Kia Syros Long Term Introduction: Third Time’s The Charm?

After fleeting experiences that left me with mixed feelings for Kia’s rather ingenious SUV, it is time to spend some proper time with it

The Kia Syros is one of the three latest SUVs to join the CarDekho long-term fleet, and to be completely honest, I preferred the other two which were either much more frugal to run or significantly more fun to drive. But my colleagues were quick to grab them, so the Syros consequently got assigned to me. 

Now while I wasn’t too keen on it, the Syros is still a very capable and alluring vehicle. It’s just that my previous two fleeting experiences with the Syros left me with slightly mixed feelings. It looks a bit too quirky, but grabs attention at the same time. Its Rs 20+ lakh on-road price (for the top-spec HTX Plus Opt Diesel AT) is hard to digest for a sub-4m car, but it is a car with a lot of ingenuity. The ride quality can be a bit too soft, but feels comfortable for the most part. 

All of this being said, these feelings were experienced in a short duration and things could change with this long term experience. Let’s see what we’ve got.

The spec

Our long term Kia Syros is finished in a predominant white shade contrasted by the heavy black cladded wheel arches and bumpers. The variant in question is the top-spec HTX+ (O), packing the effortless 1.5-litre diesel engine, paired with a smooth torque converter automatic transmission.

In all honesty, I’m not a big fan of the Syros’ quirky styling, but it has started growing on me. Parking the vehicle and looking back at its squarish silhouette and idiosyncratic lighting placement, I’ve started to appreciate the quirkyness in its design. I really was getting used to the styling, until one of my colleagues said, and I quote “it looks like a really expensive fridge. One that you would show off to your relatives”. While I can’t get that resemblance out of my head now, I’m still looking forward to seeing how the styling grows on me. I have a strong feeling that it will.

First run

Now the Syros was changing hands before I actually got hold of it, and my first journey with the Syros was an intercity run from Pune to Mumbai and back with four people and some luggage onboard. 

The first leg (Pune to Mumbai) saw me sitting, or rather lounging behind in the rear seats. Lounging because that space is truly so spacious and accommodating, that even a giant won’t have any issues. The seats were pushed all the way back, the recline was set to a generous angle, the sun shades were pulled up, the central armrest was down and the ventilated seats were activated, which put me to sleep in no time. That’s how comfortable and accommodating the seats are.  

As for my colleagues, they were appreciative of the quality and textures of materials used inside the vehicle, which along with the features on offer, felt outright premium. I knew that the 8-speaker Harman Kardon sound system was brilliant for vibing to music, but the IPL final happened to clash with our drive back. And boy oh boy, did the speakers perform well by managing the mids of the commentary and highs of the cheers and celebrations. I’m keen on experiencing different genres on this system. 

But coming back to the rear seats of the Syros, there are two sides to it, which I knew from my previous time with the Syros. Post the breakfast stop, I had some work to be done which required me to use my phone. However, due to the surface being slightly uneven along with the incessant expansion joints and undulations, there was constant vertical movement at the rear. 

The suspension was taking time to settle down after going over those imperfections, which made me nauseous and I ultimately had to stop using my phone. For a car that is so ingenious, especially with its versatility at the rear, the rear seat ride comfort is something that has always been a let down for us. 

As for that engine and gearbox, the experience was honestly ‘simply lovely’. Even with four people onboard, hitting triple digit speeds and maintaining those speeds felt effortless, and not even once did I feel the need to use the paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. I did tamper around with the drive modes on offer, and the sports mode felt ideal for leaving the slow moving highway traffic behind in the rear view mirror. While it was fine in city mode as well, sports mode just made the drive more effortless. More on the drive modes as I spend more and more time behind the wheel.

So what’s next?

Pune-Mumbai-Pune runs along with regular daily commutes in the city are going to be a constant for the Kia Syros. We already know that it has great space and practicality for a sub-4m car, along with features and technology of bigger and more expensive SUVs. What I’m looking forward to is experiencing how useful that practicality is in the real world and whether the segment-first features that Kia boasts about are actually useful for daily usage or not.

Along with that, I plan to tamper with the Syros’ tyre pressures (only 2-3 psi at maximum) in a bid to find out whether it can make any difference to the ride quality, especially at the rear. Because as of now, the ride is the only outright confusing bit in what is otherwise a really compelling package.

I’m genuinely looking forward to spending more time with the Kia Syros, and I really hope that the small nuances that hold me back from being absolutely smitten by its package get sorted out in the time to come. Stay tuned for more journeys and stories with the Kia Syros.

Positives: Cabin space, features, Effortless diesel engine

Negatives: Ride comfort at the rear is bouncy

Date When Received: 23rd May 2025

Kilometres When Received: 4,243 km

Kilometres Till Date: 7577 km