2025 Hyundai Inster Seven-Day Test: A compelling argument for why buying the cheaper Chinese alternative isn’t the best choice

You bring it in for under $40,000, yet the masses still say it’s too expensive. Sorry little Inster… appears you can’t win.

Hyundai was seriously squeezed by a surge of cheap Chinese EVs landing in Australia ahead of the Inster’s arrival. You feel they worked hard to lock-in its $39,000 sticker price, but even that looks punchy when the similar-sized BYD Dolphin is a full $10,000 (!) cheaper.

Alternatively, you can drive-away a GWM Ora for $36k or larger MG4 for $38k.

But but what if it’s not all about the bottom line?

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Over the course of seven days, we wanted to see if the diminutive Inster could justify its price. In our state of Queensland, the entry-level (as tested here) with 42kWh battery, 327km range and 71.1kW/147Nm front motor is $42,473 on the road.

An Extended Range version with 49kWh battery, 360km range and 84.5kW/147Nm front motor is $46,043 drive-away.

Our launch review here lists all the key specs and details, while reading on you’ll find our findings after running the entry-level Inster for a week of family duties.

Day one: Properly pocket sized

I hop out of my test dual cab ute and spot the Inster in its ($1000 cost option) dusk blue matte paint.

God it’s small. Like a Japanese kei-car.

It looks awkwardly skinny from front and behind, it’s very tall, has tiny overhangs, and appears utterly under-wheeled on this entry model’s 15-inch alloy wheels.

Sexier and larger 17-inch medieval cross-styled alloys on the Extended Range model make it look worth the additional $3500 alone.

That said, I’d probably go all-in and get the sorta-rugged Insta Cross with its dark 17-inchers, roof box and heated leatherette seats. But suddenly you’re at $48,600 drive-away.

The cabin presents as pretty plastic, but good grief it’s roomy. A duo of 10.25-inch screens look good, seats are comfy and a peer over my shoulder reveals superb leg room for those in the back, despite the tiny length (3825mm) of this car.

I sling my gear in the boot. Or what’s supposed to pass as a boot. It’s tiny with those rear seats slid fully back, but with them forward, the cargo area (with a deep space under the floor) ain’t half bad. It’s feeling like a versatile little unit so far.

Get running and the trip computer shows 99 per cent charge and 336km range.

The Inster’s instantly at ease on Brisbane’s clogged urban streets, feeling peppy and nimble. No surprise, being a city car, that this feels its natural habitat. Love me a little car in the city.

My 120km drive home on the highway is the surprise. The Inster feels settled, composed and well insulated which is wholly uncommon for something this small.

I’m home with 63 per cent charge, 201km remaining and energy use of 12.5kW/100km. Damn good for mainly sitting at 110km/h.

Day two: School run

We’re only a family of four, so aren’t hampered by the Inster being a strict four-seater.

In fact, the two rear chairs have roomy bum space, leg room’s terrific for our teen/tween pairing, but there are no rear air vents. That’d be testing in a Queensland summer.

As with most kids, the importance of planet-saving drilled into them at school means they approve of anything electric and not burning fossil fuels. I try to explain about EVs not being completely green, but that just complicates things. They love the Inster.

Off to school and into traffic. Here, the Inster’s very much at home, and our journey returns a phenomenal 8.3kW/100km. As we’ve previously reported, you really can travel 100km for just a dollar in certain circumstances.

There are four different regeneration levels, easily flicked through using steering wheel paddles.

In traffic I use maximum, which brings the i-Pedal into play, so it’ll come to a complete stop when lifting off the throttle. In no time I’m one-pedal driving.

On the open road, without question having regen completely off is the way to go. It keeps the Inster beautifully smooth, and even off throttle it feels like there’s still momentum.

Add to it decent bump absorption and fair steering feel, and this little Inster’s simply a bloody lovely drive. The set-up and calibration are spot on for urban life.

Day 3: Home charging

Like every new Hyundai, there’s a damn annoying process to go through before every journey. The eternal turning off of driver assist.

I won’t single out Hyundai; it’s a curse of most new cars you’ll buy in 2025. So, second-nature as doing up the seat belt, I go into the steering wheel shortcut button and individually must turn off driver monitor, speed warning and lane keep assist.

It shouldn’t have to be this way. All of the above are overly sensitive, nannying and defeat the purpose of them being fitted.

By day’s end I decide it’s time to juice the battery. I have 127km range remaining and 41 per cent charge. I plug into the garage’s 10amp household socket and the car says it’ll take 10h 50 mins to reach full.

When I unplug at 6am the next morning it shows 332km range and 96 per cent.

I’d imagine most Inster owners will charge this way. It’s an urban runabout, so if it’s regularly topped up overnight the day’s first journey will be up near maximum charge.

Day 4: Weekend fling

The weekend’s hot and sunny, so we’re off to Noosa Main Beach.

Seems like half of Queensland’s doing the same, so we crawl in traffic. At least we again see roughly 8kW/100km… even with four on board.

We park beside a Land Rover Defender, and the difference is stark. The Inster is comically dwarfed, but rest assured tighter parking spaces are better suited to our little EV, plus we’re smugly feeling way more eco than that diesel-burning Brit.

The boot swallows all our beach gear, but the surf boards couldn’t make it. And while I’m grumbling, the 10.25-inch central screen’s not the quickest responder; Apple CarPlay only works using a dated USB-A cord, and the reversing camera’s pretty average.

Day 5: City bound

Back into Brisbane to deliver some of the dear wife’s artwork. This means rear seats down, and just like that, there’s a properly usable flat floor.

If you’re sans kids or never have back seat passengers, you could always have these folded and enjoy serious space.

There are even smart little fold-out seat backs to facilitate the flat floor.

Perhaps a Bunnings run isn’t out of the question.

The cloth seats feel pretty basic on my long drive, but never uncomfortable.

I even tolerate the sea of hard plastic up-frront, but not the door armrest. Why car companies can’t find an extra few bucks and provide padding for elbows is beyond me. A soft place to rest one’s arm isn’t too much to ask when digital screens and endless driver aids are standard fit.

I really enjoy zipping through Brisbane. This may be the slowest Inster, but as with all EVs, the instant torque means it never feels less than athletic off the mark.

Its skinny tyres don’t look the grippiest, but fair play, I never once spun them up. The front motor’s been well calibrated to keep things sensible and easy-to-drive, unlike many EVs shovelling more Newton-metres through the front treads.

After phenomenal in-town economy, the 110km/h highway drive home hits the battery hard. I reset the tell-tale to see its highway-only economy and it’s up over 15kW/100km. It absolutely prefers city life.

Day 6: Back road playtime

Okay, my enthusiastic driving test route reveals the Inster is no acceleration King, but it’s surprising fun to punt through and fly out of corners.

These little EVs only weigh a few beers over 1.3-tonnes, which is featherweight for an electric car.

Composure’s not half bad, and there are no nasty jolts as you’d typically get with city cars on skinny tyres on a country road. The Inster’s relatively long wheelbase helps here.

Few would use their Inster for a back road blast, but rest assured it’s no slouch, and pleasingly good fun.

It dawns on me there’ll be a segment of the city EV market that will pay extra for these talents. Too many new Chinese EV offerings deliver poor drive experiences for those who actually still care about such things.

They may have rock bottom prices and tasty specification for your dollars, but I’ll pub argue with anyone that brands like Hyundai spend that extra R&D time and money actually setting up its cars for those who appreciate driving.

And that can’t be overlooked. I’ve driven way too many cars recently where I’ve known within 30 seconds I’d not be able to live with the poor drivability. I’d end the test drive immediately and look elsewhere.

Day 7: Little wins

One more overnight charge for the little Inster, using the garage plug.

At 7.15pm it’s at 41 per cent and 144km range, then setting off next morning at 7am it’s 96 per cent and 343km range. Happy with that.

It’ll DC fast charge at up to 120kW for a 10-80 per cent top-up in about half an hour, but I’ve not needed to public charge. Its economy has ensured this.

After a week of use we’ve done 538km at an average of 12.7kW/100km, but around 350km of those were highway. Our in-town use was a superb 8.9kW/100km.

I’ll miss the little Inster. Its looks are a mix of gawky and cute, and I’m a huge fan of those pixel lights out back.

For our family, it’s up there with the best second cars I could think of. It’d be the pick for general around-town daily duties as the economy would make life ultra cheap – 10,000km for just over $100 is possible on the right electricity tariff.

Interestingly, on dropping off this baby Hyundai EV, my Uber is a BYD Atto 3.

The BYD’s way larger and fancier inside next to the Inster, but I’m taken aback by its jittery ride, the way it doesn’t handle road hits well, and how the build quality doesn’t feel as solid as the Hyundai’s did.

And perhaps it was the Uber driver’s throttle inputs, but the power delivery was no match for the Inster’s smoothness.

That, for me, is the deal breaker. If I’m going to drive 100,000km, I’ll absolutely pay a few thousand dollars more to get one that I look forward to driving each day.

I fear the Inster won’t be the choice of many Aussies, but I’ll nod in respect to those I see on the road, safe in the knowledge the driver and passengers are enjoying the ride in this clever, brilliant little car.

2025 Hyundai Inster price and specifications
Price: From $39,000 plus on-road costs
Basics: EV, 4 seats, 5 doors, SUV (just!), FWD
Range: 327km
Battery capacity: 42kWh
Battery warranty: 8 years/160,000km
Energy consumption: 14.3kWh/100km (12.7kW/100km as tested)
Motors: 1 front 71.1kW/147Nm
AC charging: 10.5kW, Type 2 plug
DC charging: 120kW, CCS combo plug
0-100km/h: 11.7 seconds