- 56 minutes ago
The Hyundai Inster turns out to be a tiny city car with a surprisingly huge interior, clever packaging, and a bold design that feels like a modern take on the Renault Twingo and Volkswagen Up. In this test drive and review, the focus is on whether Hyundai’s small electric hatchback really makes sense in Europe, where compact cars have become rare and crossovers keep getting bigger.
The review covers the Inster’s dimensions, battery options, charging speed, boot space, rear-seat room, fold-flat seats, and everyday usability. There’s also a close look at the cockpit, physical buttons, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the driver aids, visibility, suspension comfort, and real-world range in chilly spring conditions. It’s a practical EV review with a strong emphasis on space efficiency, city driving, and whether the Inster is a smart alternative to larger cars.
Hyundai Inster review, electric city car test drive, compact EV review, and small car interior space are the main search themes here. If you’re looking for a practical urban EV, a budget-friendly electric hatchback review, or a detailed look at a tiny car with a big cabin, this is a useful watch for buyers, car enthusiasts, and anyone interested in modern European city cars.
The review covers the Inster’s dimensions, battery options, charging speed, boot space, rear-seat room, fold-flat seats, and everyday usability. There’s also a close look at the cockpit, physical buttons, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the driver aids, visibility, suspension comfort, and real-world range in chilly spring conditions. It’s a practical EV review with a strong emphasis on space efficiency, city driving, and whether the Inster is a smart alternative to larger cars.
Hyundai Inster review, electric city car test drive, compact EV review, and small car interior space are the main search themes here. If you’re looking for a practical urban EV, a budget-friendly electric hatchback review, or a detailed look at a tiny car with a big cabin, this is a useful watch for buyers, car enthusiasts, and anyone interested in modern European city cars.
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MotorTranscript
00:00what should a city car be like small agile clever this is the hyundai insta and it's
00:06like a combination of the original renault twingo and a volkswagen up let's see if it's any good
00:37so
00:44so
01:01Hyundai Insta is an extended version of the Casper, a model which has been on offer in
01:07Korea since 2021.
01:09Remember the Hyundai Atos?
01:12Casper replaced it, and since it is less than 360 cm long, it meets the light vehicle's
01:18regulations, so it qualifies for tax incentives, something that the EU should think about instead
01:24of promoting large heavy SUVs.
01:26The Insta, or Casper Electric in Korea, is 382.5 cm long, and these days, it's hard to
01:35find a car of similar dimensions in Europe.
01:37We either have smaller models, such as the Hyundai i10, Suzuki Ignis, or Toyota Aigo Cross,
01:44or larger ones, like the Hyundai i20, Citroën C3, or Toyota Yaris.
01:50Of the cars still available new that the Insta is closest to in terms of dimensions is the
01:57Mitsubishi Space Star.
01:58Among the models that have disappeared from the market or have been replaced by newer and
02:02larger generations, the Insta is roughly the size of the Audi A2, early generations of Citroën
02:09C3, the Peugeot 206, or the early generations of Renault Clio.
02:15Design is bold, quirky, and fun, like the original Renault Twingo.
02:20The Twingo was also quite practical, like the Volkswagen App, which did not see a second
02:26generation because it was killed, like many other small cars, by European regulations.
02:32But why the Insta, and not, for example, the Ioniq one?
02:36Because, like the Hyundai Kona, the Insta is not built on a dedicated EV platform.
02:40Regardless, it has a long wheelbase.
02:42At 258 centimeters, it's larger than some B-segment cars.
02:46Unfortunately, there is no frunk, but there is a charging socket in the front.
02:53Here, a few words about battery and charging.
02:56The Insta comes in 42 and 49 kilowatt hour battery variants.
03:00That's 39 and 46 kilowatt hours net.
03:03This is the bigger battery variant.
03:06Peak DC charging power is 85 kilowatts, and the onboard AC charger takes 11 kilowatts.
03:12So, fast charging, 10 to 80 percent in 30 minutes, and about 4 and a half hours to full from
03:17a wool box.
03:21The Insta is an example of intelligent use of space.
03:25Remember the Honda E and its pitifully small boot?
03:28At first glance, the Insta doesn't seem to be any better, but with space under the boot floor,
03:35there is actually 280 liters, and with the seats moved forward, even 351 liters.
03:41I will add that at the very bottom, under the carpet, there is also a compartment for repair kit.
03:47Meanwhile, the Honda E, which was a larger car than the Insta, had only a 171 liter boot.
03:58In the back, even with the seats pushed all the way forward,
04:02I still have legroom behind the driver's seat set to my driving position.
04:05I'm 175 centimeters tall, and after sliding the seat all the way back,
04:10both the driver and the passenger in the rear could be even taller, because there is still some headroom left.
04:17Okay, I have my thighs up in the air, the batteries under the floor forced the designers to make a
04:22choice how tall the vehicle is supposed to be, they decided they do not want a van.
04:28There are no cup holders in the back, and there is only one USB-C port. However, the inserts you
04:34see on
04:35the doors and the seats allow you to attach accessories. I didn't see any standalone cup
04:40holders among them, but there is a folding tray table with a place to secure a cup. The only two
04:47IceFix anchor points are on the two rear seats, and there are only two rear seats. The Insta is
04:53homologated as a four-seater. Therefore, the rear seat is divided 50-50. Both halves slide and can be
05:00folded flat. And check this out, you can also fold the front passenger seat and the driver's seat as
05:07well, which gives you a flat-ish space measuring some two meters in length to lie down. At the widest
05:15point, it's about one and a half meters, and in the narrowest in the boot, 95 centimeters. Since it's
05:20an electric car, you can leave it on to have heating working all night, and there's also a 230 volt
05:26socket
05:26to, I don't know, power a kettle? Now, if you are planning to sleep in the car more frequently,
05:35I'd get some sort of a mattress, and don't take too much luggage, unless you're gonna use your bags as
05:41pillows. The cockpit of the Insta is a greatest hits of Hyundai parts bin. There's something from
05:53the Ioniq 5, something from the Tucson, and probably from some other models as well. Since these are not
05:59elements from the most recent models, it also means old infotainment, in which Apple CarPlay and
06:04Android Auto are wired. Maybe after the facelift, this will change. Apart from this inconvenience,
06:10the cockpit is exactly what I expect from a car. This is what Volkswagen used to be before 2020.
06:15There is a display on which you can set things that are used less often, and there are physical
06:21buttons for the most important functions, including air conditioning. Does the upholstery look familiar?
06:28Remember the first generation Kia Soul? There was a custard paint job version, and there was a
06:36houndstooth pattern applied on the bonnet and on the tailgate, and repeated on the upholstery.
06:41It looks like Hyundai took inspiration from Kia's design archives. I say, go for it! Almost 20 years later,
06:49it still looks cool. On the doors, more goodies from the options catalog. Here a card holder,
06:56maybe for a charging card or a parking card. Do we still use these instead of apps? Above the left
07:03knee
07:03is a parking brake, headlight level adjustment, steering wheel heating, and ESP. On the steering
07:10wheel, there are buttons for cruise control and media, and a special button, more about which in a moment.
07:16During a test drive, pay attention to the gauge cluster. Anna, who is 160 centimeters tall,
07:22can't see the upper part of the dials, regardless of how we set the seat and the steering wheel.
07:27Of course, within a range that ensures safe and comfortable driving position for her.
07:31The infotainment system is mainly good for displaying Android Auto and driver aids. While the
07:37audible speed warning can be turned off by long pressing the mute button on the steering wheel,
07:42I recommend turning off the driver attention warning system every time as well, because it's overzealous,
07:50and this is why it's worth to program the special button on the steering wheel, so that pressing it
07:55takes you into the driver aid settings. Below the screen are the aforementioned much coveted physical
08:04AC controls. Then there's a wireless charger, which is unnecessary because the phone is always
08:09dangling on a cable for Android Auto to work. Lower is another cubby, which is so low that you'll remember
08:16about things you left there only when you bend to plug something into the 230 volt socket, like the
08:22kettle I mentioned earlier. So this is a place where you could, I don't know, put a
08:27power brick for stuff and things. Not very easy to reach. Still, having a kettle in a car, brilliant idea.
08:38The cup holders are between the driver and the passenger in the seat cushion. Be careful because
08:43one of them is under the armrest, so taller vessels can only be placed in the front one. You can
08:49hang a
08:50second larger bottle, for example, on a door hook on the passenger side, because the door pockets are very
08:56slim. Above the glove box is a shelf with the USB and 12 volt outlets. Below is an average size
09:03glove box.
09:04Around the passenger's left knee there is another hook, maybe for a purse. A very sensibly designed
09:11interior, especially considering the small space that the engineers had to work with.
09:31Depending on the battery capacity, the Insta has 97 or 115 horsepower and up to 327 or 370 kilometers range,
09:41respectively. A little less on the 17-inch rims, this is the larger battery and higher trim variant,
09:46so it's more powerful and it has larger wheels. I'm reviewing this car early in the spring of 2025,
09:54when it's still rather chilly and windy at times. Daytime temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius and
10:00there's even some frost at dawn. I park the Insta outside, I do not pre-conditioning it. After charging
10:07to full, the computer shows a range of about 360-370 kilometers and, based on kilometers driven,
10:16this range seems to be realistic. Urban energy consumption is about 15 kilowatt hours per 100
10:21kilometers. Similar on country roads, it increases slightly on expressways. On warmer days, this result
10:29will probably improve. However, if you do the math, the Insta will not cover the 360-370 kilometers under
10:37current conditions. I suspect region braking helps. It can be set to one of several recuperation levels,
10:45including I-pedal, which is Hyundai-speak for one-pedal driving, or you can switch it to automatic
10:50mode and then the car starts braking or regenerating energy when other vehicles in front start slowing down.
10:57You do this with the puddle shifters on the steering wheel. Hyundai claims a 0 to 100 kilometers per
11:06hour time of 10.6 seconds. I checked and I managed to achieve a result about half a second faster.
11:12The Insta proved to be quicker in normal mode than in sport mode. In the city, the Insta accelerates from
11:19a stoplight to 50 kilometers per hour in about four seconds, so unless you're racing against something
11:24very sporty, you'll probably squeeze in front just before your lane ends.
11:30The brakes are good. Visibility is fine.
11:33The Insta has a camera system that displays the blind spot view in the instrument cluster
11:39when you turn on the indicator. The soundproofing is decent for a sort of budget city car.
11:47However, the turning circle is big for a small city car. Maybe it's because it shares its platform with an
11:54internal combustion engine model. If I had to find fault with anything, it's the stiffness of the
12:02suspension. The Insta weighs about 1400 kilograms and the optional 17-inch rims don't help to cushion that weight.
12:30The price of the Hyundai Insta started 23 900 euro for the base trim with a 42 kilowatt hour battery.
12:37This is the top trim, large battery model. With options, it costs 31,770 euro.
12:45That's without any local incentives. Are there any in your region? Let me know.
13:03The latest European safety regulations mean that instead of small, light cars, more and more large
13:09and heavy SUVs are driving around our towns. Electric cars may not be super light, but at least they can
13:14be
13:15relatively small. And the Insta is an example of how European manufacturers lost the first round.
13:21I can't wait to see what their game is going to be in the second round. And how do you
13:26like the Hyundai Insta?
13:27Let me know in the comments section below.
13:32If you like my sarcastic, down-to-earth and possibly mildly amusing car reviews,
13:37join me every Friday at 3pm Central European time. And don't forget to subscribe and like this video
13:44as it helps me move the YouTube algorithm.
13:46Thanks for watching and I will see you in the next one.
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