Australian Exclusive Sneak Peek: Hyundai Inster Compact 3.8m City EV

Zecar's Neerav Bhatt accidentally came across two production specification testing cars of the new Hyundai Inster. This is a brief overview of the Inster including a walkaround video.

Image by - Neerav Bhatt

Market Position and Arrival

The Inster is going to be Hyundai's new and smallest electric car launching sometime in Q2 2025 in Australia.

Let's hope they price it well and can sell lots of them because I could see a car of this size being really popular in the inner parts of cities in Australia.

Target Audience: Young Buyers or City Dwellers?

The marketing for the Hyundai Inster is clearly aimed at young people but the young people I know can't really afford a car at this price point.

In my experience young Australians mainly buy second-hand, third-hand or basic new petrol cars like the Suzuki Swift, MG3 and Kia Picanto.

I see this Inster probably appealing more as a second car to inner city middle-aged people and empty nesters with a bit more money in the bank.

Pricing and Competition

Pricing isn't announced yet, but it's expected to be about $40,000 plus on roads, which may make it hard to sell when the BYD Dolphin and MG4 have much cheaper base models with similar range to the Inster.

Admittedly they are much bigger than the Inster and size may make some buyers buy the Inster instead.

Compact Dimensions and Styling

At 3.8 metres long the Inster is a front-wheel drive city car. It is not meant for long road trips.

It's much smaller than my MG4 (which is 4.3 metres long) and the Tesla Model Y, which everyone compares to at 4.8 metres long (that's a whole metre longer than the Inster).

External styling is a bit different. it's a mixture of friendly big circular LED headlamps, plastic cladding and pixelated turn signals that hint at a connection to the Ioniq 5 and 6. The Inster is trying to look like a baby SUV off-roader with a mixture of tech thrown in.

Australian Specifications and Features

There are going to be two Inster versions in Australia, both will have eight paint colour options which is pretty good, including Sienna Orange.

A full suite of Hyundai smart safety features like blind spot collision avoidance are included as well as twin 10.25 inch screens for driving stats and maps/apps etc.

Surprisingly there's a heat pump included as well so this car should be efficient even if driven in Canberra, Tasmania or the Southern Highlands in the depths of winter.

The 327 km standard range Inster has 15 inch wheels and 73kW DC fast charging, while the 360 km extended range Inster has 17 inch wheels and slightly more power with 85kW DC fast charging.

Charging and Connectivity

Realistically these are going to be home charged overnight and they'll fill up easily via a 7kW home charger by the time you wake up in the morning.

Connectivity is comprehensive with built-in satnav and remote control app using Blue Link. Apple Carplay and Android Auto are wired plus there's a wireless phone charger.

The Inster supports internal Vehicle to Load (V2L) and external V2L (with an optional adapter). I'm not sure about Vehicle to Grid (V2G) or Vehicle to Home compatibility.

What Do You Think?

Please let me know what do you think of the Hyundai Inster EV in the comments. Do you think it'll sell in Australia at around 40K driveway?

Australian Hyundai Inster Test Car Walkaround Sneak Peek