BMW i3 vs Hyundai INSTER

The BMW i3 costs £11,425 more than the Hyundai INSTER. For that premium it adds 54 kW more power and a 4.4s quicker 0-62mph time. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Hyundai INSTER comes out ahead overall.

The Hyundai INSTER is £11,425 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £160 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Hyundai INSTER comes out roughly £11,465 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 129 miles for the BMW i3 and 145 miles for the Hyundai INSTER - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Hyundai INSTER goes roughly 16 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 42 minutes in the BMW i3 and 30 in the Hyundai INSTER, so the Hyundai INSTER loses less time at each stop. That makes the Hyundai INSTER the stronger long-distance car.

The Hyundai INSTER is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 165 mm narrower than the BMW i3. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 790 mm of total clearance for the Hyundai INSTER and about 625 mm of total clearance for the BMW i3. The BMW i3 also turns in a 0.7 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 88% battery health for the BMW i3 and 84% for the Hyundai INSTER. That gives the BMW i3 a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.