On what seemed like one of the wettest days of the year with Storm Darragh rolling in, Daly’s Hyundai in Belfast brightened up Friday 6 December with a preview of the all-new INSTER, Hyundai’s first small, all-electric SUV.
It’s not
often pre-production cars traverse the Irish Sea, so it was refreshing that
Hyundai UK seized the opportunity to tour the province with a brace of
left-hand-driver INSTER’s. The model brought to Belfast, finished in a
delightful Buttercream Yellow pearl colour, definitely lit up the showroom.
“So today we have the new Hyundai INSTER, which is our first A-Sector EV.”
Explains Daniel Daly.
“It is, in comparison to size, in between the size of a Hyundai I10 and the Hyundai
I20, and is available as full EV only. It’s
available in two battery sizes, 42 kilowatts and 49 kilowatts. This one’s the
bigger battery, 49 kilowatts. We hope it’ll have a WLTP rating of 229 miles and
this particular one is the 02 trim.
“It’s going to be available in a 01, a 02, and a ‘Cross’ trim, and as you can
see from the car here, it is extremely spacious for what it is. I’m 6’ 2” and
I’m able to sit comfortably in the front as the driver and also as a passenger
in the rear.”
“When you compare the INSTER to the other Hyundai cars, there’s probably no C-Sector
car in the range here that I could comfortably do that in today. Technology
wise, it is packed with as much safety equipment as an IONIQ 5 or IONIQ 6. In a
car that’s half the price. So it starts at £23,500 for the 01 model with the
smaller battery and goes up in price increments to the top of the range with a
bigger battery and higher trim model which is £28,000.”
Daniel Daly continues, “There are nine different colours available.
This one is Buttercream, which is a wee bit different to anything we have had
before, for sure. All INSTER’s will be 5-door hatchback with four seats and
four seatbelts, and we will have the first car available towards the end of
February.
“It’s here today for staff training and a public preview, and we’ve plenty of
customers coming in today to obviously view the car. This is the first we’ve
ever had pre-production in the showroom and that’s thanks to Hyundai UK.”
For such an affordable car, I was surprised to learn that the INSTER comes as standard with heat pump and battery heating system, features usually reserved for flagship models, and top trim ones at that.
Sharing distinctive lighting design from the IONIQ family, the INSTER can be equipped with LED projection headlamps and a two-tone exterior with contracting black roof. Depending on trim selected, it comes with either 15-inch or 17-inch wheels.
Dual 10.25-inch screens inside the cabin offer INSTER owners everything the brands most sought after models provide, including wireless phone charging. The space within the cabin is nothing short of mind boggling, the designers worked some magic for such a small car to be so spacious, never mind its big personality.
Power wise, the INSTER is front-wheel-drive and depending on battery size offers 97PS or 115PS, both of which provided 147 Nm of torque.
INSTER offers the most complete technology package in the segment, including comprehensive Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) features such as Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist Rear (PCA-R) and Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist 1.5 (FCA 1.5).
Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) and Lane Following Assist (LFA) are also offered, as are Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA), Safety Exit Warning (SEW), Smart Cruise Control (SCC) w/ Stop and Go, Highway Driving Assist 1.5 (HDA 1.5), Intelligent Speed Limit Assist (ISLA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), High Beam Assist (HBA), Leading Vehicle Departure Alert (LVDA) and Rear Occupant Alert (ROA).
Buyers considering PCP finance on their new INSTER can take advantage of a £500 FDA and 4.9% APR, with INSTER 01 42kWh from £248.57 p/m, INSTER 01 49kWh from £267.03 p/m and INSTER 02 49kWh from £295.62 p/m (T&C’s apply).
