The large LED eyes are immediately intercepted in traffic. “This is a strongly desired element of sympathy,” explains Nicola Danza, director of exterior design for Europe. If you then look at the other lines, youthful and devoted to the originality of the Inster (“Each car is a specific project for us”), the smile blooms spontaneously. Yet, despite appearances, the secret of the smallest electric Korean car is not to be found in the cunning and somewhat cartoonish liveliness.
When you can access direct contact, as during a test drive in the hyper-metropolitan maze of Milan, you are hit when a door is opened. A rear one, possibly. Because the particularly generous wheelbase, 2.70 meters out of 3.83 meters in length overall, is transfigured into an “empty space” in front of the sofa that immediately suggests hospitality. And at the same time, it launches perception towards a more practical area: functionality triumphs at the center of the project.
The second-row seats, for example, slide 16 cm with a 50:50 split and provide an adjustable backrest, perhaps for naps on the way to school, while the front seats can be folded down (depending on trim levels). Not only that: for those sitting in the front, a curious driver’s side seat with built-in cup holder makes its debut, whose padding widens towards the passenger in a sort of “bench” that enhances the sense of welcome. “We have emphasized as much as possible the availability of centimeters longitudinally with a limited width, two aspects related to the platform derived from the smaller Casper (not sold in Europe, ed.). Thus, the car becomes significantly different.”
It is no coincidence that the test also becomes an opportunity to present the Cross variant, expected in April, with specific bumpers, side skirts and 17″ wheels, a flashy optional roof rack and passenger compartment with dedicated fluorescent upholstery and details. Meanwhile, on the traditional body in XClass trim, you can order at no extra charge, next to the dark interior anodyne, the eccentric Newtro Beige-Khaki Brown equipped with houndstooth fabric and even yellow-brown plastics. The ideal for the Buttercream Yellow launch varnish. “One of Inster’s goals remains to stand out, promoting a Korean and unconventional vision of aesthetics,” concludes Danza. Those who have seen it circulating would confirm.
