Hyundai pulls out all the stops in new Casper Electric with range of safety features

Hyundai Motor's upcoming Casper Electric comes with a safety assist system to prevent unintended collisions and a stress-free range.

Hyundai Motor's Casper Electric mini SUV [CHO YONG-JUN]

Hyundai Motor's upcoming Casper Electric comes fitted with a safety assist that helps prevent pedal misapplication on top of other safety measures amid growing concerns in the wake of recent accidents resulting in pedestrian injuries and deaths.

The mini SUV comes pre-equipped with Pedal Misapplication Safety Assist (PMSA), a first for a production car from a Korean manufacturer.

“Car accidents can happen at any moment […] but elderly drivers with a slower reaction time or inexperienced rookie drivers can find it difficult to react to split-second decisions, which is why we developed special safety technology,” Hyundai Motor engineer Ha Jeong-woo, who was responsible for the development of the PMSA system, said during the “Casper Electric Tech Talk” press event held at the JBK Convention Hall in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Monday morning.

PMSA uses ultrasonic sensors located in the front and back of the vehicle to detect objects within a distance of 1 meter (3 feet, 3 inches). When the driver hits the gas pedal on full throttle while the vehicle is stopped and an object has been detected, the car will consider this an “unintended action by the driver” and issue a warning, followed by limiting the power output and eventually applying the brakes to stop. The system worked “100 percent of the time” when tested under applicable circumstances, according to Hyundai.

The system, however, will only be initiated when three very specific criteria are met: when the driver presses the accelerator all the way in under a quarter of a second as the vehicle is at an angle of less than 25 degrees and the steering wheel is turned less than 430 degrees.

Hyundai Motor's Casper Electric mini SUV features 10.25-inch infotainment and cluster screens. [CHO YONG-JUN]

PMSA will be disabled if the driver either changes gear, applies adequate force to the brake pedal or when the system is turned on for five minutes. It will not be disabled just by lifting off the gas for extra safety, the engineer told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

A similar system, called the Pedal Misapplication Prevention Device (PMPD), was first applied to cars in Japan. Hyundai Motor also announced plans to introduce a PMSA 2.0 version in the future that will assist in preventing pedal misapplication while the car is in motion.

The Casper Electric also features a physically longer wheelbase, at 2,580 millimeters (101.6 inches), compared to its original internal combustion engine counterpart. The extended wheelbase results in more legroom, a bigger trunk and most importantly more space for the battery — giving the Casper Electric an estimated range of 315 kilometers (195 miles).

Hyundai Motor's Casper Electric mini SUV [CHO YONG-JUN]

“We wanted the Casper Electric to be a ‘city car,’ which had us consider the average round-trip distance to and from work, a [20 percent] range decrease in the winter plus 100 kilometers or so of range to put your mind at ease — which came to 315 kilometers of range,” a Hyundai engineer said.

The vehicle features a 49 kilowatt-hour nickel-cobalt-manganese battery provided by HLI Green Power, a joint battery venture between Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Motor, Kia and LG Energy Solution.

"We spent a lot of effort in making the battery more robust and it went through multiple tests, including vibration, shock and pipe flow tests, to ensure safety in harsh conditions. We also went through a 300,000-kilometer driving test," another Hyundai Motor engineer said.

"To prevent any [battery-related] incidents, the car also monitors the condition of the battery and we implemented technology to slow down heat spread, giving the passenger time to evacuate."

Hyundai Motor's Casper Electric does not feature a "frunk." [CHO YONG-JUN]

The interior of the Casper Electric also sees a revamp, featuring a 10.25-inch digital cluster and infotainment screen and a full-automatic climate control setup. The car features Highway Driving Assistance, known as HDA, blind-spot view monitoring and surround view monitoring, rare inclusions for a car in the small segment.

Hyundai Motor also made an effort to improve the ride and handling of the Casper Electric, including noise, vibration and harshness — necessary given that the lack of a petrol engine results in much more noticeable vibration and wind noise.

The car, which goes by Inster in some markets, will have a sticker price of 31.5 million won ($22,900) for its Inspiration trim, the only available trim level at launch. The price of the SUV, after the application of an EV credit offered by the government and subsidies from local governments, may come down to the 20 million-won range.

The trunk space of the Hyundai Motor's Casper Electric mini SUV [CHO YONG-JUN]

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]