HYUNDAI CASPER DRIVE
GHOST IN THE MACHINE
James Attwood crosses over to the other side of the world and the home of Hyundai to meet Casper the friendly mini car
Meet Casper. Casper is your new friend and, well, he’s a bit of a cheeky character. Okay, yes, Casper is just a car, but Hyundai has created a whole backstory filled with mention of ‘character’ and ‘personality’ to explain how he – sorry, it – will appeal to young urban buyers, so let’s just roll with it. Besides, Casper really is quite adorable.
The Hyundai Casper was launched last year as the smallest car the firm offers in its gargantuan domestic Korean line-up, and is best described as a crossover version of the i10 city car. It uses the same platform (also shared with the Kia Picanto), but at 3595mm long is actually 100mm shorter than its sibling. It’s narrower too, although predictably higher.
Hyundai designer Simon Loasby describes the Casper as “combining the character of a Fiat 500 and a Jeep” – and it’s certainly more befitting of that description than the Fiat 500X, a car that actually is a mix of a 500 and a Jeep. It’s distinctive too, with split front headlights, a sleek rear LED light panel and even a smiley face moulded into the C-pillar. Casper likes to smile, it seems.