Hyundai’s Inster small electric car has already made its mark in the B-segment here with 300 sold since launch last February, which is not surprising given its attractive low price of from just €19,000, good build quality, interior roominess, and the amount of equipment as standard. It all makes for a very compelling package for urban or suburban motorists or as an affordable new first car for a teenage offspring or perhaps as a second family car.
With the robust look of an SUV, this is quite a tall car for its size, with small front and rear circular lights, rugged wheel arches with distinctive cladding, pixel-graphic turn signals, and two rows of rear small lights that turn on quite a display when you press the key fob to open the car at night.
While nine exterior colours are offered, the review car looked appealing in the Buttercream Yellow Pearl colour, which turned heads.
Hyundai designers and engineers have worked wonders in presenting such a tall, spacious interior courtesy of that boxy shape.
Sizewise, the wheelbase is within 8cm of the brand’s bigger Kona, but Inster offers more headroom. The flat EV floor, flexible fold-flat seats, and high-roof SUV silhouette all deliver an impressive amount of interior space for a city car with excellent head and legroom front and rear. I was also impressed with the whole front layout, including the dash design, huge side windows which offer great visibility, the light colours of the trim and houndstooth-like patterned material that extends out from the driver’s seat over the central console flat area - but there is no central console just a pair of cupholders embedded in that space. There’s plenty of floor open space below for a bag or laptop. Front seats can be heated; folding the front passenger seat allows you to use a laptop on a mobile office desk.
The 10.25-inch independent centre touchscreen includes navigation and car systems and you can mirror your smartphone onto the screen while the customisable same-size digital cluster screen consists of two grey dials with your digital speed shown centrally. A blind-spot camera view is displayed onto the instrument screen when you indicate a turn.
A volume knob is below the central screen and there are physical shortcut buttons for media, setup, nav, and a ‘star’ favourite. It’s all very intuitive and easy to get the hang of. There are also buttons for climate control - up and down arrows for the temperature, and controls for front seat heaters. There’s a wireless charging port in the centre dash, a small space below the climate controls, a decent glovebox and a shelf above where you’ll find two small USB ports and a 12-volt power outlet in the top spec.
The twist transmission selector is placed low on the steering column with an electronic parking brake and there's a satellite control for driving modes that include a snow mode. Three levels of regeneration help with range, regulated via paddle shifters.
Rear seats are nice and high for ease of getting in and out and can slide forwards by 16cm to expand boot space from 238 to 351 litres or backwards for more rear legroom for tall passengers. These seats can also recline for more comfort. There’s a good area below the boot floor for extra storage. You can even turn the car into a handy overnight sleepover as the driver’s seat also folds flat.
Two battery options are a standard range 42kWh or long range 49kWh, giving rated distances of around 327km/360km respectively. The standard range has a 96hp electric motor, while the long range has an 113hp motor. The charging socket is front-mounted, so you just drive up to a public unit. Charging from 10-80% takes 30 mins using a 120 kW DC charging station.
Two trim lines are Signature (€18,995) and Elegance (€21,995), my car being the latter. While the entry-level version is well-specced, most buyers so far have opted for the top trim, getting roof rails, 17-inch alloys, a heat pump, dual LEDs, privacy glass, the fold-flat seats/rear sliding bench, rear LED lights, and exterior upgrades. Inster is ideal for navigating narrow streets and squeezing into tight parking spaces; it can go from 0-100km/h in 10-11 seconds as it has instant torque. In i-Pedal mode, you can accelerate, decelerate, and come to a complete stop using only the accelerator pedal.
The car has a full set of driver-assist and active safety features, including adaptive cruise control. Its Euro NCAP safety rating is currently pending, but Hyundai has a strong record of building safe cars, and Inster comes equipped with a solid suite of safety features.
This new model was recently crowned World Electric Car of the Year 2025.
Inster is priced from €19,345; my car from €22,845. These low prices won’t hold for long.
