Monday 10th June 2024

Hyundai confirms all-electric Dacia Spring rival

Thought Dacia would have the affordable EV city car niche to itself this year? Think again - here come the Koreans

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We’ve been following the impending introduction of the Dacia Spring with interest. Partly because the manufacturer’s canny, value-based approach appeals to right-thinking PHers generally, and partly because the arrival of cheap-to-buy electric cars is now considered essential to kickstarting the increasingly moribund European EV market. The latter concept isn’t exactly rocket science: plenty of normal people are interested in making the switch to battery power, they’re just not interested in paying a small fortune to do so. Moreover, small and very affordable models are typically aimed at city driving where (shock) electric cars actually work best. 

Accordingly, while it might seem like Dacia has again seized on something that no one else is doing (or doing very well), the potential size of the market means that a number of other firms are lining up to snap at its heels. One of them is Hyundai, a firm that knows a thing or two about turning formerly uninspiring product into sales gold. The new Inster, seen here ahead of its official reveal at the Busan International Mobility Show later this month and confirmed for Europe, bears all the hallmarks of a Korean sleeper hit: it’s an ‘evolution’ of a petrol-powered model sold exclusively in Korea; it exceeds the Dacia’s range by a significant margin; it has a silly and immediately memorable name; it will not be expensive. 

Quite how inexpensive it will be is, for now, a matter of conjecture. Merely by being a sub-compact we know that Hyundai is targeting a low starting price, but there’s almost zero chance it will seek to undercut the £15k cost of the cheapest Spring. Instead, the firm will rely on the strength of its brand and the 220 miles of range it says it is aiming for. Indeed, Hyundai insists that the Inster ‘will set new standards in terms of driving range, technology, and safety features, redefining what buyers can expect from a vehicle in this class’. Which is the manufacturer’s long-established game plan in a nutshell. 

As, it seems, are the new styling choices. Obviously, we can expect the car’s basic shape to mirror the Casper (yes, seriously) on which it is based - but the downsized SUV profile has been given a spruce ‘with signature LED daytime running lights, plus pixel-graphic turn signals and tail lamps that define the new sub-compact EV’s design.’ We’ll bet it’s got more power than the entry-level 45hp Spring, too, and a slightly showier interior. But the underlying strategy will be very similar: convincing anyone with a runaround that the time has come to trade it in for a shiny new EV. Expect it to get harder and harder to resist the temptation. 

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• Dacia Spring on sale now from £169 a month
• Dacia Spring confirmed as £15k EV in UK

[mooseracer]

"Expect it to get harder and harder to resist the temptation. "

A strange sort of temptation that is.

[anonymous-user]

Really like the look of the Casper, this will be interesting if it's priced right.

[bigyoungdave]

I find this end of the EV market so much more exciting and interesting than the top end.

[josh00mac]

bigyoungdave said:

I find this end of the EV market so much more exciting and interesting than the top end.

Totally agree. Little leccy cars that you can use and abuse make great sense. Or you buy the spectre and in 5 years have a worthless paper weight

[ducnick]

bigyoungdave said:

I find this end of the EV market so much more exciting and interesting than the top end.

Totally agree. Like many families we have two cars. One big one that does the long distance stuff like holidays and weekends, and one smaller car that never goes more than 30 miles from home, but gets driven multiple times per day on short trips from cold. I would happily swap this one for a small 4 door EV , new or used, next time round.
Fiat and Renault really need to hurry up because this is traditionally their sector.

Edited by ducnick on Tuesday 11th June 07:37

[Angelo1985]

Good, but I am still waiting for the new Santa Fe! Hurry up and bring it to the uk!

[cerb4.5lee]

ducnick said:

bigyoungdave said:

I find this end of the EV market so much more exciting and interesting than the top end.

Totally agree. Like many families we have two cars. One big one that does the long distance stuff like holidays and weekends, and one smaller car that never goes more than 30 miles from home, but gets driven multiple times per day on short trips from cold. I would happily swap this one for a small 4 door EV , new or used, next time round.
Fiat and Renault really need to hurry up because this is traditionally their sector.

Edited by ducnick on Tuesday 11th June 07:37

I'm another one who thinks that a cheap EV makes a lot of sense as a cheap run around as well. For a high performance car though...I'd always favour ICE because they have more depth than a performance EV to me though.

[cerb4.5lee]

mooseracer said:

"Expect it to get harder and harder to resist the temptation. "

A strange sort of temptation that is.

It does feel a bit like Japanese water torture in some ways I think, and even on here(a website that used to be about cars with engines) the talk of EVs is very high, so they are getting more and more difficult to ignore I reckon.

[Bernt Tuakrisp]

As others have said - this is the end of the market that is perfect for EV's - small low cost cars suited for lots of small journeys. We are planning get one as our second car - but not the Dacia, there are far better and more capable nearly new options available for the same price or lower. Prices will continue to drop in the short term at least - I can see there being plenty of sub £10k options for good low mileage EV's available as unsold cars clog up dealerships and finance companies. The Ginster looks good though, and will presumably have a 5 star safety rating unlike the Spring.

[jimmytheone]

Article said:

"...the manufacturer’s canny, value-based approach appeals to rightTight-thinking PHers generally "

The world needs more of these small, cheap EV runabouts

[pb8g09]

Given this site is more aimed at the performance end of the spectrum, why has there still not been a review or anything on the Smart #1 Brabus at £45k which does 0-60 in 3.8s, yet we keep getting articles on the bottom end?

It’s been out almost a year now and I’ve seen barely anything on it and PH acts like it never existed.

[anonymous-user]

Everything seems permanent until it isn’t. Massive, 2.5 tonne SUV’s will just go out of fashion. Some manufacturers will be ready. Others are going to get heavily caught out.

The Renault 5 will be the car that does it.

[BigChiefmuffinAgain]

As others have said, small second cars make sense as EVs ( assuming you can charge them at home ). I suspect the manufactures also are thinking that the ICE small car market has been abandoned, and that smaller cars tend to sell in bigger volumes, and they are all under a lot of challenges to increase their % of sales of EVs or face ruinous fines. A future with a lot of cheaper EVs and a few higher price/margin ICE offerings beckons....

[dunnoreally]

Everyone's talking about this as a second car only but actually if that's 220 miles of real-world range I'm not sure it has to be. 220 miles would I suspect be enough for enough people enough of the time (provided you had home charging) that you could put up with a bit of inconvenience on the odd holiday to Cornwall. The Casper looks quite sweet too.

It's not something I'd want, but then I'm a weird forum poster who covets obscure Japanese saloons from the 1980s. The question is whether it's something my mother or my sister in law might want. I think, yeah, it might be. If it really is decently cheap too they could be onto a serious winner here.

[Taz73]

As others have said, this is where it matters regarding EVs small and relatively affordable, whatever that is, Citroens eC3 is another as it has a lower range cheaper version coming out soon and the current model isn't exactly expensive for a supermini anyway.
I do hope FIAT can do something with their 500 to reduce its costs as it's a very desirable EV, looks great, drives well and is fun but is too expensive, but with talk of the new hybrid being built on the EV platform along with new battery tech to reduce costs, cheaper EVs are on their way. See what happens with the baby ID as well.

[Skaben]

A Casper for reference, perfect for the school run

[ex-devonpaul]

bigyoungdave said:

I find this end of the EV market so much more exciting and interesting than the top end.

I find it more relevant to me. But then again most of the forums I'm interested in aren't really relevant to my waking reality

The 200+ mile range is the biggie - the basic Spring with 140? mile range, which could be nearer 100 in reality on a cold day, and even here in the West Midlands that's limiting for a day trip to Chester Zoo or Powys Castle or going to Oulton Park or Donington for the races.

[redroadster]

I've always thought this price range is where its at for electric cars ,cheap to buy or lease cheapish to run that's what most occasional short range drivers want ,the 60 grand plus market is a depreciation bomb 💣, and maybe that's one way of regulating sales of petrol or diesel cars ,put a minimum price thet can be sold at ,better than a total ban .

[Andy86GT]

Skaben said:

A Casper for reference, perfect for the school run

Has a Suzuki Ignis vibe. I wonder if it will only appeal to the same demographic that the Ignis seems to attract?

[JJJ.]

Must agree with previous posts, this end of the EV market is actually interesting and I could see one of these small EV's in our garage even if only used a few times per week for local runs.
I'm not an EV fan but MrsJJJ would consider one for her next car but there's some reluctance due to her current bulletproof Suzuki 1.2 returning 60+mpg and a range of c.500 miles which costs peanuts to run. And importantly doesn't require main dealer servicing and maintenance. Basically, a case of the devil you know...from her perspective.

Edited by JJJ. on Tuesday 11th June 10:41