I took the tiny Hyundai Inster on a 400km weekend away – and there’s more to it than its size implies

I get excited about practically every electric car I review, but few have had me as giddy as the Hyundai Inster. This small and practical car feels like it was tailor-made for my lifestyle and the livelihoods of anybody living in the inner city, and while its tiny size may be its most noticeable feature, there’s so much more to love about this humble transporter.

My colleague Leon Poultney got hands-on with the Hyundai Inster in November 2024, and he also adored how cute and compact the car was – so to avoid going over old ground, I’m going to focus on all the other aspects of the Inster that make it such a win in my book.

The Inster is, in many ways, a response to cheap and compact small electric cars from China dominating markets across the world. It’s the South Korean answer to the BYD Dolphin, MG4 and GWM Ora, though the Inster is smaller (but taller) than all of these. Despite being smaller, it offers some noble traits over its competition, like generous legroom in the back and reliable driver assistance tech. Indeed, this car feels like the refinement that the entry-level EV market needed, particularly here in Australia where I’m based.

One of the things keeping the Inster back, however, is that it’s not exactly entry-level. It’s pricey for such a small car, and though it boasts generous range and efficiency when assessing its battery size and overall performance, if you have this much to spend, on the whole you’ll get a better all-around vehicle with the MG4.

But the Hyundai Inster has things that the MG4 crucially lacks – style, refinement and a small but practical shape. I think the Inster looks iconic, perhaps not in the same way as a Mini Cooper S or a Mazda MX-5, but it does feel like this is an EV for a lifestyle, not one for getting to A and B.

The Hyundai Inster was made for the moment, and though I do think it stumbles in some areas, I’m pretty confident in calling it my favorite EV since the MG4.

Hyundai Inster specs

Into the Inster

The Hyundai Inster achieves its slender shape by axing the middle seat in the second row and by offering a smaller-than-usual battery. The largest battery you’ll get is 49kWh, which isn’t a lot compared to other EVs, becoming both a blessing and burden depending on how you look at it (and where you live). You get less battery range off a single charge, sure, but at least the charging capacity is sufficient in the UK (at 73kW and 85kW max for the Inster 01 and Inster 02/Cross respectively) and impressive for the segment in Australia at 120kW (across all three models)

This car feels like it was built around an idea of “OK, how can we make this convenient?” for people living in densely populated areas – and being based on a petrol-engined car known as the Casper (which first debuted in 2021), Hyundai has had years to innovate on the small-but-functional design.

Despite its compact exterior, there’s a bounty of space in the Inster. Starting in the front, Hyundai has inserted several convenient sections for placing items, including a handy spot for your phone (for Android Auto/Apple CarPlay) and a dash-spanning shelf below the infotainment screen. There’s also a handy pocket down the center column and a wireless charging spot – though I can’t compliment the wireless charging for the usual reasons (wireless charging is often interrupted by the phone slipping slightly, and the phone is usually warmed to an annoying temperature).

The Inster doesn’t feature a center console between the driver and front-passenger seats, but I really don’t mind this – there’s so much space here that it’s ultimately a non-issue. There’s an armrest in the middle that folds up and down above the cupholder, which is attached to the driver’s seat; when raised, this creates an almost couch-like edge-to-edge seating area in the front row.

This exposes one of my favorite things about the Inster – roll the front seats all the way back, and you can effectively slide from one door to the other; handy if a park is too tight on the driver's side, or you want to dodge the rain more effectively when getting out. This is awesome.

The rear seats are equally convenient. Similar to Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, the rear row can slide back and forth on rails, which allows you to give rear occupants a more generous amount of legroom, or alternatively extend the trunk/boot at a moment’s notice. For such a small car, this is a game-changer, and though you’ll get more rear legroom with cars like the BYD Dolphin and MG4, neither of these offers the Inster’s unique flexibility. The trunk has a handy hatch in the floor that opens up even more space, but this is likely where you’ll put emergency tools and a wall-plug EV charger.

This practicality comes together to ultimately position the Inster as, limited range aside, a pretty good all-rounder. I took the Extended Range model out of my hometown of Sydney to the city of Newcastle (about 160km/100mi north), to visit my brother and six-year-old niece for her birthday. The car offered just the right amount of space to carry all the necessary things for her birthday party, child seat and all. Having charged overnight at my brother’s house whenever I was parked at it, and using the car for runabout trips on Saturday, I had enough range to get back to Sydney on Sunday (having left Friday) with 40% on my arrival home.

By saying all of that, I’m trying to drive home the point that the Inster is far more reliable than its size may imply. This car might be squishy if full, and it might handle bumps on the road a tad uncomfortably, but it’ll tackle trips out of town for the weekend easily. That is, if you have access to charging spots for your time away, be they overnight where you stay or at a DC charger. When charging, you won’t be charging too long, given the size of the battery. Its range isn’t its best aspect, sure, but it’s not bad, given the car’s efficiency and fast DC charging speed.

Stylistically, the Inster might look cute from all angles on the outside, but I believe its best-looking aspects are on the inside. Cheaper models come with a houndstooth-stitched fabric which I completely fell in love with, while artificial leather seats are standard with the Cross (the top model). On this occasion, I’m all for the cheaper model – houndstooth looks incredible, and it makes the interior feel like a comfortable couch at home.

Adding to the cute aesthetic, there are little details on the inside trim of the doors reminiscent of Phillips screws, and they just give the car an unmatched personality. The same can be said of the rim styling across all three variants (it's different from car to car) – it’s like they were put in place by an enormous screwdriver.

There’s also a generous amount of refinement to the operating system. Hyundai’s software still feels better to interact with than what you’ll find in similarly priced EVs. I’m not a big fan of Hyundai’s OS to begin with, having criticized the identical version found in the Kia EV5, but I can forgive it in a cheaper car, especially one with so much cute appeal and practicality.

Don’t like Hyundai’s OS? That’s okay, because the car offers wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The USB port for accessing these resides above a shelf on the passenger side of the front seats, giving you a handy place to put your phone while charging (it may also stir confusion, as this spot is quite far from the wireless charger).

The Inster also has physical buttons galore for climate control and switching tracks and radio modes, which is absolutely something I love. Too many cars axe physical buttons completely, so I’m honestly over the moon Hyundai has included them with the Inster.

Finally, driver assistance in Hyundai cars has felt particularly polished since the Ioniq 5 (released in 2021). Lane assistance is strong and well ahead of the Inster’s direct competitors, with physical buttons on the wheel for adjusting cruise.

There’s just so much to appreciate about the Inster – a cute aesthetic, a useful but small size, and a level of software refinement that’s unmatched in the entry-level EV segment. I don’t think any of its problems draw back its positives – but we should really talk about its troubling price point and feature disparity.

Yes, the Inster could be better

A major criticism levied against the Hyundai Inster is that it’s not priced well – but in my opinion, that’s highly dependent on the market. While the MG4 starts at £26,995 / AU$34,990 and the BYD Dolphin at £26,205 / AU$29,990, the Inster starts at £23,505 / AU$39,000. Price is therefore only a problem in some markets, a similarity it shares with the Chery Omoda E5 that I recently tested. However, keep in mind the UK has a slew of even cheaper EVs on the market – such as the Dacia Spring (£14,995), Leapmotor T03 (£15,995) and BYD Dolphin Surf (£18,650).

To be clear, I think the Inster is priced perfectly for the UK market. Its feature set, including its range, operating system, style and driver assistance tools, makes its asking price extremely attractive.

In Australia… I do wish the price was lower. These prices are indicative of RRP without drive-away pricing, and with that added you’re approaching the cost of much more feature-rich EVs.

Indeed, I think the MG4 is a better car all-around, with a nicer-feeling RWD drivetrain and a range of trims that cater to a wider market with different demands, but the Inster exists to be more convenient. I don’t believe it should necessarily be cheaper than the MG4, with how polished the car feels, but I do think Hyundai should be a little more realistic in my local market. That’s a lot of money for a car with only slightly more storage space than a Mini 3-door!

Moving on from pricing, I was a little disappointed in the driver’s seat adjustment. One of my shorter friends, when sitting in the seat, would have liked it to go up more, but unfortunately its manual adjustment could only go so high.

Additionally, it’s a bit odd that none of the trims include automatic seating. This isn’t a dealbreaker for the Inster, but with other affordable EVs offering this feature (at least on the more expensive trims – even if only for the driver’s seat, in some cases) it is on my wishlist for an Inster refresh. Also on that list would be wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, or at least transitioning the connection to USB-C.

At a more systemic level, I really would have liked the Inster to be RWD. I get it, car nuts don’t need to tell me, FWD is more cost-effective at scale – but this isn’t really a cheap car, right? As I stated earlier, it’s an area where the MG4 has an obvious advantage – the latter feels leaps and bounds better on the road and added acceleration with the MG4 is an added boon.

I don’t really have any other major points of criticism, other than it would have been nice to have a bird’s-eye view camera in the Extended Range/Inster 01 model – though these models have a capable reversing camera. Bird’s-eye is included in the Cross trim, but a lot of the other features in the Cross don’t really appeal to me, such as those fake leather seats I mentioned earlier (houndstooth adds so much more personality). An options pack to add things like the sunroof, heated seats and heated steering wheel could go a long way.

Should you buy a Hyundai Inster?

I love the Hyundai Inster – of those I’ve tested in 2025, it’s my favorite EV so far and it may even rise to be my favorite EV altogether. That being said, its small size is undeniably divisive and will make it both attractive to folks after a tiny yet practical car (such as those living in the city) and a non-starter for folks after a bigger daily driver.

I’d encourage you to consider the Inster if you’re shopping at the entry-level point of EVs. Hyundai’s cheapest mass-market EV meets its affordable Chinese rivals on price and (most features), going beyond with a more premium experience. It may lack some extra tech, but it makes up for this in charm and style.

If you’re shopping around for an EV at this price, I’d highly recommend the MG4 and its various trims for a nicer-feeling car on the road, or the BYD Dolphin if you want a more tech-packed car. Otherwise, if you can get a good price, the Hyundai Inster might just be the EV you’ve been waiting for.

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