South Korea car giant Hyundai has announced the pricing and specifications of its smallest and most affordable electric car to date, the Inster.
This is one of Hyundai’s most significant models as the brand continues to expand its EV lineup from its award winning Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 EVs, and the earlier Kona. It is especially important for customers looking at a small and affordable electric car.
The Inster will start at under $40,000 for the entry-level Standard Range variant and will be offered in three variants. Prices of these variants before on-roads costs are:
- Standard Range – $39,600
- Extended Range – $42,500
- Inster Cross with Sunroof/Roof Basket – $45,000
The Inster will be available with two battery options, including the Inster Standard and with an Extended Range battery pack.
The Standard Range variant is equipped with a 42 kWh battery pack delivering 327 km of WLTP range, while the Extended Range variant bumps that up to 49 kWh, which is expected to deliver a range of up to 360 km on the WLTP cycle.
Charging this variant from 10-80 per cent will take 30 minutes at a 120 kW rated charger. There is also an AC charging capability of up to 10.5 kW on offer across both battery packs.
Vehicle to load (V2L) is also available for those looking at powering other devices off the car when the vehicle is parked.
These battery pack options are powered by slightly different motors with the first one being a 71.1 kW motor that offers a peak torque of 147 Nm.
This gets a slight increase with the Extended Range battery variants that get an 84.5 kW motor. The power is delivered to the front wheels.
This powertrain also helps the Inster accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 11.7 seconds for the entry level model, while all Extended Range variants can achieve this in 10.6 seconds..
On the styling front, the Inster takes a bold, more trendy, boxier approval and features unique daytime running lights (DRL).
When it comes to the model’s size, it sits over 600 mm shorter than the larger Ioniq 5, coming in at 3,825 mm.
The Inster will be offered in 6 colours, providing a variety of options for buyer’s of Hyundai’s smallest yet very trendy electric SUV.
These include some headline colours such as Buttercream Yellow for Standard Range and Amazonas Green Metallic Matte for Inster Cross.
Moving to the inside, the cabin takes inspiration from other Hyundai’s other smaller vehicles by offering a good balance of space and practicality.
The rear boot has 280 litres of storage which can be increased to 351 litres by sliding the rear seats forward.
For the driver, the centre console offers two 10.25-inch screens. One is the infotainment screen with navigation in the middle while the other is behind the steering wheel that shows driving information.
Cloth and bio leather upholstery options are available depending on the variant and it’s good to see multiple interior options being available on the Inster.
On the safety front, Hyundai has included a large number of its safety suite, including Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) features such as:
- Blind-Spot Collision Avoidance-Assist (BCA)
- Driver Attention Warning (DAW)
- Forward Collision Avoidance Assist 1.5 (FCA 1.5) – Junction Turning
- High Beam Assist (HBA)
- Highway Driving Assist (HDA)
- In-Cabin Camera (ICC)
- Intelligent Speed Limit Assist (ISLA)
- Lane Following Assist (LFA)
- Lane Keeping Assist – Line/Road-Edge (LKA-L/R)
- Manual Speed Limit Assist (MSLA)
- Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA)
- Rear Occupant Alert (ROA)
- Safe Exit Warning (SEW)
- Blind-Spot View Monitor (BVM) – INSTER Cross variant
- Surround View Monitor (SVM) – INSTER Cross variant
- Reverse Parking Collision Avoidance (PCA-R) – Inster Cross variant
- Parking Distance Warning (PDW-F) – Inster Cross variant
From a driving experience point of view, the Inster also keeps the adjustable regenerative braking technology feature, allowing the drivers to control the amount of regenerative braking.
According to Hyundai, the new Inster has now arrived in Australia and is available to order.
Hyundai Inster Pricing
| Battery | Powertrain | INSTER | INSTER Cross w/Sunroof | INSTER Cross w/Roof Basket |
| Standard Range 42 kWh | 71.1kW 2WD | $39,000 | – | – |
| Extended Range 49 kWh | 84.5kW 2WD | $42,500 | $45,000 | $45,000 |
Note: All prices are Manufacturer’s List Price (MLP). Price excludes delivery and on-road costs.
| Option pricing | |
| Metallic / Mica premium paint | $595 |
| Matte premium paint | $1,000 |
Specifications
| Standard Range | Extended Range | |
| Battery | 42kWh | 49kWh |
| Drive | Front-wheel drive | |
| Voltage | 266V | 310V |
| Max power & torque | 71.1kW / 147Nm | 84.5kW / 147Nm |
| Max speed | 140km/h | 150km/h |
| 0-100 km/h | 11.7s | 10.6s |
| Driving range (WLTP) | 327km (15-inch wheels) | 360km (17-inch wheels & no roof backet) |
| AC On Borad Charger (OBC) | 10.5kW | |
| AC charging time (OBC) | 4 hours (16A) | 4 hours 35 minutes (16A) |
| 10-80% fast charging | 30 minutes (120 kW DC Charger) | |
| INSTER Standard Range (42kWh) | 71.1kW / 147Nm | |
| Key specification summary: | ||
| Mechanical: | Exterior: | Interior: |
| Standard Range Battery: 42kWh | 15″ Alloy Wheels | 4 passenger seating |
| Battery heating system | Tyre Mobility Kit (TMK) | Sliding Rear Seat Adjustment |
| 10.5kW On Board Charger (OBC) – CCS Combo Type 2 + V2X | Tinted windscreen, front door, rear door & backlite glass | Driver’s bench seat – 6-way manual w/height
adjuster |
| Paddle shifters for Regenerative Braking | LED side repeaters – outer mirror | 50:50 split folding rear seat |
| Tilt & Telescopic Steering Column | Dual LED lamps – low/high projection | Cloth seats – Recycled PET |
| E-Shift for SBW | LED Daytime Running Lamp (DRL) | Leather wrapped trim – crash pad centre fascia |
| Hyundai SmartSense™ including: | Rain sensing windscreen wipers – with hybrid blade | LED interior lights – overhead console, room lamp & luggage lamp |
| Blind-spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA) | Glossy black paint radiator grille | Luggage shelf covering trim |
| Driver Attention Warning (DAW) | Black paint side sill & door garnish (cladding) | Soft paint Centre Fascia & soft paint grain |
| Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist 1.5 (FCA 1.5) with Junction Turning (FCA-JT) | Hyper silver skid plates – front & rear | Luggage transverse trim |
| High Beam Assist (HBA) | Black bumper garnish | Leather steering wheel – 3 spoke |
| Highway Driving Assist (HDA) | Black beltline moulding | Convenience: |
| In-Cabin Camera (ICC) | Climate Control: | 10.25” AVN w/RDS+DAB+TMS |
| Intelligent Speed Limit Assist (ISLA) | Single zone FATC w/Auto Defog | Telematics Mobile Unit – TMU (Bluelink) |
| Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) | Heat pump | 10.25″ Supervision Instrument Cluster |
| Manual Speed Limit Assist (MSLA) | Inner Condenser HVAC | Smart Key w/push button start |
| Navigation-based Smart Cruise Control – Curve (NSCC-C) | Air filter | Wireless Charging & USB Charger – 2 x USB-C, 1 x USB-A |
| Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA) | Vehicle-to-Load Capabilities | |
| Rear Occupant Alert (ROA) – logic type | Touch sensor driver door handle | |
| Safe Exit Warning (SEW) | Paddle shifters for Regenerative Braking | |
| INSTER Extended Range (49kWh) | 84.5kW / 147Nm | |
| Key specification summary above INSTER Standard Range: | ||
| Mechanical: | Exterior: | |
| Extended Range battery: 49 kWh (+7.0 kWh) | 17″ Alloy Wheels | |
| INSTER Cross (49kWh) | 84.5kW / 147Nm | ||
| Key specification summary above INSTER Extended Range: | |||
| Hyundai SmartSense™ including: | Exterior: | Interior: | |
| Blind-Spot View Monitor (BVM) | 17″ Alloy wheels | Flat folding seat backrest – driver | |
| Parking Distance Warning-Front (PDW-F) | Privacy rear door & backlite glass | Flat folding seat backrest – passenger | |
| Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist – Reverse (PCA-R) | Embossed side sill & door garnish (cladding) | Pad print upper door garnish | |
| Surround View Monitor (SVM) | Bumpers & skid plates – Cross Exclusive | Climate Control: | |
| Convenience: | Roof Rails | Smart temperature comfort control system | |
| Heated/Ventilated front seats | Sunroof w/manual sunshade | ||
| Heated steering wheel | + Roof Basket Option Pack | ||
| Electronic Chromic Mirror (ECM) | Black two-tone roof and Black A-pillar finish | ||
| Ambient mood lighting – crash pad & door
trim (64 colours) |
Roof Basket (Removes Sunroof) | ||
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.