Kia Syros EV

Kia’s second offering in the electric space is the unconventional but thoroughly practical Syros EV Launched at Rs 13.50 lakh (check full prices here), this small SUV packs in almost everything you need from a compact EV. 

I’ve spent a lot of time testing and reviewing the Hyundai Creta Electric and the Kia Carens Clavis EV. Since the Syros EV shares its running gear with these two electrics, my expectations from the car were understandably high. Having driven the new Syros EV in Bangalore extensively for the better part of a day, putting it through city and highway drive cycles, I’m happy to say this is one electric SUV I can recommend without thinking twice. 

The Syros’ design never really clicked with buyers. As much as I like the oddball, almost Japanese kei-car-like styling, it does look ‘quirky’ from a lot of angles. The slab-sided profiles, the boxy stance and the large glass area make for a car that stands out for sure, even if not for the best reasons. It was rather surprising to see that Kia chose to keep the design entirely unchanged from the petrol/diesel counterpart. In a quick chat with Kia officials before I drove the Syros EV, they confirmed that the Syros was designed to be an electric car primarily. 

The upright face, wide stance and the tall bonnet mean the Syros EV looks confident.

The full-LED headlights are placed on the extreme edges of the bumper, making them prone to damage. The vertical daytime running lamp adds to the sense of height, and the same doubles up as the turn indicator as well. 

I particularly like the body-coloured inserts on the bumper — it helps break up the monotony of an otherwise feature-free design. The slim LED fog lamps round up the front. Here too, the low-set placement is prone to picking up damage from road debris. 

The Syros EV features a charging port on the front fender on the co-driver’s side, and the flush-fitting door handles are motorised (available in the HTX+ and X-Line). Save for these minor differences, the side profile is identical.

You quickly understand how much effort has gone into extracting every last millimetre of space from the tiny four-metre footprint. The small nose and the sharply raked A-pillar and the XL-sized glasshouse give the Syros a big car vibe. It’s backing that tallboy stance up with large 17-inch alloy wheels (which have a very Kia EV9-like design!). The wheels fill out the arches nicely, and give the Syros a rugged stance. Do note that lower variants, such as the HTK and HTK+, feature 16-inch alloy wheels, which also look size-appropriate for the car.  Over to the rear, there’s not much to talk about. The visual height is broken by L-shaped reflectors up top and tiny tail lamps placed towards the edge of the bumpers.

A tiny ‘EV’ badge is suffixed to the Syros branding, which rounds things off at the rear. Do scroll through our image gallery to take a closer look at the Syros EV’s intricate design details. 

The Kia Syros EV's colour options include: Ivory Silver Gloss, Ivory Silver Matte, Frost Blue, Gravity Grey, Pewter Olive, Magma Red, Aurora Black Pearl, and Xclusive Matte Graphite. For its quirky design, colours such as the Olive and Red stand out. Read our variant-wise colours explainer story here to know which colours you get with each variant.

Design and Quality

Kia has repeatedly set benchmarks in terms of interior design, fit-finish and quality. The Syros EV joins that list. In terms of design, layout and general feel — there’s absolutely nothing that’s drastically different from the ICE versions. That’s a great thing because the Syros always had the best cabin for a small SUV to begin with. 

The Kia EV9-inspired dashboard design houses a large slab of screen and loads of horizontal elements that help accentuate the width of the cabin. There’s a lot of thought that’s gone into ensuring space is maximised. As you spend time in the cabin, you’ll notice that the dashboard doesn’t protrude too much into the cabin, the door pads aren’t excessively wide, all ensuring you and your passengers have that much more room. 

There are some interesting textures that have been used to ensure the cabin feels playful. The textured dashboard top, the smooth glossy black finishes and the smooth plastic in the lower half all feel class-leading in terms of quality. Kia has also incorporated recycled materials into the cabin, which is a thoughtful touch.

A total of three design changes have been made: the central console has been changed to a ‘floating type’ (with neat ambient lighting integration) that unlocks more storage space, the gear selector moves behind the steering wheel like other Hyundai-Kia EVs, and you get the three-spoke steering wheel from the Seltos. 

Based on the interior you pick, there are three interior colour themes on offer. The entry-level HTK/HTK+ variants get a Cloud Blue and Grey Dual Tone theme with mint green accents, the HTX+ ER variant features an Onyx Black and Off White combo, and the range-topping X-Line version features a deep Hunter Green paired with Onyx Black. 

Front Seats

Wide opening doors and a neutral floor height ensure it’s easy to get in and out of the Syros EV, even for the elderly in the family. Kia officials confirmed that the floor has been raised by 10mm, which isn’t particularly noticeable unless you’re taller than 5’10”.

The driver seat can be adjusted 4-ways electrically; the height adjustment remains manual. Paired with the telescopic steering adjustment, it’s easy to find a decent driving position.

Since you’re seated quite tall and upright, you get a commanding view of the road up ahead. This should give newer drivers more confidence. The thin A-pillars and large windows ensure all-round visibility is maximised. The seats themselves are wide for larger builds, and the cushioning feels just right. I spent over an hour and a half driving the Syros EV continuously and didn’t feel any aches or pains anywhere. Support for the shoulder and lower back felt satisfactory. The front armrest adds another layer of comfort. 

Rear Seats

This is where the tiny Syros EV shames vehicles much larger than itself. The amount of rear seat space on offer here is genuinely impressive to say the least. 

With the driver’s seat set for my 6’ tall frame, I had space to spare in the rear seat. In fact, even my 6’5” colleague was able to sit behind my driving position quite comfortably. The rear seats can slide back and forth by 75mm and recline to 135°, which lets you tailor the space on offer as per your need. 

The boxy outside means there’s more than enough headroom. Enough width for three regular-sized adults too, which is rare for a vehicle in this segment. That said, a proper headrest for the central occupant would’ve been good to have. Overall, with a flat floor and squared-off space, the Syros EV’s second row is ideal for small families. 

Storage Options

There’s no dearth of storage spaces inside the cabin of the Syros EV. The front doors can carry three bottles and also have umbrella holders.

The central area has multiple storage areas, including a floor console that can be used to store larger items.

In the ‘floating’ panel, you get a couple of cupholders, and there’s more storage under the front armrest.

A spacious glovebox, dedicated space above it for your wallet/phone, and a sunglass holder complete the package. 

The rear occupants can use seatback pockets (with dedicated slots for phones), door armrest storage, bottle holders in the door and cupholders in the central armrest.

There’s a small tray underneath the AC vents to place your phone while you charge it. 

Charging Options

Front passengers get a wireless phone charger, two USB Type-C ports (one of which is rated at 100W), and a 12V socket. Rear passengers get two USB Type-C ports.

Exclusive to the Syros EV is a 3-pin 16A plug point that can be used to power larger appliances if needed. 

Boot Space

Boot space ranges between 390-465 litres based on the position and recline of the rear seats. Even the least available space is more than sufficient for your weekend grocery runs. With the seat pushed ahead, we could comfortably fit in 5 cabin-sized trolley bags and two backpacks. The boot is wide and deep, which means you can use larger bags if needed. 

For added versatility, a 60:40 split function has been provided.

From a feature standpoint, there’s nothing that’s missing in the Syros EV. Staples include:

With recent Kia launches, the infotainment experience has been a highlight. With the Syros EV, Kia delivers a solid infotainment package comprising a 12.3-inch touchscreen, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 5-inch display for the climate control as standard across all variants. 

12.3-inch touchscreen: This screen has a very tablet-like interface. With a crisp display, slick UI and quick response times, this is amongst the best infotainment experiences in this segment. The screen supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay wirelessly, and also displays the feed of the 360° camera. 

5-inch climate control display: For all intents and purposes, the absence of this screen would’ve made no difference to the overall package. It’s placed slightly awkwardly behind the steering wheel and isn’t particularly intuitive to use. There are physical buttons for the climate control, which I preferred using over this screen interface. 

12.3-inch driver’s display: Just like the touchscreen, this display too is sharp and crisp. It features multiple themes and also displays the feed from the side camera when you indicate — very helpful!

8-speaker Harman Kardon Audio System: Audio clarity is acceptable. The centre dashboard speaker and subwoofer add a nice depth to the sound. That said, sound at the rear seems shallow and it could do with tweeters in the rear door for a better surround sound experience.

360° Camera: Fantastic resolution, super dependable even in low light conditions. Sadly, this feature is limited to the X-Line. It should’ve been offered from the HTX version onwards. 

The Syros EV's price sees it battle against larger electric SUVs. Even with that factored in, the Syros EV isn’t lacking in terms of features.

The Syros EV is based on the 5-star rated platform of the Syros. The standard safety kit is expansive, including six airbags, ABS, electronic stability control, tyre pressure monitor, ISOFIX child seat mounts and hill assist. 

Higher variants of the Syros EV feature front and side parking sensors, a 360° camera and Level 2 ADAS. The ADAS suite is well-calibrated for Indian conditions and doesn’t feel unnecessarily intrusive. Features include the usuals of adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, and lane keep assist. 

Features such as blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert are not available since the Syros EV does not have rear radars. This is something that should’ve been made available for the price. 

Battery Options and Performance

The Syros EV shares its running gear with the Creta Electric and Carens Clavis EV. Here’s a quick look at the specs:

The first thing that stands out is the sheer ease of driving. It could be your first car ever, and you would have next to no issues getting used to it immediately. The throttle response is smooth, and performance feels effortless. 

Click here to find out which variant gets which powertrain option our detailed explainer. 

There are three drive modes: Eco, City, and Sport. Even in the most efficient Eco mode, there’s enough power to pick gaps in city traffic and even overtake on the highway if needed. City mode feels a little more urgent and more engaging. However, it’s Sport mode where the fun lies. Kia claims a 0-100kmph time of 8.1 seconds, and I’ve got no doubt it can duck under that number. Even when performance is quick, it never feels scary. 

While driving on the outskirts of Bangalore, the open highways gave me a good chance to explore the different levels of brake energy regeneration. This can be controlled using the paddle shifters. I found the regenerative braking to kick in smoothly and not cause the car to bog down suddenly when you lift off the throttle. If you’re smooth with your throttle inputs, you can stick to L1/L2 for the city.

For smooth flowing highways, L2 works best. Only in crawling traffic did I feel L3 to be of significance. The X-Line variant additionally gets a ‘L Auto’ mode that relies on the front camera to automatically calibrate the required regen. This too is calibrated well enough and you can rely on it even in peak city traffic. 

Charging Time and Range

On test, the Syros EV's efficiency readout was consistently around 7.5-8km/kWh. This is with prolonged air conditioner usage for shooting and erratic driving to get our tracking shots. Some faster driving saw the efficiency dip to 6.5km/kWh. Having experienced this drivetrain in other Hyundai-Kia vehicles and driving them from 100-0%, I’m confident that the Syros EV should be capable of delivering around 430-450km of range on a full charge. The smaller battery pack should average around 350-370km. That’s a week's worth of office commuting in one go. 

Charging the Syros EV is reasonably quick too. It supports 100kW DC fast charging, which can give you ~200km of range in about half an hour. 

Here’s a look at the claimed charging times:

Ride and Handling

The suspension on the Syros EV has been given a stiffer tune to account for the heavy battery. Both the weight and the recalibrated suspension work in its favour as the car feels a lot more comfortable compared to the petrol/diesel version. It goes over broken roads, undulations and bumps without tossing the occupants around. At the same time, the suspension remains silent.

Over really deep surfaces, you might notice some side-to-side movement, but other than that, the Syros EV remains a very comfortable city EV. For highway runs, you will appreciate the stability it has to offer at triple-digit speeds. I felt confident while changing lanes at higher speeds too. There’s no bouncy feeling here like in the ICE version. 

On the handling front, the Syros EV does what it is expected to. It’s easy to park, manoeuvre, and zip around town. For the winding roads, the steering will feel quick enough too. That said, the vehicle is tall and relatively narrow, which inevitably means there’s body roll. 

The Syros EV is available in five variants: HTK, HTK+, HTX, HTX+ and X-Line.To explore what each variant gets, click here.

Kia Syros EV HTK

• Available with only the smaller 42 kWh battery pack.

• Exterior elements such as LED headlamps, DRLs and fog lamps, split LED taillamps, 16-inch alloy wheels, roof rails, flush-fit door handles and wheel arch cladding. 

• The cabin features a dual-tone blue and grey theme with semi-leatherette seats, a three-screen setup, a two-spoke tilt-adjustable steering wheel and rear window sunshades.

• Equipment such as 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment, 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, 5-inch climate control touchscreen, automatic climate control, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 4-speaker + 2 tweeter sound system, USB Type-C charging ports and drive modes.

• Safety tech like 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, rear parking sensors, all-wheel disc brakes, tyre pressure monitoring system and hill start assist.

• You can check out the base variant in detail here.

Kia Syros EV HTK+

• Offered with both 42 kWh and 51.4kWh (ER) battery pack options.

• Exterior remains unchanged except for 17-inch dual-tone alloy wheels (for ER versions only).

• Adds some equipment such as rear view camera, cruise control and 100W USB Type-C charging port (front only).

• Do not miss to go through our HTK+ & HTK+ ER Explainer story to have a more detailed insight on these variants.

Kia Syros EV HTX

• Can be configured with both 42 kWh and 51.4 kWh (ER) battery options.

• Exterior enhanced with addition of LED rear turn indicators.

• Cabin gets co-driver side dashboard insert, one-touch up/down for all windows, 60:40 split folding rear seats, rear centre armrest with cupholder, parcel tray and rear adjustable headrests

• Added features like a panoramic sunroof, OTA (Over-the-air) Updates (ER only) and a rear wiper with washer.

• Click here to explore in detail about the HTX & HTX ER Explainer, where we have compiled everything.

Kia Syros EV HTX+

• Only offered with larger 51.4 kWh (ER) battery pack

• Exterior gets 17-inch dual-tone alloy wheels as standard and powered flush door handles.

• Upmarket interior feel with black and white cabin theme, leatherette seat upholstery, three-spoke steering wheel and metal pedal covers.

• Fancier features like front and rear ventilated seats, inbuilt navigation, 4-way powered driver seat, 8-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, connected car tech and wireless phone charger.

• Safety boosted with auto-dimming IRVM, front parking sensors and dual dashcam.

• Also adds a battery heater.

• Here’s what the HTX+ ER variant offers in the Kia Syros EV.

Kia Syros EV X-Line

• Available with the larger 51.4 kWh (ER) battery pack only.

• Exterior gets an exclusive ‘Matte Graphite’ colour option along with blacked-out bumpers, badging and roof rails.

• Sportier black and green cabin theme with green inserts, LED footwell illumination and 64-colour ambient lighting.

• Adds a Level 2 ADAS suite including blind view monitor, 360-degree camera, side parking sensors and high beam assist.

• Also features LED puddle lamps with Kia logo, digital key and Vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability.

• This is what the X-Line ER variant of the Syros EV has to offer.

CarDekho Recommends

• Go for the base HTK variant if your usage is mainly urban. It gets all the necessary features, and some fancier ones too and doesn’t feel like a base trim.

• The HTX+ variant gets all the bells and whistles, and should be the ideal package if you want all the modern tech.

• You should consider the X-Line if you drive a lot on highways, where the added ADAS features would be useful.

The Kia Syros is a benchmark in its segment. Beyond its polarising looks is genuine space engineering, practicality, features, tech and attention to fit and finish that is better than products double its price. Considering that the Syros EV retains those traits and blends them with slightly better ride comfort than the ICE version, and the guaranteed effortless drive experience and refinement that is associated with an electric powertrain, the Kia Syros EV is likely to be the best family car to exist in its footprint. 

Other Options To Consider

Tata Nexon EV

Reasons to consider:

• Significantly more affordable

• Less polarising styling

Reasons to ignore

• Cabin not as spacious

• Fewer features on offer

• Lower performance and range figures

Check out how the Kia Syros EV stacks up against the Tata Nexon EV.

MG Windsor EV

Reasons to consider

• A much larger car

• Bigger boot space

• Lower price tag

Reasons to ignore

• Lower range figures

• Misses out on some equipment

• Slower charging speeds

How does the Syros EV fare against the WIndsor EV? Click here

VinFast VF6

Reasons to consider

• Sportier styling

• Stronger performance

Reasons to ignore

• Fewer features on offer

• Lower range figures

• Expensive starting price

Kia Syros EV vs VinFast VF6: Here’s the comparison.

Mahindra XUV 3XO EV

Reasons to consider

• Well-priced lower variant

• Higher torque figures

Reasons to ignore

• Misses out on a lot of features

• Significantly smaller battery pack

• A far lower range figure

Here’s how the Kia Syros EV compares with the Mahindra XUV 3XO.

Hyundai Creta Electric

Reasons to consider

• Larger footprint

• Similar power and range figures

Reasons to ignore

• Some features missing

• Feels older

• Top variants can be expensive