Hyundai breaks electric car price barrier

Two of the main factors impeding the popularity of electric cars are price and range. Both are valid reservations for most people but price is perhaps the most valid, with many EV car prices running at almost unaffordable levels for many buyers - until now, that is.

While many commentators had been focusing on the expected budget EV's from big European manufacturers, such as the Volkswagen group, and the emerging brands from China, Hyundai had been beavering away on a project that has taken the market by surprise, particularly in Ireland.

The Inster is the result of that project. While Dacia’s Spring will be hot on its heels (with a price tag of about €17,000), Hyundai has already brought the Inster to market with an extremely attractive price point of €18,995, including grants.

And while the Inster costs a bit more than the Spring, it looks like Irish buyers will be offered a rather more upmarket offering than Dacia’s cheap and cheerful option.

What we know so far is that the Inster has been given a number of interior features from bigger models such as the Ioniq. The instrument and infotainment screens, for example, look like smaller versions of the Ioniq’s. There’s a 10.25" infotainment touch screen.

Thankfully, you won’t have to dig into the screen on the move and be distracted as there are full buttons for key controls. This is very welcome news and, in my opinion, other manufacturers should take note.

The car is 3.8 metres long and 1.6 metres wide but Hyundai seem to have managed the dimensions so well that tall people up front are not restricted, and the two rear seats can accommodate two passengers very comfortably. It’s really a four-seater and designed mostly for city driving.

There's a claimed range of 300km for the entry level 42 kWh battery version and 355km for the bigger 49 kWh battery version. The usual caveat about claimed range and real world driving conditions apply as usual.

For average driving requirements, however, and for those with home charging the range should be comfortably adequate.

The 42 kWh version does not have a heat pump as standard but the 49 kWh version does. It’s a pity the heat pump, which recuperates heat from the motor and helps with range in colder conditions, does not come as standard - but at this price, I suppose, you can’t have everything. The 49kWh version, incidentally, costs €21,995.

As well as a suite of safety features, standard equipment on the entry version includes 15" alloys, heated seats and a heated steering wheel.

At 280 litres of boot space capacity, the Inster will be more limited than the Spring, which has 308 litres. The Inster’s rear seats can also be folded flat to accommodate bigger loads.

With the arrival of both cars a welcome affordability battle is now underway in the EV market.