The arrival of the Hyundai Instter has great shaken up the compact EV segment. However, there are rivals on the horizon in the form of a new fiat with an old name and a budget champion from China. The Battle at the Bottom is Intensifying!
The Tesla Model S Shifted the Image of the Electric Car Away from the class of the Citroën C-Zero and the Mitsubishi i-Miev, which was good news. The Bad News was that it remained a struggle in the compact and affordable electric class for a long time. A Renault Zoe was decent, but the smart fortwo electric and the dacia spring were cheap cars with significant drawbacks. The Electric Versions of the Peugeot 208 and Opel Corsa Were Considerably Better, But Still QUITE EXPENSive. The Barrier was broken about a year ago by the Citroën ë-c3 on the New Smart-Car platform from the Stellantis Concern. This French car significantly raised the bar below € 30,000, and there was a clear need for that. However, its monopoly was short-lived. The Chinese Dongfeng Box and the Korean Hyundai Install Imediately Heated Things Up, and the Base Version of the Renault 5, Altheoth Cramped, was also a Strong New Competitor.
And that’s not even mentioning the in-house competition, because it is not the only brand that can benefit from this new platform. The Opel Frontera Does Too, As Does The Brand New Fiat Grande Panda That Plays The Leading Role Today. No, this is not a successor to the already familiar panda, which is still on the price lists. Instead, it Dives Into the Gap Left by the Grande Punto. Like the new C3, it is available as a gasoline car and as an ev. We are focusing today on the electric version, which gets to compete against the benchmark: the hyundai iner. We recently added the exact car that previously won against a dongfeng to our long-term test fleet, so finding a test car is easy: just grabbing the key downstairs in the garage is enough. Yet there are more new competitors. The Chinese Leap Motor is also Venturing Into Europe, Supported by the Stellantis Network. In Addition to the Substantial PHEV Called C10, The Brand is also Bringing the Very Compact and Very Cheap Electric T.03 to the Netherlands. That car gets to show Whether it can make a differentence.
Hyundai’s Interior is Above Average for this segment.
A rather Frivolous Whole in the Fiat Grande Panda. The Oval Shape is a Reference to the Famous Roof circuit in Turin.
Large and Small batteries
In Terms of Specifications, The Cars Are Not Too Far Apart Despite The Price Differences. The Fiat is only available with one battery, which has a capacity of 45 kWh. Coupled with that, you always get A 113 HP Electric Motor on the Front Wheels. Unlike the ë-c3 from Citroën, there are no plans to come with a narrower and cheaper battery yet. With the hyundai, there is more choice. In Addition to An Entry-Level Model with 42 kWh and 97 HP, All Other Versions Have 49 kWh and 115 HP. So does our long-term tester. With the Leap engine, it is just as Simpler. Apart from Power and Battery, there is only one version available anyway: you get 41 kWh, with 95 HP on the front Wheels. This Costs € 19,000 and there are no extras, Except for some Paint Colors. Rarely has a price list leg so clear. Fiat also keeps it simple, altheoth there is a little more choice. There are only two versions: The Red as a Base and the More Luxurious La Prima. Our test car is that second one. We then, Among Other Things, 17-inch Alloy Wheels Intead of the White Steel Wheels, Climate Control, Navigation, A Wireless Phone Charger, Park Assist Sensors and, Yes, Bamboo Interior Details. The Fairly Unique Integrated Charging Cable In The Nose is not Standard, but a free extra option. And yes, there is a reason not to do it, because your charging speed will decrease: 3-phase charging is not Possible with it. Don’t underestimate this Disadvantage! Fortunately, The Demo Has Heated Seats As An Option. Strangely Enough, Those are not available in the Netherlands for its sibling ë-c3.
The Instem sacrifices a wider range, starting at € 25,000 and ending with our test car. We have an evolve version or € 28,800. It has a winter pack with a heat pump and heated seats and steering wheel. Furthermore, it has a tech pack with things like park assist with surround view and blind spot detection. The Total Price Comes to € 31,780. Climate Control, A Split-Folding Rear Seat, V2L Technology and 17-inch Wheels are present. The Korean is Therefore Considerly More Expective Than The Other Two, But If You Leave Out The Most Luxurious Things, IT Drops Below € 30,000 Without Fundamentally Changing the Test Result.
A Sliding Rear Seat in the Hyundai Makes It Flexible.
A Mager Seat in The Leap Motor, With Little Legroom.
In The Fiat Grande Panda, you sit QUITE REASONALY IN THE BACK.
Boring Hyundai Instem, Hip Panda
In Terms of Design, The Hyundai and the Grande Panda Clearly Take A Different Approach. Both Have a Shoebox Shape, But Where the Hyundai Comes Across As Very Gray And Boring, The Fiat Is Well Done. Our version with the hip black wheels works, but perhaps the striped red version with its white steel retro wheels will appeal more to part of the target group. The Car Really Exudes Fiat, which is important in these times when cars from concerns are increasingly alike. The Inter, in Turn, undoubtedly has its own look, but also the sex appeal or a suzuki ignis. It radiates that it is to be function over form. The Leap Motor Completely Disappears Next to the Other Two Cars. Design can hardly be more no-nonsense than this city car. You can see some classic panda in it, but also daewoo matiz. It is a city car in heart and soul. Inside, it is no different: a car can hardly be more unpretentious. A Dacia Spring is a beacon or cheerfulness inside compared to the t.03. Luxury or Refinement? Not applicable. The Seating Position is nice and upright, but the steering wheeling is only adjustable in height, not in depth.
Behind the Wheel is an 8-inch Digital instrument Panel for, Among Other Things, Your Speed, Warning Messages, Range, But No Battery percentage. On the center console is a 10.1-inch touchscreen, with icons at the bottom for radio and navigation, among other things. The buttons are a bit small to operate smoothly on the road, and looking too long gives a warning! Annoying. For some functions you even have to stop; Perhaps on purpose, because the operation is too fiddly while driving. The Navigation is Nice for This Segment, But Still Unpleasant to use. Apple CarPlay or Android Auto is unfortunately not available. In The Back, The Headroom is Just Sufficient, Although The Legroom is Extremely Limited. The Seat is also Mager. The Trunk is also on the small side at 208 liters and also has a huge load sill.
The Instem looks like three classes highher from the inside. The Style of the Ioniq Models Can Be Recognized, Although This Car is Slightly More Playful. Striking: You don’t see the name Hyundai Anywhere. The Car also Lacks A Center Tunnel, which Gives You A Kind Of Bench Effect, with Integrated Cup Holders. We Miss Storage Space because of this. The Dashboard Has Two Large Screens. In Front of You, You Can Choose From Different Layouts, Including Classic Clocks. The Multimedia System is Clearly A Class Above That of the Two Competitors. In Addition, there are QUITE A FEW Physical buttons to make things quickly accessible. The Entire cockpit looks very high-quality and feels that way too. In The Back We have Enough Space, because the Rear Seat is slidable in parts. So you can Divide Space Between the Trunk and Rear Seat and That Is Always Nice. At its Largest, that trunk is still slightly tighter than the fiat. That is tighter in the back seat than the hyundai, althegh the headroom in particular is fine. We are sitting slightly less well in the panda due to the quality of the seat.
At the front, it’s just as playful as on the outside, with striking materials and striking color. It suits fiat in general and the panda in particular. The Bamboo-Like Material on the Passenger Side is on the edge, But It Works. The Oval Shape is a Reference to the Famous Roof circuit in Turin. Unfortunately, The Front Seats are not so comfortable; The Integrated Headrest Can Push Uncomfortly Into Your Back If You Are Tall. We know the multimedia System from Fellow Group Members. It looks modern, but is not very extensive. We are happy with the separate climate control with physical buttons. We also have a little more storage space than in the other two cars.
The Leap Motor Has A High Load Sill and Little Space. The other two sacrifice noticevy more.
Own Character
We Sometimes complain that the result of sharing platforms causes less distinction, but the panda feels nothing like a citroën or an opel. The Car Really Drives Like A Fiat: Comfortable Without the Softness of Citroën, With Light Steering to Guide You Quickly Through All The Allys in Italian Cities. You are helped by a lot of traction, because the 113 HP Electric Motor has significantly more power than even the panda 100 hp. That was of course also a lot lighter, but still. At Lower Speeds, The Panda Feels Nice and Smooth, But It also Holds Is Own Reasonbly on the Highway, Unless You Want To Blast From Berlin to Munich. Just like the larger 600E, Fiat Manages to give its own to the Stellantis Technology Fairly Well, which in any case Ensures the Much-Needed Personality. The Hyundai also has that, because it is a great car to drive. It combines Great Road Handling with Enough Comfort. It never gets exciting and in basic it is a relatively soft chassis, but everything feels more mature than in the fiat. There is No Real Steering Feel, But Compared To The Other Two Cars It is Still the Best Driving Supermini. The Car is Less Afraid of Long Highway Trips because It is Closer to the B segment.
It is nice that you can chose the degree of regeneration with the flippers. In Addition, Things Like the Adas Systems Are Much Better Than With The Other Two Cars. There is also a lot of differentence between the other two models. The Hyundai May Be Slightly Above the Fiat, But That Grande Panda in Turn is Miles Above The Leap Motor. The Italian Drives Light and Comfortable, with the Typical Fiat Steering. In Times when we have many complaints about the uniformity within large groups, fiat has succeeded in giving this panda a real vibe or its own. It is just a little less soft than an ë-c3 and is extremely suuitable for the tight Italian work in cities or porly maintained narrow country roads. In The Netherlands, IT Retains it is personality and is a fine, charming car in Terms of Driving. That cannot be said of the t.03. The Road Handling is better than that of the Equally Cheap Dacia Spring (No Difficult Task …), which is accentuated by its remarkable good braking distance. Yet the Romanian at Least Has Some Personality, While the Leap Motor Really is the Ultimate Transport-And-Nothing-More. It drives as it looks: uninspired and mediocre. It has Enough Power, But The Engine Makes An Awful Lot Of Noise. Driving on the Highway is unpleasant and strenuous due to its poor straight-line stability and complete Lack of Any Steering Feel. It is Possible, If Necessary, But Preferential Stay Within The Municipal Boundaries.
It all feels like a flashback to the mitsubishi imiev and co, while we had hoped that those times were really behind us. That Japanese car also looked nicer. In Terms of Electricity, The Chinese Car Does Better than that Ancient Ev from Back Then. Its low weight ensures a range of 225 kilometers and at the time we did not just reach half. If you stay away from the highway, that will of course be better. We do not find the consumption very impression for this size car, if only because the test conditions were iDeal in Terms of Temperature and Weather. The Fiat also scores very poor in this area. Given the Experiences with its its platform mates with the same technology, that is not surprising, but still bath. If it gets moder, that promises little good. The Hyundai also does not set a bizarrely impressive score for a small car, but it is more economical than the rest. Fast Charging Starts at a Slightly Lower Level Than With The Fiat, But It Lasts Better. Its larger battery helps to get the practical range over 300 kilometers. As the only one today, it has a heat pump and with that larger battery that is one of the reasons Why the Car is Considerly More Expendive. However, when it gets moder, you will reap the benefits …