Hyundai Inster or Suzuki E-Vitara?
Discussion
I commute 90 miles a day to Heathrow for work, wife does 50 miles 3 days a week to work. Last summer we were faced with our 21 year old daughter starting Uni in Brum and subsidising her accommodation and living costs there to the tune of about £700pcm, a serious drain.
At the time the wife ran a 2010 Saab 9-5 and I had a 2017 GT86. I also have a beautiful 1992 precat Griffith I have owned for 30 years. Between us we were spending £700pcm on fuel. To reduce this we each took £25k tax free drawdown from our pensions and I bought a 2022 MX5, she bought a 2024 Toyota BZ4X and both have been superb. Generally whoever is doing the most driving that day takes the EV which currently saves us a fortune as it's doing 250 miles on £4 electricity. The plan was/is to sell the Griff now I have the MX5 and the general thinking is that with retirement in about 3 years time the electric SUV is brilliant for our camping, cycling and kayaking while the MX5 is the perfect cheap to run sports car for fun days out and epic NC500/Alpine tours.
However neither car is ideal for our daughter. I was thinking of getting a 5 year old Toyota Yaris for that but when you consider the £12k to buy, the £1500pa insurance for her and the cost of petrol etc it's going to cost around £250pcm plus fuel to run.
She doesn't need a car in Brum but she could do with a runabout for the months of holidays she gets. Meanwhile I would rather like to use a runabout to get to work to keep the mileage down on the MX5 and preserve it for retirement.
So I started looking at Tusker. I can put a Hyundai Inster or Suzuki E Vitara on the drive for £350-370 including servicing, insurance etc pcm which when you think about it isnt such a bad deal. That would further reduce our petrol costs as the MX5 would no longer be going back and forth to work saving maybe £150-200pcm. It would give our daughter car to learn in and it would mean in 3 years I could pay off the balloon payment when I retire and give her the car. She would then have a newish, cheap and hopefully very reliable nice first car which is only 3 years old.
I was all set to go for the Inster which is a fun, easy to park and cute car until I read about the seemingly common issues with the Iccu unit which controls charging and cripples the car. So now I am a bit put off and can't help wondering if the E-Vitara is a safer bet plus better on the motorway.
I realise of course that this means she will only have an automatic licence but it seems to me that is the way the world is moving anyway and it's faster and cheaper for her to learn on. If when she is 30 and decides she wants a purist sports car she can do a straightforward conversion on her licence to drive a manual and will have a lot of road experience by then.
I would welcome views on this plan and also any views on Inster v E-Vitara.
Saxon
At the time the wife ran a 2010 Saab 9-5 and I had a 2017 GT86. I also have a beautiful 1992 precat Griffith I have owned for 30 years. Between us we were spending £700pcm on fuel. To reduce this we each took £25k tax free drawdown from our pensions and I bought a 2022 MX5, she bought a 2024 Toyota BZ4X and both have been superb. Generally whoever is doing the most driving that day takes the EV which currently saves us a fortune as it's doing 250 miles on £4 electricity. The plan was/is to sell the Griff now I have the MX5 and the general thinking is that with retirement in about 3 years time the electric SUV is brilliant for our camping, cycling and kayaking while the MX5 is the perfect cheap to run sports car for fun days out and epic NC500/Alpine tours.
However neither car is ideal for our daughter. I was thinking of getting a 5 year old Toyota Yaris for that but when you consider the £12k to buy, the £1500pa insurance for her and the cost of petrol etc it's going to cost around £250pcm plus fuel to run.
She doesn't need a car in Brum but she could do with a runabout for the months of holidays she gets. Meanwhile I would rather like to use a runabout to get to work to keep the mileage down on the MX5 and preserve it for retirement.
So I started looking at Tusker. I can put a Hyundai Inster or Suzuki E Vitara on the drive for £350-370 including servicing, insurance etc pcm which when you think about it isnt such a bad deal. That would further reduce our petrol costs as the MX5 would no longer be going back and forth to work saving maybe £150-200pcm. It would give our daughter car to learn in and it would mean in 3 years I could pay off the balloon payment when I retire and give her the car. She would then have a newish, cheap and hopefully very reliable nice first car which is only 3 years old.
I was all set to go for the Inster which is a fun, easy to park and cute car until I read about the seemingly common issues with the Iccu unit which controls charging and cripples the car. So now I am a bit put off and can't help wondering if the E-Vitara is a safer bet plus better on the motorway.
I realise of course that this means she will only have an automatic licence but it seems to me that is the way the world is moving anyway and it's faster and cheaper for her to learn on. If when she is 30 and decides she wants a purist sports car she can do a straightforward conversion on her licence to drive a manual and will have a lot of road experience by then.
I would welcome views on this plan and also any views on Inster v E-Vitara.
Saxon
Can you adopt me? What happened to the days of kids busting their arses in some crappy weekend job to scrape together a grand for a used car?
Personally I would be getting a Citroen C1, Toyota IQ for £1500 and be done with it. Cheap, reliable etc. A new car comes when she has finished uni and landed her first grad job.
Personally I would be getting a Citroen C1, Toyota IQ for £1500 and be done with it. Cheap, reliable etc. A new car comes when she has finished uni and landed her first grad job.
I can't compare the two. But, our experience with the Inster Cross has been positive.
We've had it a couple of months as our daily runaround. It replaced a 2023 Kia Soul electric.
The Hyundai is perfect for our particular circumstances. We live in a Suffolk backwater village, about 15 miles from the coast. In the first month of ownership the car covered 1500 miles. It coped effortlessly and with little fuss.
The same size as a Fiat Panda, the Inster is not a sophisticated machine. But, it comes equipped with all the equipment that you need, and with real buttons, rather than an ipad, on the dash, which I prefer. There's fewer nannying warning bongs than in the Kia. Though, it does the 'eyes on the road' bong more than is necessary, IMO.
It's an eager little thing, more than capable in keeping up with traffic. And, as we live in bow-and-arrow country, its small size enables it to cope well with the country lanes while its relatively high seating position give good all round vision.
It's a cleverly packaged vehicle. With lots of internal space for such a small car. I'm six foot tall. But, I can easily 'sit behind myself' with inches to spare. Though the movable rear seats only come in the 02 and Cross models, I believe. All four seats also fold flat. So, you could camp in it too, if you wish.
The range is lower than the Kia, at about 200 miles. But, that's easily enough for a car that never leaves the Suffolk/Norfolk border area.
Overall, I'm impressed. Some may not like the boxy looks. But, I'm a fan of that style and of small cars in general.
So, a thumbs-up for the Hyundai Inster from me.
911Spanker said:
Can you adopt me? What happened to the days of kids busting their arses in some crappy weekend job to scrape together a grand for a used car?
Personally I would be getting a Citroen C1, Toyota IQ for £1500 and be done with it. Cheap, reliable etc. A new car comes when she has finished uni and landed her first grad job.
At 17, my first car was a brand new Fiat X1/9. And, it didn't do me any harm.Personally I would be getting a Citroen C1, Toyota IQ for £1500 and be done with it. Cheap, reliable etc. A new car comes when she has finished uni and landed her first grad job.
As I always insist to my probation officer.
saxon said:
So I started looking at Tusker.
As in salary sacrifice?It might be fine, but have you checked you can all go on the insurance, including a young learner driver?
There's no balloon as such with Tusker - they value the car near the end of the deal.
I presume you've made sure there's no adverse pension effect, especially as near retirement.
I think Hyundai have cracked the ICCU issue - I bought a Gen 2 Kona for one of our daughters doing 20K/yr as wanted a car I could just forget about. Not had any up issues in 18mths, although of course wouldn't have expected any, but I've seen horror stories on other EVs.
They looked at Tusker in her "company" (an academy school) but it looked like it was being done more for the school's benefit (employer pension an NI savings) so the prices weren't great and most staff weren't interested.
Inster is a rare sight where we are. Don't know Suzuki at all - have seen a few owner comments which seem generally positive.
Edited by Sheepshanks on Saturday 27th June 09:22
I take the point that this seems indulgent, and your comments did make me chuckle but lets look at a couple of facts you didn't know plus the economics of this.
The car would also be used by me for the bulk of the year to get to work and as I'm an airline pilot commuting 90 miles a day on motorways 14-16 days a month. Not being able to depend on the car to get there simply isn't acceptable to my employer. If I'm not there they're potentially looking at a £150m jet sitting on the deck and 200 passengers not getting where they need to be because I have broken down...
My daughter is pursuing a career in film and gets occasional work as a runner on productions. Like me she would be fired instantly and frankly blacklisted in the industry for not turning up - both jobs are incredibly intolerant of non-attendance because if a member of a crew doesn't show up the costs and impact mount up quickly.
As a result of that I wouldn't want to buy an old banger - I've had too many old bangers in my time and run far too many high mileage cars which have caused me huge amounts of hassle and cost. Life is very busy and to be honest I don't want the aggro of trying to depend on a car which is cheap and very likely unreliable and old. Been there, done that and that's why we did what we did last year and bought a nearly new Toyota and a Mazda. Reliability is absolutely key.
Now I agree a 4-5 year old Toyota Yaris for example would fit the bill in terms of reliability, but look at the costs:
2020 Yaris with 30 000 miles is £13000-£14000.
Loan £250pcm over 5 years
Insurance (daughter aged 21 and us) £120pcm
Fuel 90 miles round trip x 16 days a month £200pcm
Servicing, tax, MOT and tyres - £50 pcm
TOTAL £620pcm to put a 6 year old Yaris on the drive...
Tusker option
Hyundai Inster £377 for car, servicing, tyres, insurance, delivery, road tax and free charger installation - 10 000 miles pa (15000 miles is £399)
Suzuki Swift £380 10 000 miles, £411 for 15000 miles
TOTAL £377-£411 pcm to put a brand new electric car on the drive
Then the old car option
2012 Suzuki Swift with 50 000 miles £3750
Loan repayments £75pcm
Insurance £120pcm
Petrol £211 for 16xdays of 90 miles
Servicing, tyres, MOT £100pcm
TOTAL £506pcm to put a 14 year old Suzuki Swift on the drive
In truth I just cannot see the sense of buying any petrol car for her/us - not economically, not in terms of reliability and not even in terms of safety/crash protection and even things like passive safety - lane departure warning, reversing cameras etc.
Then you factor in the fact that for her to learn to drive will likely take half the time and cost half as much in an electric car and I'm really struggling to see any benefits at all to going any route except electric.
When I retire in 3 years she will hopefully be working. She can either take a loan to clear the balloon or I can take a chunk out of the pension and clear it and hand her the keys. By then her insurance should be a lot cheaper (aged 24-25 with 3 years driving experience)
Now I might just be doing man maths here but I don't think so - I think I'm proving that old bangers simply don't make sense anymore unless you hardly use the car and can do your own maintenance.
Saxon
The car would also be used by me for the bulk of the year to get to work and as I'm an airline pilot commuting 90 miles a day on motorways 14-16 days a month. Not being able to depend on the car to get there simply isn't acceptable to my employer. If I'm not there they're potentially looking at a £150m jet sitting on the deck and 200 passengers not getting where they need to be because I have broken down...
My daughter is pursuing a career in film and gets occasional work as a runner on productions. Like me she would be fired instantly and frankly blacklisted in the industry for not turning up - both jobs are incredibly intolerant of non-attendance because if a member of a crew doesn't show up the costs and impact mount up quickly.
As a result of that I wouldn't want to buy an old banger - I've had too many old bangers in my time and run far too many high mileage cars which have caused me huge amounts of hassle and cost. Life is very busy and to be honest I don't want the aggro of trying to depend on a car which is cheap and very likely unreliable and old. Been there, done that and that's why we did what we did last year and bought a nearly new Toyota and a Mazda. Reliability is absolutely key.
Now I agree a 4-5 year old Toyota Yaris for example would fit the bill in terms of reliability, but look at the costs:
2020 Yaris with 30 000 miles is £13000-£14000.
Loan £250pcm over 5 years
Insurance (daughter aged 21 and us) £120pcm
Fuel 90 miles round trip x 16 days a month £200pcm
Servicing, tax, MOT and tyres - £50 pcm
TOTAL £620pcm to put a 6 year old Yaris on the drive...
Tusker option
Hyundai Inster £377 for car, servicing, tyres, insurance, delivery, road tax and free charger installation - 10 000 miles pa (15000 miles is £399)
Suzuki Swift £380 10 000 miles, £411 for 15000 miles
TOTAL £377-£411 pcm to put a brand new electric car on the drive
Then the old car option
2012 Suzuki Swift with 50 000 miles £3750
Loan repayments £75pcm
Insurance £120pcm
Petrol £211 for 16xdays of 90 miles
Servicing, tyres, MOT £100pcm
TOTAL £506pcm to put a 14 year old Suzuki Swift on the drive
In truth I just cannot see the sense of buying any petrol car for her/us - not economically, not in terms of reliability and not even in terms of safety/crash protection and even things like passive safety - lane departure warning, reversing cameras etc.
Then you factor in the fact that for her to learn to drive will likely take half the time and cost half as much in an electric car and I'm really struggling to see any benefits at all to going any route except electric.
When I retire in 3 years she will hopefully be working. She can either take a loan to clear the balloon or I can take a chunk out of the pension and clear it and hand her the keys. By then her insurance should be a lot cheaper (aged 24-25 with 3 years driving experience)
Now I might just be doing man maths here but I don't think so - I think I'm proving that old bangers simply don't make sense anymore unless you hardly use the car and can do your own maintenance.
Saxon
saxon said:
I take the point that this seems indulgent, and your comments did make me chuckle but lets look at a couple of facts you didn't know plus the economics of this.
The car would also be used by me for the bulk of the year to get to work and as I'm an airline pilot commuting 90 miles a day on motorways 14-16 days a month. Not being able to depend on the car to get there simply isn't acceptable to my employer. If I'm not there they're potentially looking at a £150m jet sitting on the deck and 200 passengers not getting where they need to be because I have broken down...
My daughter is pursuing a career in film and gets occasional work as a runner on productions. Like me she would be fired instantly and frankly blacklisted in the industry for not turning up - both jobs are incredibly intolerant of non-attendance because if a member of a crew doesn't show up the costs and impact mount up quickly.
As a result of that I wouldn't want to buy an old banger - I've had too many old bangers in my time and run far too many high mileage cars which have caused me huge amounts of hassle and cost. Life is very busy and to be honest I don't want the aggro of trying to depend on a car which is cheap and very likely unreliable and old. Been there, done that and that's why we did what we did last year and bought a nearly new Toyota and a Mazda. Reliability is absolutely key.
Now I agree a 4-5 year old Toyota Yaris for example would fit the bill in terms of reliability, but look at the costs:
2020 Yaris with 30 000 miles is £13000-£14000.
Loan £250pcm over 5 years
Insurance (daughter aged 21 and us) £120pcm
Fuel 90 miles round trip x 16 days a month £200pcm
Servicing, tax, MOT and tyres - £50 pcm
TOTAL £620pcm to put a 6 year old Yaris on the drive...
Tusker option
Hyundai Inster £377 for car, servicing, tyres, insurance, delivery, road tax and free charger installation - 10 000 miles pa (15000 miles is £399)
Suzuki Swift £380 10 000 miles, £411 for 15000 miles
TOTAL £377-£411 pcm to put a brand new electric car on the drive
Then the old car option
2012 Suzuki Swift with 50 000 miles £3750
Loan repayments £75pcm
Insurance £120pcm
Petrol £211 for 16xdays of 90 miles
Servicing, tyres, MOT £100pcm
TOTAL £506pcm to put a 14 year old Suzuki Swift on the drive
In truth I just cannot see the sense of buying any petrol car for her/us - not economically, not in terms of reliability and not even in terms of safety/crash protection and even things like passive safety - lane departure warning, reversing cameras etc.
Then you factor in the fact that for her to learn to drive will likely take half the time and cost half as much in an electric car and I'm really struggling to see any benefits at all to going any route except electric.
When I retire in 3 years she will hopefully be working. She can either take a loan to clear the balloon or I can take a chunk out of the pension and clear it and hand her the keys. By then her insurance should be a lot cheaper (aged 24-25 with 3 years driving experience)
Now I might just be doing man maths here but I don't think so - I think I'm proving that old bangers simply don't make sense anymore unless you hardly use the car and can do your own maintenance.
Saxon
Not that I’m particularly disagreeing with the logic here but it’s at least worth factoring in that the Yaris in your example would be owned after five years and presumably still have reasonable value. Though tbh that inster deal sounds good. The car would also be used by me for the bulk of the year to get to work and as I'm an airline pilot commuting 90 miles a day on motorways 14-16 days a month. Not being able to depend on the car to get there simply isn't acceptable to my employer. If I'm not there they're potentially looking at a £150m jet sitting on the deck and 200 passengers not getting where they need to be because I have broken down...
My daughter is pursuing a career in film and gets occasional work as a runner on productions. Like me she would be fired instantly and frankly blacklisted in the industry for not turning up - both jobs are incredibly intolerant of non-attendance because if a member of a crew doesn't show up the costs and impact mount up quickly.
As a result of that I wouldn't want to buy an old banger - I've had too many old bangers in my time and run far too many high mileage cars which have caused me huge amounts of hassle and cost. Life is very busy and to be honest I don't want the aggro of trying to depend on a car which is cheap and very likely unreliable and old. Been there, done that and that's why we did what we did last year and bought a nearly new Toyota and a Mazda. Reliability is absolutely key.
Now I agree a 4-5 year old Toyota Yaris for example would fit the bill in terms of reliability, but look at the costs:
2020 Yaris with 30 000 miles is £13000-£14000.
Loan £250pcm over 5 years
Insurance (daughter aged 21 and us) £120pcm
Fuel 90 miles round trip x 16 days a month £200pcm
Servicing, tax, MOT and tyres - £50 pcm
TOTAL £620pcm to put a 6 year old Yaris on the drive...
Tusker option
Hyundai Inster £377 for car, servicing, tyres, insurance, delivery, road tax and free charger installation - 10 000 miles pa (15000 miles is £399)
Suzuki Swift £380 10 000 miles, £411 for 15000 miles
TOTAL £377-£411 pcm to put a brand new electric car on the drive
Then the old car option
2012 Suzuki Swift with 50 000 miles £3750
Loan repayments £75pcm
Insurance £120pcm
Petrol £211 for 16xdays of 90 miles
Servicing, tyres, MOT £100pcm
TOTAL £506pcm to put a 14 year old Suzuki Swift on the drive
In truth I just cannot see the sense of buying any petrol car for her/us - not economically, not in terms of reliability and not even in terms of safety/crash protection and even things like passive safety - lane departure warning, reversing cameras etc.
Then you factor in the fact that for her to learn to drive will likely take half the time and cost half as much in an electric car and I'm really struggling to see any benefits at all to going any route except electric.
When I retire in 3 years she will hopefully be working. She can either take a loan to clear the balloon or I can take a chunk out of the pension and clear it and hand her the keys. By then her insurance should be a lot cheaper (aged 24-25 with 3 years driving experience)
Now I might just be doing man maths here but I don't think so - I think I'm proving that old bangers simply don't make sense anymore unless you hardly use the car and can do your own maintenance.
Saxon
Sounds like a small EV would suit your needs best.
I like the Inster.
Maybe worth considering a nearly new car like a Frontera?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202605072...
Seems cheap and there's probably good deals if you want brand new instead.
I like the Inster.
Maybe worth considering a nearly new car like a Frontera?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202605072...
Seems cheap and there's probably good deals if you want brand new instead.
If you are considering a loan for £3,750, then I'm not sure £400pm on a lease would be the way to go?
Hopefully you are just using that for illustration, but regardless, you're comparing apples and oranges as you are assuming no residual value from the purchase.
If the inster through tusker has no impact on pension ( check this at least twice), and they will insure a youngster it would seem a no brainer anyway, if you're accepting of auto only licence. I agree that won't be an issue longer term
Hopefully you are just using that for illustration, but regardless, you're comparing apples and oranges as you are assuming no residual value from the purchase.
If the inster through tusker has no impact on pension ( check this at least twice), and they will insure a youngster it would seem a no brainer anyway, if you're accepting of auto only licence. I agree that won't be an issue longer term
I'm sure others will disagree but the time to get a full license is now.
She might manage just buying EVs but who knows where life will take her. Even something as simple as hiring a car on holiday or a van to move flat.
My son isn't at that stage yet but I'll be making sure he's as well equipped as possible to be an adult. Like riding a bike, skiing, swimming being able to drive is a great life skill to have that leaves countless options open to you that wouldn't be otherwise.
Most 17 year olds also find it pretty trivial to learn to change gear so don't let that out you off. I taught a few girlfriends back in the day.
It would be a manual Yaris or Swift bought outright every time for me even if just for long enough to get her driving confidently.
She might manage just buying EVs but who knows where life will take her. Even something as simple as hiring a car on holiday or a van to move flat.
My son isn't at that stage yet but I'll be making sure he's as well equipped as possible to be an adult. Like riding a bike, skiing, swimming being able to drive is a great life skill to have that leaves countless options open to you that wouldn't be otherwise.
Most 17 year olds also find it pretty trivial to learn to change gear so don't let that out you off. I taught a few girlfriends back in the day.
It would be a manual Yaris or Swift bought outright every time for me even if just for long enough to get her driving confidently.
Edited by Snow and Rocks on Saturday 27th June 13:31
We got a 16 plate Skoda Citigo Monte Carlo purely based on insurance groupings.
It didn’t need to be a Monte, that was my fault, but it was no more to insure than a basic one for some reason.
Bought in 2020, used and abused with zero breakdowns despite two learners learning, it cost me discs, pads and tyres, and we virtually got our £5k back five years later.
It didn’t need to be a Monte, that was my fault, but it was no more to insure than a basic one for some reason.
Bought in 2020, used and abused with zero breakdowns despite two learners learning, it cost me discs, pads and tyres, and we virtually got our £5k back five years later.
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