The small Hyundai Inster is in the final list for the election of the Car of the Year 2025. The ultra-compact electric crossover has its chances. But will it be able to convince, when it comes to a Hyundai, against European brands?
Hyundai has never won the European Car of the Year title, but can Inster’s praise of sobriety allow the Korean to achieve its first, early next year? Possible. In any case, the Inster has at least a chance of being on the podium, which this time would constitute a second in the history of Hyundai in the COTY (Car of the year), after the Ioniq 5 (third, in 2022 ).
If the Inster has its chances, it is perhaps because it offers something that many current electric models do not have: satisfactory habitability in an ultra compact format and with a low price. It actually starts at just €25,000.
The lightness of the machine – given its motorization – is almost a proof of exoticism in a world where we consider that an electric vehicle weighing less than two tonnes is a form of lightness. Sobriety has all the more good things in that it allows Hyundai to offer an electric car to a public for whom the purchase was inconceivable, unless they make immense sacrifices in terms of behavior, on-board space or the equipment. In short, a Dacia Spring, a Leapmotor T03 and nothing else.
Very well thought out
With its 3.83 meters long, the Inster could make the new R5 look like a “giant”. But its secret lies in its proportions with tiny overhangs which allow it to display a wheelbase 4 cm greater than that of the Renault 5. And on board, there are numerous tips for optimizing modularity. Sliding rear seat, good headroom, fully folding front seat to carry long objects. Even the driver’s seat can be completely folded down! In addition to offering a fun look and an interior that is not sad, the Inster therefore has serious practical advantages.
To which it adds completely honorable performance with barely more than 11 seconds for 0 to 100 km/h, which allows it to consider a little more than the simple case of strictly urban use. And with only 1380 kg on the scale, the Inster would almost come close to the weight of certain hybrid B-segment city cars.. Only the obviously quite reduced autonomy at high speed (fast lane) will be lacking, but this is not its favorite terrain. For the rest, Hyundai offers something which, we feel, has been imagined and designed with a sense of reflection on what the general public expects. Enough to win the 2025 “Car of the Year”?
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