Hyundai Inster review

If good things come in small packages, the all-electric Hyundai Inster should be amazing. You see, it measures just 3.8m long and around 1.6m wide – only slightly larger than the tiny Fiat 500e.

And that’s not all that’s small about the Inster. Its starting price is similarly diminutive, putting it among the cheapest electric cars (EV) on sale today, and in competition with the Citroën ë-C3, Fiat Grande Panda, MG4 Urban and Renault 5.

Does that mean the Inster skimps on all the important things? Well, it actually gets plenty of standard kit – including an EV heat pump to help its efficiency – and you have a choice of battery sizes, both offering a decent official electric range.

Hyundai Inster video review

Perhaps all of that sounds too good to be true? Well, how does the Hyundai Inster fare against rival electric cars?

What’s new?

- March 2026: We group test the Hyundai Inster in the UK against the MG4 Urban and Renault 5. 
- January 2025: Orders open for Inster Cross. Just one variant available, with a 49kWh battery. Inster wins What Car?’s Best Small Electric Car for the City award
- October 2024: Orders open. Choice of 42kWh battery and 96bhp motor or 49kWh battery and 114bhp motor. Former in 01 trim only, latter in 01 or 02 trim. Inster Cross with SUV styling also shown
- June 2024: Inster first shown. Electric city car with 42kWh battery

How fast is it and which motor is best?

We’re yet to drive the Hyundai Inster Standard Range, but its claimed 11.7sec 0-62mph time suggests it won’t feel that credible on faster roads. The Long Range gets more power – 113bhp versus 95bhp for the Standard Range – so it feels zippier around town than the slower Dacia Spring or Leapmotor T03.

The Long Range also feels pokey enough on faster roads, but its performance does wane above 60mph. It never actually struggles but you’ll find the MG4 Urban and Renault 5 offer more oomph. In fact, when we performance tested all three, the Inster Long Range managed the 0-60mph sprint in 10.6sec, the R5 Comfort Range posted a time of 8.2sec, and the MG4 Urban was a fraction slower at 8.4sec.

Is it agile and is the ride comfortable?

The Inster’s turning circle isn’t as tight as the R5’s but, nevertheless, its tiny proportions make light work of tight car parks and narrow city streets. If size is important to you, by which we mean you’re after an even smaller electric car, there's the Fiat 500e.

When the roads get twistier and quicker, the Inster acquits itself okay but it’s undemanding dynamically rather than truly accomplished. While it’s grippy enough through turns, rivals such as the MG4 Urban and R5 can carry even more speed. The Inster also leans more when you’re zipping along country roads, and its steering lacks the precision and confidence-inspiring weighting that helps make the R5 a much more entertaining drive. 

Another reason the R5 feels tidier to drive is down to its firmer suspension. The Inster is noticeably softer, filtering out more surface chatter – lightly rippled surfaces and the like – and it’s less abrupt over potholes. However, you feel more side-to-side sway on motorways and get lifted off the seat squab over pronounced bumps. The MG4 Urban is one of the best alternatives if all-round ride comfort is your priority. 

Is it quiet and how easy is it to drive smoothly?

Like all its key price rivals – and most small cars built for the city rather than grand tours – there’s quite a bit of road noise at 70mph in the Inster. What’s more, the Inster produces more wind noise at speed than the Renault 5, so it’s not the most peaceful car to cover long distances in. 

And, while it’s generally a brilliant car for urban environments, the abrupt, grabby brake pedal is an impediment to smooth driving in stop-start traffic. That’s due to the regenerative braking system, which isn’t as well integrated with the regular friction brakes as it is in other EVs, such as the MG4 Urban. That’s why the MG’s a much easier car to bring to a halt gently. 

What’s the range and efficiency like, and how quickly can it charge?

The Standard Range has a 39kWh (usable capacity) battery that gives it an official range of 203 miles, which makes it best suited to those who spend their time navigating winding city streets. The Dacia Spring is an even cheaper alternative but that’ll manage just 140 miles. 

The Long Range version, with its bigger 46kWh battery, can officially manage up to 230 miles. That means it’s a small car with the potential to travel beyond city limits, much like the Renault 5, which officially travels up to 252 miles, and the MG4 Urban, which stretches the range to 258 miles. 

Like all EVs, you’ll be hard pressed to hit the official range in the real world. To give you an idea of what you can expect, we did a road trip with an Inster Long Range, Renault 5 Comfort Range, and MG4 Urban Long Range. 

The trip included some performance testing, so our estimates err on the low side of what’s possible, but they offer a valid comparison between the three cars in the same conditions –  relatively warm spring days and, mostly, driving sensibly on a mix of roads. We’ve also included their calculated average efficiency figures for that trip and their average charging speed. 

Hyundai claims the Inster Long Range has a peak charging speed of up to 85kW, and if you can achieve that from a rapid charger, you could get the battery from 10-80% in about 30mins. That time stands for the Standard Range, too; it has a smaller battery but the charging speed drops to 73kW.   

"The Inster is a rare car these days: it feels exceptionally small and easy to place on tight city streets. That said, I didn’t find it much fun to drive on quicker roads, so if you’re after something more entertaining, I’d recommend the Renault 5" – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

What does the interior look like and is it well made?

The Hyundai Inster’s interior design looks modern and chic, feels pretty robust, but it’s dominated by hard, scratchy plastics. Now, that’s not unusual in this class, but some competitors, such as the MG4 Urban and Renault 5, deliver a plusher feel by mixing in more softer materials. Without any pleasing textiles to temper its utilitarianness, the Inster’s interior feels more budget, rather like the Citroën ë-C3’s and Fiat Grande Panda’s. 

You can, at least, brighten things up by ordering the 02 trim, which adds ambient interior lighting and the option of a beige colour scheme. The top-spec Cross gets grey cloth seats with lime-yellow accents that add an extra splash of colour.

Is the driving position comfortable and is it easy to see out?

In principle, the Hyundai Inster offers a good degree of adjustability, with a height-adjustable driver’s seat, and a reach and rake adjustable steering wheel all standard. However, the reality is somewhat different. You see, the steering wheel doesn’t extend far enough towards you if you’re tall; if you have the steering wheel set at the height you want, you may find it blocks the top of the 10.3in digital instrument display. The driver’s seat also lacks side support, so you have to prop yourself up through long, sweeping motorway bends; the driver’s seat could do with more under-thigh support as well. 

Another annoyance, if you’re tall and have the seat slid all the way back, is the door armrest is too short to be usable. Even if you’re not tall enough to realise that issue, the armrest is hard and feels uncomfortable when you rest your elbow on it for a while. 

The problems don’t end there if you’re above average height. When the driver’s seat is slid fully rearwards, to maximise leg room, your head is basically adjacent to the middle door pillar, forcing you to lean forward to see sideways at junctions. 

However, the Inster’s boxy shape is a real boon. The upright windscreen pillars minimise any blind spots around the front of the car, and it’s easy to gauge where all the corners are when you’re parking. 

Entry-level 01 trim comes with rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera, while our recommended 02 trim adds front parking sensors, too. 02 trim also adds brighter LED headlights as standard, while 01 trim comes with old-fashioned, dimmer, halogen headlights.

Are the dashboard and infotainment system easy to use?

The Inster gets bonus points for offering physical controls on its dashboard. They make life easier if you’re changing settings on the go, and are far less distracting than doing everything through an infotainment touchscreen, which is the arrangement in the Leapmotor T03. 

Speaking of the touchscreen, the Inster’s measures a decent 10.3in, which is bigger than some of its rivals. However, the infotainment software isn’t Hyundai’s latest and greatest; it feels dated and slow to respond to inputs next to the Renault 5’s snappier system, and the menus aren’t that intuitive, either.

You get plenty of features, though, including DAB radio, Bluetooth, sat-nav, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring. Smartphone mirroring is only possible with a wired connection, while lots of rivals, including the R5 and MG4 Urban, offer a wireless system. If you go for 02 trim, which is our favourite, you get a wireless phone charger, though, and tweeters in the front to improve the sound quality of the stereo.

"Being tall, I found the Hyundai Inster’s driving position somewhat compromised on various levels, including the door armrest that doesn’t extend far enough back and the middle door pillar that ended up right next to my head, blocking my view to the side." – John Howell, Deputy Reviews Editor

How much space does it have for people?

We’ve already touched upon some of the Hyundai Inster’s limitations for tall people who are sat in the front. Head room isn’t an issue, though, because there’s so much of it; it’s like sitting in a mini cathedral. The main issue is leg room, because the front seats don’t slide back far enough if you’ve got really long legs, but the interior isn’t as wide as some of its rivals, either. If you’re average height you’ll be fine; anyone taller will enjoy more space in the front of an MG4 Urban or Renault 5. 

There’s more storage space than you might expect, though. The Inster has two cupholders between the front seats, two large cubbies below the air-con controls, a shelf in front of the passenger seat and small door bins. The only problem is that none of the trays are lined with rubber; everything slides around when you go round a bend, which is what you’ll do if you’re sensitive to noise because of the consistent jangling. 

Rear space is surprisingly good, as long as you go for 02 trim. That’s because it comes with sliding and reclining rear seats, which makes a huge difference. When you slide them all the way back there’s plenty of leg room for tall adults. Without the sliding rear seats, rear leg room is more limited, although head room remains so generous that you might question how much is too much. 

No matter which trim you go for you’ll get only two back seats. If you need a small EV that can fit five people with relative ease, the MG4 Urban is one of the best there is at this price point.

How much room does it have for luggage?

If you go for the entry-level 01 trim, you’re stuck with a tiny 280-litre boot. But, if you’ve read the section above, you’ll know that 02 trim comes with sliding and reclining rear seats, which gives you options. 

When the rear seats are slid all the way rearwards, to maximise rear leg room, the boot is still tiny. A meagre 238 litres, to be precise, so it only fits a paltry two carry-on suitcases. But, if you aren’t carrying rear passengers, you can slide the rear seats forwards. That frees up a more useful 351 litres, which is enough to accommodate a decent amount of luggage. 

It makes the Inster’s boot a lot more useful, but not big enough to match the MG4 Urban’s boot – you can fit eight carry-on cases in the back of one of those, which, quite frankly, is astonishing. 

Whichever Inster you choose, you can always fold the rear seatbacks to boost luggage space. They fold in a 50:50 split, while most rivals offer the extra flexibility of a 60:40 split. 

“The Hyundai Inster is best ordered in 02 trim for a number of reasons, but a key one is the addition of sliding and reclining rear seats, which boost its practicality massively.” – John Howell, Deputy Reviews Editor

How much does it cost and what equipment do you get?

The Dacia Spring is a cheaper cash buy, but the Hyundai Inster is a much better car for many reasons. The entry-level Standard Range 01 will still cost you less than a BYD Dolphin, Fiat 500e, or Vauxhall Corsa Electric.

We’d still go for the Inster Long Range 02. It doesn’t qualify for the Government’s electric car grant, which you get with the Renault 5 Comfort Range, but at the time of writing Hyundai is offering a £2950 deposit contribution. That makes the Long Range 02 broadly the same price as the R5 and a lot cheaper than the MG4 Urban.

When we looked at PCP finance and compared the Inster with the MG4 Urban and Renault 5, it worked out slightly cheaper per month. That may change depending on what deals are available at the time, so research the finance costs when you’re ready to buy. 

The Inster gets a good level of standard equipment regardless of which version you go for. Entry-level 01 trim includes 15in alloy wheels, single-zone climate control, automatic windscreen wipers, heat pump, keyless entry and start, plus the infotainment features we mentioned earlier in this review.

However, we’ve said many times now that 02 trim, which is only available with the Long Range battery – is the one to go for, partly because it bulks up the kit list substantially. We’ve talked about the LED headlights, better stereo, ambient lighting, and sliding and reclining rear seats, but it also adds 17in alloy wheels, heated front seats, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, heated steering wheel, and wireless phone-charging.

Top-spec Cross – again, it’s only available with the bigger-battery version – is designed to look more rugged and comes with a different alloy wheel design. It also adds a sunroof and extra safety features, but is too expensive to be our pick of the range.

Is it reliable, and how long is the warranty?

The Inster was too new to feature in our latest What Car? Reliability Survey, but Hyundai as a manufacturer ended up 14th out of the 30 brands included. That puts it below brands with small EVs in their portfolios, such as Citroën, Dacia and Vauxhall. It finished above Renault, though, which was in 20th place, and MG came in rock bottom.

Hyundai offers a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty and an eight-year, 100,000-mile battery warranty. That’s much better than the fairly standard three-year, 60,000-mile warranty you get with most rivals, including the Citroën ë-C3 and Dacia Spring.

How safe is it, and is it easy to steal?

The experts at Euro NCAP gave the Inster four stars out of five (overall) for safety. That matches the Renault 5’s overall rating but, when we looked at the finer details, the Inster is slightly weaker for adult occupant protection. The MG4 Urban is better than both, with an excellent five-star overall rating. 

Standard safety equipment includes front, front side and curtain airbags, automatic emergency braking (AEB) that can recognise cars, pedestrians and bicycles, lane-keeping assist, lane-follow assist and a driver monitoring system.

The range-topping Cross model adds blind-spot monitoring and a more sophisticated AEB system that can intervene when you’re reversing or changing lane.

"Going through the list of standard equipment, I find it hard not to be impressed by how much kit Hyundai has packed into the Inster while still keeping the price down." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Buy it if...

–You need a compact city car
–You want a relatively affordable EV
–You like lots of standard kit 

Don't it if...

–You want a small EV that’s fun to drive
–You need to carry five people 
–You want the safest small car you can buy

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here