BMW i3s vs Hyundai INSTER

The BMW i3s costs £13,915 more than the Hyundai INSTER. For that premium it adds 64 kW more power and a 4.8s quicker 0-62mph time. The Hyundai INSTER is not just cheaper - it also offers 26 miles more WLTP range and lower energy use, 143 versus 166 Wh/km. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Hyundai INSTER comes out ahead overall.

The Hyundai INSTER is £13,915 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 £14,035 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 118 miles for the BMW i3s 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 27 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 42 minutes in the BMW i3s 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 181 mm narrower than the BMW i3s. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 790 mm of total clearance for the Hyundai INSTER and about 609 mm of total clearance for the BMW i3s. The BMW i3s 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 84% battery health for the BMW i3s and 84% for the Hyundai INSTER. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. 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.