2025 Hyundai Inster price and specs: Tiny electric car to start from less than $40K

• 2025 Hyundai Inster pricing and specifications
• New small EV is the brand's cheapest yet
• Cross variant with rugged styling
• Priced from $39,000 before on-road costs

The pint-sized 2025 Hyundai Inster electric car will start from less than $40,000 before on-road costs in Australia when it arrives in showrooms imminently.

But it will push above $40,000 once on the road, and it is $9000 dearer than the most affordable BYD Dolphin – or $3000 more than an MG 4 – both bigger cars with longer driving ranges.

The Inster – a four-seat city hatch slightly smaller than a Suzuki Swift – will be offered in three model grades, including an off-road-styled Cross variant with different bumpers and an optional roof basket.

Prices start from $39,000 before on-road costs for the 327km-range Standard Range, or an estimated $42,000 drive-away – in line with expectations of a sub-$40K RRP, but more expensive than a Dolphin Dynamic ($29,990), Australia's cheapest EV.

It will also compete with the GWM Ora Standard Range ($33,990 drive-away) and MG 4 Excite 51 ($36,990 drive-away).

The Inster Extended Range is priced from $42,500 before on-roads, while the Cross is $45,000, with either a sunroof or a roof basket.

Powering the Standard Range is a 71.1kW/147Nm front electric motor and 42kWh battery pack, good for a claimed 327km of driving range in European WLTP testing, and 0-100km/h acceleration in 11.7 seconds.

The Extended Range adds a 49kWh battery – also with nickel-manganese-cobalt chemistry – and an 84.5kW/147Nm motor, for 360km of claimed range, and a 10.6sec 0-100km/h time.

Adding the roof basket to the Cross – which uses the 49kWh pack – drops the claimed WLTP range from 360km to 293km.

Hyundai claims a 30-minute 10 to 80 per cent fast charging time at up to 85.3kW, but a 120kW charger is needed to achieve that as anything less cannot supply enough current to account for the Inster's low battery voltages.

AC charging at up to 10.5kW is offered – through an onboard charger – for empty to full charge times on a 16-amp plug of four hours, and four hours and 35 minutes for the two battery packs.

Paddle shifters to adjust the regenerative braking strength are standard, as well as vehicle-to-load support for powering electrical devices using the car's battery.

Standard equipment across the range includes LED headlights, dual 10.25-inch interior displays, keyless entry and start, wireless phone charging, a suite of safety features, and sliding rear seats that vary boot space from 238L to 351L.

Higher grades add heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, blind-spot cameras, front parking sensors, 17-inch alloys, and ambient cabin lighting.

Unique to the Cross are off-road-styled bumpers, a different wheel design, and body trim such as embossed side sills.

Black cloth seats are fitted to the Standard Range, with the Extended Range offering black or two-tone brown/beige cloth, and the Cross offering black or grey/khaki leather-appointed trim.

The 2025 Hyundai Inster is available now.

• Inster Standard Range – $39,000
• Inster Extended Range – $42,500
• Inster Cross – $45,000 (with roof basket or sunroof)

Note: All prices above exclude on-road costs.

• 42kWh battery and 71.1kW/147Nm electric motor
• Four seats
• 15-inch alloy wheels with tyre repair kit
• LED projector headlights with auto high beam
• LED daytime-running lights
• Silver front and rear skid plates
• Black bumper garnishes and window trim
• 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen with digital radio
• 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
• Keyless entry and start
• Wireless phone charger
• Single-zone climate control
• Two USB-C and one USB-A port
• Six-way manually-adjustable driver's seat
• Sliding rear seats with 50:50 split folding
• Cloth seat upholstery (sourced from recycled PET plastic)
• Leather-wrapped and 'soft paint' dashboard accents
• Leather-trimmed steering whel
• Vehicle-to-load support
• Heat pump
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Tinted glass
• Autonomous emergency braking with intersection awareness
• Adaptive cruise control with navigation integration
• Lane-keep assist
• Lane following assist (Highway Driving Assist)
• Blind-spot monitoring with braking function
• Rear cross-traffic alert with braking function
• Traffic sign recognition
• Driver attention warning with in-cabin camera
• Rear occupant alert
• Door exit warning

• 49kWh battery and 84.5kW/147Nm electric motor
• 17-inch alloy wheels

• Unique 17-inch alloy wheels
• Cross-specific front and rear bumpers, skid plates
• Embossed side sills and door garnish
• Sunroof with manual sunshade
• Leather-appointed upholstery
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Flat-folding front seat backrests
• Heated steering wheel
• Blind-spot cameras
• 360-degree camera
• Front parking sensors
• Low-speed rear autonomous emergency braking for car parks
• Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
• 64-colour ambient interior lighting
• Pad print upper interior door garnish
• 'Smart temperature comfort control system'
• Roof rails
• Rear privacy glass

• Black roof basket
• Black contrast roof and windscreen pillars
• Sunroof deleted

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner

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