Hyundai Inster EV Charging Cable

A small car with a grown-up charger

Standard Range is a 42 kWh pack holding 39 kWh usable, good for 203 miles WLTP. Long Range is 49 kWh holding 46 usable, quoted at 220 miles on the 01 trim and 229 on the 02. Hyundai fits an 11 kW three phase charger to both as standard, which is generous on a car this size and price.

Worth noticing that the gap between the badge number and the usable figure is wider than usual here, about seven per cent on both packs. If you work a charge time out from 42 or 49 kWh you will overestimate it, which is why the table below uses the usable numbers.

What 11 kW means at your house

Three phase ratings describe a supply most British houses do not have, so the working figure at home is 7.4 kW. So the Inster draws 7.4 kW on a British driveway, and a 32A cable carries exactly that. The three phase capability is a useful thing to have at a workplace and makes no difference at home.

Unlike the Volvo and Volkswagen Group plug-in hybrids we write about, there is no phase trap here: Hyundai's three phase chargers step down properly to a full 32 amps on one phase rather than collapsing to 16.

How long a full charge takes

Hours are worked from battery size against power drawn, plus a 13 per cent allowance for what is lost as heat, rounded to fifteen minutes. Range added per hour assumes a year round 3.5 miles per kWh rather than a best case figure. Columns are the Standard Range and Long Range usable capacities. DC rapid charging is 73 kW on the Standard Range and 85 kW on the Long Range.

Six hours or so from genuinely empty means the Inster is an overnight car in the simplest sense: plug in when you get home, forget about it, and a night tariff covers the whole charge with hours to spare.

Which length for an Inster

The inlet is on the front nearside, the left hand side of the car. A front port on a car only 3.83 metres long is the friendliest combination there is for cable length.

Nose in with the charge point on the left and 5 metres is generous. Nose in with it on the right, or reverse in, and there is so little car to get round that 5 metres often still works; take 10 metres if the charge point sits well back from the bay. Park the car where it normally lives, walk the run with a tape, and buy the next size up from what you measure.

How these cables are built

Standards are IEC 62196-2 and CE, protection is IP55, and the specified working range runs -30C to +50C.

The three pin version is an IEC 62752 unit, CE marked and IP67 sealed, specified -30C to +60C. Backed by a two year manufacturer's warranty, with free next working day delivery and a 30 day return window.

Also from Hyundai: Hyundai Kona Electric EV Charging Cable. The full range of Hyundai charging cables is on one page. For a wall box or public post the lead is the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable.

Hyundai Inster charging cable questions

What cable does a Hyundai Inster need?

A 32A single phase Type 2 to Type 2 cable. The 11 kW rating is a three phase figure and a UK home supply gives the car 7.4 kW, which is what a 32A lead carries.

How long does an Inster take to charge?

About six hours for the Standard Range and seven for the Long Range from empty at 7.4 kW. Comfortably inside an overnight off peak window either way.

Why is the usable battery smaller than the badge?

Every EV holds back some of the pack to protect it, and the Inster holds back more than most: 39 kWh usable from 42, and 46 from 49. Charge times worked out from the badge number come out too long.

Where does the Inster plug in?

The front nearside, on the left of the car. On a car this short that makes almost any parking arrangement workable with a 5 metre lead.