2025 Hyundai Inster takes to Aussie roads as part of global development testing

Car makers love a secret. It’s all about keeping the new car surprises under wraps (and still secret) until the marketing department is ready to unleash its sales flurry.

But for one January day early in 2024 we were brought into the inner circle for a top-secret development program.

Heartily swatting flies in western NSW at a remote airfield it was suitably warm and the cars we were here to see and drive were draped in bulky black and white camouflage to disguise what was hidden underneath.

Only now can we tell you about our first experience with a car called the Hyundai Inster.

Back then the name wasn’t known and this little EV’s closest relative is the Korean market Casper, a car powered by petrol.

The two share an architecture, although in EV Inster guise there’s a battery pack lining the floor and an electric motor beneath the stubby bonnet.

Since we took part in this early test of a development prototype we’ve learnt a lot more about this important new all-electric SUV, including what it looks like.

But standing on that airfield we knew little about it, except that it was a soon-to-arrive small electric SUV set to become a crucial member of the brand’s growing EV family.

The Inster is a tiny five-door city-focussed SUV and a car Hyundai hopes will play at the entry level of the growing electric car space. Think somewhere around $35,000 and you get an idea of the planned positioning.

Its main purpose will be zipping around the suburbs in near silence.

But it needs to be able to deal with anything. From freeways and country roads to gravel and potholes.

Hence the remote location and inhospitable environment.

In short, engineers want to punish prototypes like this to ensure they’re up for anything an owner could possibly throw at it over many hundreds of thousands of kilometres.

Sure, most Corollas and Mazda3s spend their time trudging around the suburbs, but they’re also expected to venture anywhere bitumen will take them... and, sometimes, beyond.

Speaking of which, the bigger 49kWh battery versions of the Hyundai Inster are claimed to go for 355km on one charge, which is reasonably good considering the low battery density.

Most of the Hyundai’s Inster’s Australian development testing was done on regular roads across a broad range of surfaces, all the way to gravel and mud.

However, regulations with prototypes in Australia mean we’re not allowed to get behind the wheel on public roads.

That’s why our brief drive is confined to a country air strip.

It’s not ideal, but gives a snapshot of the efforts Hyundai is going to in ensuring the Inster will happily stray out of its comfort zone for those prepared to explore.

A quick glance at these prototypes shows they’ve been through plenty – and they’re a long way from perfect.

Even sliding into the passenger seat is an effort in foot placement. The floor of the development car is packed with cables and wires, the dashboard draped in black material for added privacy.

Cabin plastics are unfinished and the car is showing signs of a life on the road.

They’re also loaded with sensors and added computer power to monitor everything from temperatures and outputs to loads and noises.

That is indicative of the focus for these cars.

The Inster prototypes sent to Australia weren’t representative of the final product.

While there’s not much of an opportunity to test its dynamic nous on the straight, flat stretches of a runway, a few swerves and impromptu corners are enough to learn there’s a long way to go.

But the electric motor and battery pack are much closer to the real thing as part of the drivetrain validation testing.

Engineers are checking the motor and battery components are well matched, that the inverter and battery management system are behaving and that the differential and drive systems are working as planned.

Importantly, they’re being tested in extreme conditions, including heat, punishing bumps and penetrating dust. Turns out Australia is pretty good at punishing cars!

The test vehicles are regularly plugged into computers to monitor a multitude of parameters, with engineers regularly poring over the data.

When I finally get behind the wheel there are plenty of Hyundai familiarities.

Like the Kona Electric and IONIQ 5, the Inster has a twist lever to engage forward and reverse and does away with the Hyundai 'H' on the steering wheel for the more modern four dots treatment (they represent H in morse code).

Driving the front wheels it makes a modest 84.5kW, less if you get the shorter range battery.

And there’s only 147Nm of torque.

They’re modest numbers but the Inster is a small car and weighs less than 1.4 tonnes, so there’s not much weight to bring up to speed.

So while there’s none of the fire-and-fury many EVs are known for, there’s easy, effortless pull that comes on swiftly courtesy of the quick responses of electricity.

It’s an EV that should easily match pace with the suburban grind, even if it’s unlikely to pop you on the podium of the traffic light grand prix.

Our time in the Inster is brief, but it’s enough to learn it’s best suited to city motoring.

The size, modest performance and relatively short EV range means it’ll do its best work in the ’burbs.

But for those who want to take it to western NSW – or beyond – there’s a good chance it’ll deal with it just fine.

That’s partly thanks to the extensive engineering efforts to ready a new EV for the rigours of Australia – and the world.

2025 Hyundai Inster specifications:
Price: About $35,000 (estimated)
Available: Early 2025
Powertrain: Single front-mounted electric motor
Output: 71.1kW/147Nm (regular battery), 84.5kW/127Nm (Long Range battery)
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 42kWh (regular battery), 49kWh (Long Range battery)
Range: Up to 355km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 15.3kWh/100km (estimated)
Safety rating: NA

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