When it comes to EVs, Australians seem to be obsessed with wanting to buy the biggest and the longest in terms of range. Often, it is for that once in a year trip to somewhere, or may be a once in a lifetime trip.
What if we can’t drive the 600 kms to our favourite holiday destination. What if we can’t stop for lunch, a rest, or a toilet break.? What if we can’t fit all the holiday goodies and toys in the back of the EV.
The result is that we buy much bigger cars then we need for 98 per cent of our journeys, with driving ranges that we rarely if ever need to exploit. And we pay for it, particularly with bigger batteries that we don’t really need, and more metal, bigger tyres, and more weight that needs to be ferried around our individual lives.
Enter the Hyundai Inster EV, the latest offering from the South Korea car maker. Hyundai are not the biggest sellers of EVs, largely because of price, but they do make very good and award-winning EVs. And the Inster, following in the footsteps of the much admired Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6, as well as the Kona, is another fine addition to their portfolio.
To be honest, as first glance – and later glances for that matter – the Inster does make me think of a Noddy car. One day I woke up thinking a little bit electric. It measures 3.8 metres long and just 1.6 metres wide, which makes it a tad smaller than the Hyundai Getz.
And it looks like half that size. But on the inside, there are no such issues. It has plenty of space, lots of legroom, thanks to the fact that more space is what you get with a well laid out electric car. You are sitting close to the passenger, but not on top of them.
And the Inster is fun to drive, particularly in sports mode. We had three adults in it at times with no issues, and I can’t see any problems with four adults – just so long as you are not all going to the airport with suitcases. It’s actually quite zippy for a car that looks like the antithesis of zippiness.
But for the rest of the experience it feels just like another Hyundai EV – the controls are largely the same, the paddles on the wheel are the same, it has excellent re-gen and i-pedal (if that’s what you want), and its handling is generally great. And because it is small you can sneak into tight parking spots, and squeeze down narrow streets with no problem.
The Inster standard variant that we drove has a 42 kWh battery (about what’s left in my 2019 Model 3 RWD), and just over 300 kms of range, which seemed about right in our week of driving. Its rated efficiency is pretty good, just under 14 kW/100 kms.
Around the city that is plenty, and even if you were going on an intercity trip, it would still be fine. Its rated efficiency is pretty good. I’ve driven 150,000 kms in the Model 3 doing just that without about the same range, although the Tesla charging network is vastly superior to anything else around.
The Inster extended range has a 49 kWh battery (and range of 360 kms), while the “cross” version also has a 49 kWh battery and a similar range, although watch out if you get this with the roof basket – it will cut the range by more than 15 per cent. That is not an aerodynamic basket.
It also has vehicle to load (meaning you can power appliances, or at a pinch, provide an extension cord to your house in the case of a blackout), and its charging plug is located conveniently in the front grill.
The problem with the Inster is not the car itself, but in the marketing. Hyundai didn’t think it would be a best-seller, which is a shame, but that is something entirely within their control, because it all comes down to price.
The Australian EV market is screaming for a low cost EV that might not be an SUV that is made by a Chinese brand that we have barely heard of. The Inster is pitched in the $40,000s, depending on the variant and whether you go for the sunroof, and longer range.
Hyundai do have a special offer until the end of the year, which brings the base model down below $40,000, driveway. The extended range comes down to $42,990 and the cross to $45,990.
This is good – but you do feel that if it was another 10 per cent cheaper, it would be a no-brainer for a lot of people, and anyone who drives a Suzuki, a Yaris or a similar size car and were wondering whether there was a good electric option.
Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of The Driven, and also edits and founded the Renew Economy and One Step Off The Grid web sites. He has been a journalist for nearly 40 years, is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review, and owns a Tesla Model 3.