQ 5 N, the EV that drives like a rally car. We’re not expecting crazy performance action from the INSTER, but Hyundai has also announced the INSTER Cross with more outdoor-focused styling, which looks fun, even though it won’t get you any further across a muddy field than the standard car.

Hyundai INSTER prices from £23,495

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