Third electric car, Casper Electric..optical click agreement
Jul 15, 2025
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The European market has long been a popular market for small cars due to narrow roads and poor parking conditions. There is a practical culture in which the size of the car is preferred according to its use, rather than symbolizing urgency or wealth.
Casper Electric's export name is 'Inster'.
Casper was developed to target the domestic light vehicle market. Hyundai Motor, which has a full-line up, may escape criticism that it does not have a compact car, so it launched an internal combustion engine Casper and further developed an electrified version of Casper Electric.
The characteristic is that it is classified as a small car beyond the domestic compact car size regulation.It was developed as a small SUV style by giving up light vehicle benefits and increasing the battlefield and wheelbase. There are also voices of regret in Korea that the benefits of light vehicles are not applied, but this has become a `God's move' and is highly praised in the European market.
Casper Electric was able to secure additional first and second row legrooms by increasing the wheelbase. In addition, if the second-row legroom is maximized while adding the second-row sliding function, you can secure a longer legroom than the superior model Kia EV3 or Kona.
Casper Electric benefited from EVs instead of losing light vehicle benefits.
This point is becoming more well received in Europe. There were many complaints that competing models lacked legroom or even felt uncomfortable because their knees touched the front seat when a tall person boarded in the second row. Casper Electric allows even tall people to board comfortably in both the first and second rows.
The reason why the European market's response was so long is that the popularity of Casper Electric in Europe has ups and downs in purchasing vehicles in Korea.
The reporter has a history of purchasing Chevrolet Volt in 2018 and Hyundai Ioniq 6 electric vehicles in 2024. At the time of 2018, the Bolt EV, the first electric vehicle platform model in Korea capable of driving around 400 kilometers, was the subject of interest.
After two years of direct purchase and operation, the perception of electric vehicles changed a lot, and it became an opportunity to increase satisfaction with electric vehicles while feeling the reduction of maintenance costs. However, as I purchased the basic model due to lack of inventory, I changed the vehicle because I felt sorry for the absence of adaptive cruise control and various convenience specifications.
Bought Hyundai Ioniq 6 AWD model in 2024. To help ease the lack of options on the Bolt EV, which was the first electric vehicle, the Ioniq 6 AWD model chose the top trim with all options except digital side mirrors and sunroof.
The parking lot of the current residence is quite narrow because the old standard is applied. If large vehicles park side by side, it is difficult to open the door. In the case of the Ioniq 6, it was possible to ride comfortably using remote smart parking assistance, but the fundamental problem was not solved.
We are looking for a third electric vehicle with three criteria: a small size that is easy to park, a reduction in maintenance costs due to high electricity costs, and that the total purchase cost will not exceed 30 million won.
The first vehicle I considered was the Kia Ray EV. In addition to meeting the above three conditions, the box-shaped body and the second row door on the passenger side were sliding, so there were many advantages in many ways. The reason why it was not finally selected is the inconvenience of the telescopic steering wheel member and seat.
seat, satisfaction is quite different depending on various factors such as the individual's body shape and driving posture. First of all, the driver's seat of the Ray EV was manual, but the height was not adjusted finely. Crucially, it was difficult to get a comfortable driving position because the telescopic steering wheel was not applied.
The seat was adjusted at various angles throughout the test drive, but when the pedal was fitted to the seat, the steering wheel was located far away, which was inconvenient. In the end, the purchase of Ray EVs was abandoned.
Secondly, the purchase of a used Bolt EUV vehicle was considered, but it was excluded because the configuration was not much different from the first electric vehicle, the Bolt EV. The third vehicle considered was the Casper Electric, which was finally purchased.
Casper Electric has a longer mileage than Ray EV by applying an NCM battery. The final choice was made in that it was possible to select a smart cruise control that was not present in Ray EV.
The problem is that the waiting time for the shipment is huge. At the time of the pre-contract for Casper Electric, the company was also considering purchasing it around July 24, when the delivery date was 1 to 2 months on average. However, when I visited the online site for purchase in June 25, it was informed that the average delivery date was at least 13 months to 22 months if I ordered the specifications I wanted.
Even if it comes out in the minimum period of 13 months, you have to wait more than a year.The popularity of the aforementioned European market contributed to this long delivery period. Casper Electric is exported as a European name Instor.
Instructor's popularity has skyrocketed As the euro exchange rate was good, Hyundai allocated more than 90% of its production to overseas shipments. As a result, India has become a popular vehicle for more than a year, even though the domestic volume allocation is only 500 to 600 units a month, which is not very popular.
Domestic demand has reached nearly 1,000 units per month, much more than that. Eventually, there was a long-term wait of more than a year for orders. I couldn't afford to wait a long year because I sold my existing Ioniq 6 vehicle in a hurry. It was the moment when the choice went back to square one.
So I looked into it in various ways and heard that vehicles come up intermittently at an unspecified time in the planning exhibition corner. If you select a vehicle from the exhibition and proceed with the contract and payment, you could usually receive the vehicle within one to two weeks. Since then, he has frequently visited Casper's website and repeatedly pressed the 'refresh' button at the exhibition corner.
But contrary to what I thought, I could hardly see a car I liked. After a few days, I came to a state of abandonment. In the meantime, I obtained information that the vehicle inventory status is indicated differently depending on the location of the factory. I went back into the refresh infinite iteration.
In the meantime, we succeeded in signing a vehicle contract with a number of options in the desired color. But there was also a reluctant problem. It was a vehicle without the comfort option, which Casper Electric owners consider an essential option.
For the comfort option, the first row folding, second row sliding, and reclining functions are key.This function has the advantage of greatly improving car camping, simple rest, and the convenience of passengers in the second row.
In Europe, it comes in three simple trims: 01, 02, and cross.Except for the 01 trim, it is an option that shows the strength of Casper Electric (European name Instor) to the extent that it is applied as a base for higher trim.
However, due to the nature of the exhibition, it was almost impossible to select all internal and external colors and options exactly as desired. In the end, I boldly completed the purchase with a vehicle except for the comfort option. If you have a choice, I recommend adding the comfort option if possible.
In this way, I got my hands on Casper Electric with black gloss two-tone color on the exterior of the silver mat.The gut is a nutro beige color. The black built-in vehicle was also tested, but the beige built-in not only makes the small interior look wide, but the bright colors blend fairly well with the vehicle's design.
Rarely in Korea, the interior beige color has high satisfaction.Options include Hyundai Smart Sense 1, which is the most essential, parking assist, exterior design, convention plus, and high pass.
The total vehicle price before tax benefits is 35.99 million won. Here, 1.81 million won in electric vehicle tax benefits is applied, 7.15 million won in subsidies for electric vehicles and 200,000 won in discounts for special exhibitions are applied, so the actual purchase price is 26.83 million won.
When you think of the vehicle class, it is by no means cheap, but after driving for a long time for pre-purchase test drives and post-purchase work, it is a more satisfactory vehicle than expected. In the next two episodes, we will talk about Casper Electric's test drive impressions and pros and cons.
Editor Song Moon-cheol mc.song@crguy.kr
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
