Hyundai Inster vs GWM Ora 5

What's the difference?

The target market for the Inster isn't huge, and Hyundai knows it won't be a runaway best-seller for the brand. But those in the market for a bite-sized EV will find the Inster feels bigger, and drives better, than they might expect.

While the Ora 5 still has a relatively divisive design that will turn off a chunk of those looking for a small electric SUV, the improvements made when compared to the hatch launched years ago make it worth a second look.

The interior is much more user-friendly, there are more features and a more sensible variant line-up, and the ride and handling localisation means you might actually want to drive it out of the city on occasion.

Regardless, the Ora 5 needs to be a lot more competitive than the Ora hatch was, because the market is so much busier with affordable rivals now. Fortunately, the value proposition is indeed much better than before, especially given the Ultra is only $3000 more than the Lux.

The words small but perfectly formed appear here, with Hyundai’s insistence on not having a traditional range-wide design identity allowing them the freedom to create something unique and pretty funky here — though I do see some shades of Suzuki Ignis in the side profile.

It does look fun though, right? With the selfie ring-light-style headlights, Tetris-style rear lights, those swollen guards and the funky alloys.

And you can dial up further with the Cross variant, which gets a tougher, more squared-off look front and back - even if you’re more chance of meeting a bunyip than an Inster on your favourite off-road track.

Inside, the cuteness continues, though some of the scratchy cabin materials definitely point to the entry-level nature of the Inster.

Still, the seat materials, both the cloth and the leather, are lovely and thoughtfully coloured, and the twin screen setup is nice, too. I love the inclusion of a host of physical buttons that control the climate, stereo and the nav.

GWM is being pretty bold in calling the Ora 5’s design ‘timeless’ in its press materials.

The brand’s head designer says the Ora 5 isn’t shouting for attention, but I’m going to disagree. While I don’t think being attention-grabbing is a bad thing, the retro-leaning vibe the Ora hatch gave off a few years ago remains strong here on the 5 SUV.

We’re told much of it was inspired by nature - the wheels inspired by clovers, the lights by water drops, the body by smooth pebbles and the tail-lights by a sunrise - but it still looks a little alien from a couple of angles, mostly the rear.

The proportions are however better than the hatch, and from the side it gets away with looking a little like an attempt at a Porsche Cayenne.

The big thing you have to give GWM props for is including three properly vibrant colours (Cute Cyan, Flamingo Pink and Emerald Green) in the range, even though anything but Pepper White is a $595 option. Mystic Grey and matt Crystal Black complete the six options.

Inside, the Ora 5’s unique design feels distant, as the interior looks much like the vast majority of small Chinese SUVs. A focus on the large main touchscreen, a layout of phone holder, cupholders and the armrest in a minimalist central console, and the almost-lack of buttons are all hallmarks of the genre.

Only small touches like apparently Mini-inspired climate controls or the cat-shaped magnet (the Ora was called Funky Cat in China) holding the vanity mirror cover up really give it away as an Ora, aside from the exclamation mark logo on the steering wheel.

The Inster stretches 3825mm long, 1610mm wide and 1575mm tall, but it rides on a 2580mm wheelbase – the later being bigger than the Hyundai Venue, and almost as big as the Kona.

It has allowed Hyundai to stretch the legroom options in the backseat, which actually gives you more space than the two bigger SUVs mentioned above, helped massively by the fact the Inster's rear pew is on rails, allowing you to slide it right back, and that it reclines a fair way, too.

I'm 175cm and I found I had more than enough leg and headroom, and with the backseat in full La-Z-Boy mode, I could sit back and relax, even on a longer journey.

It's a good thing it's four seats only, though. While the Inster feels longer than it is, it doesn't feel any wider, and even in the front seat you can feel like you're in economy class when you have a passenger on board, with both of you rubbing elbows on the central armrest.

Clever storage abounds though, with hidey-holes, handbag hooks and more dotted throughout the cabin. Opt for the roof box – and wear the efficiency penalty – and you can pop another 75kg worth of gear on the roof.

Also cool is the fact the backseats fold completely flat in the entry-level Inster, upping the storage possibilities. And in the top-spec Cross, the front seats fold down, too, allowing for fairly long items to be stowed. Though why you would need the driver's seat to fold flat is a bit of a mystery, unless you're looking to turn your Inster into an immovable storage container.

Apparently in Korea you can option a mattress that slides over all four seats, but I can't see that taking off here.

The official storage numbers are 280L and 1059L, and the small boot is helped along a little by underfloor storage where you can pop your charging stuff.

The Ora 5 takes a noticeable step up over the previous Ora hatchback in terms of interior ergonomics, bringing it up to a decent standard.

The seats are more easily adjustable to find a decent driving position, the tech is a lot easier to navigate, and there are a couple of inclusions that put the Ora 5 a nose ahead of rivals.

As mentioned, the layout is fairly unimaginative in terms of design, but it does work practically in that there aren’t many elements of the interior to get in the way.

More buttons would of course be welcome, as using the touchscreen while on the move can be particularly fiddly. The upside is the software itself is more sensible in terms of menus, it just has small buttons. There is, mercifully, an always-on shortcut bar even while phone mirroring.

Android users will also be pleased to know there’s wireless Android Auto from launch in the Ora 5, rather than needing to wait for an update as some did when the Ora hatch launched.

USB-C ports and small storage slots are present front and rear, though single-zone climate means everyone needs to agree on one temperature (or be subjected to the driver’s decision).

There’s also only one vent in the rear, though the space itself is decently roomy, with the sunroof in the Ultra providing a nice amount of light. A central fold-down armrest would, however, be welcome.

Behind the rear seat is a 362L boot and underneath it lies an extremely welcome inclusion: a space-saver spare tyre.

GWM said it added the spare locally due to the heavy influence of the Australian market and the regular disappointment when only a repair kit is included.

The good news is that the Ora 5 SUV kicks things off with a fairly competitive price, $33,990 drive-away.

That’s for the entry-grade Lux, though a slightly upgraded variant called the Ultra comes in at $36,990. Still pretty good value for a small electric SUV.

The list of standard features is decent, with a large 14.6-inch multimedia touchscreen and wireless phone mirroring, a 10.25-inch driver display and synthetic leather upholstery with electric seat adjustment for the driver.

There are also 18-inch wheels, auto LED headlights and LED tail-lights, rain-sensing wipers and tinted privacy glass for the rear windows.

The Ultra’s extra $3000 makes both front seats electrically adjustable, while adding seat ventilation and heating, wireless phone charging, ambient lighting, a panoramic sunroof, and three extra speakers for nine in total.

Weirdly, single-zone climate control is standard for both variants despite the touchscreen having a set of controls for each passenger.

It’s priced just above the relatively new BYD Atto 2 small SUV ($31,990 before on-roads) or the even-more-recently arrived MG4 Urban ($31,990 drive-away) hatch that have slightly smaller batteries and somewhat fewer features. It undercuts the Jaecoo J5 EV ($36,990 drive-away) and Leapmotor B10 ($37,888 before on-roads).

The Hyundai Inster Standard Range kicks off power proceedings, with a single front-mounted electric motor producing 71kW and 147Nm.

Next is the Extended Range, which shares its outputs with the Inster Cross. Here, the front-mounted motor’s outputs have been ticked up slightly, now producing 84kW and 147Nm.

Those aren’t big numbers, but then neither does either Inster feel particularly slow or underpowered. 

The Ora 5 uses a fairly tried and true propulsion method for budget-friendly EVs, that being a single motor mounted at the front axle.

This one has 150kW and 260Nm, the same for both variants, and feels just lively enough to avoid being branded sluggish.

Standard Range cars get a 42kWh lithium-ion battery, producing a driving range of 327km. The Extended Range and the Cross get a bigger 49kWh battery, increasing the range to 360kms. Now, that roof box. It does look cool, but you’re going to really need to carry stuff to choose that option, given it increases energy consumption by 25 per cent, reducing the Cross’s range to just 293km.

When it comes to charging, the Inster is set up for 120kW DC fast charging, or 10.5kW AC charging - provided you have that much power available at home, as most wall boxes are more like 7.1kW.

An hour and a half drive through Melbourne into the Yarra valley saw the Ora 5 use 16.1kWh/100km, according to the trip computer.

At that rate, the claimed 435km range from the Ora 5’s 58.3kWh battery feels a little optimistic, but we did plenty of driving out of the city’s EV-range-friendly confines.

DC fast-charging is maxed at 120kW, and should take about 30 minutes from 10 to 80 per cent.

Honestly, the impact electrification has had on vehicles in this class is staggering.

It wasn't so long ago that these micro cars were fitted with underwhelming petrol engines, four- or five-speed gearboxes and all the noise-deadening technology of a tin of beans.

As a result, they were cute, but painful. It always felt like you had to wring their neck to get the most out of them, and when you did, they were loud, buzzy and annoying.

But the Inster is none of those things. While not ludicrously powerful, the electric propulsion offered, and the nature of the way it's produced, feels ample in the little Hyundai, with the acceleration smooth, silent and easy,

It's also just generally quiet. Hyundai says it has double-sealed the doors, used thicker glass and fitted full underbody coverings to reduce the NVH - or noise, vibration, harshness - levels, and all of that, combined with the peace and quiet of an electric motor, have created a mostly blissful cabin experience.

The ride and handling hasn't been through the full Hyundai Australia ride and handling calibration of old. Instead, it's undergone the brand's more modern approach, which is to take the best componentry from what's available overseas and then build the Aussie-spec cars from there.

Either way, it all works pretty well here. Only really big bumps clang into the cabin, with the Inster otherwise riding well over all of the road surfaces we encountered.

The point, I guess, is that it's a drive experience stuffed full of happy surprises. The ride, the acceleration and the refinement are all well up on what you might expect from a city car.

First impressions on an unfortunately wet day from behind the Ora 5’s wheel are that it does feel much improved compared to the Ora hatch.

The biggest change under the skin appears to be the result of local tuning, undertaken by former Holden engineer Rob Trubiani.

The Ora 5 handles small bumps and rough roads better than the hatch did, while settling over bigger imperfections relatively quickly. 

Even with questionable tyres on wet roads, the Ora 5 remained steady under quick, sharp cornering and wouldn’t understeer as the hatch did.

While it’s not brimming with dynamic prowess, the Ora 5 now feels capable of taking on Australian roads without frustrating its driver.

The steering feel, response and feedback aren’t anything to write home about, but do at least result in accurate cornering, and there is the option of adjusting the steering weight.

The Ora 5’s power delivery feels about right for its class and, even though it won’t rocket past anyone during an overtake, it’s more than enough for the city driving it’ll regularly be doing.

The advanced driver assist safety systems (ADAS), too, are a lot better programmed than expected. In highway driving and along twisting semi-rural roads, the Ora 5’s ADAS systems were all left on without much unnecessary intervention.

ANCAP hasn’t completed an assessment of the Ora 5 SUV yet so, for now, the model remains unrated.

GWM says it has built the car to a standard it expects should be awarded five stars, though we won’t have the answer to that until late 2026.

Seven airbags and a pretty comprehensive list of features including door-open warning and rear cross-traffic alert should mean the Ora 5 fares well for at least the on-paper assessment. 

The Ora 5 SUV also has a space-saver spare, and one of its seven airbags is a centre airbag, both things that are sometimes neglected in more affordable models.

All safety features are also standard for both variants, including the surround-view camera, so points for GWM there.

The Inster delivers super long service intervals, requiring a trip to the service centre every two years or 30,000kms, but each service is priced at $655. A Toyota Yaris Cross, for perspective, will see you visit the service centre twice as often, but each visit will only cost you $255, or $510 every two years.

The Hyundai warranty is five years/unlimited kilometres, while the high-voltage battery is covered for eight years.

GWM’s seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty is on the better side of average for mainstream brands, with the battery getting eight years, also unlimited.

But it’s the seven years of roadside and seven years capped-price servicing that make it a strong offering, especially when each service is just $195. That’s every 12 months or 15,000km.