Kia India has pulled the covers off its second mass-market electric vehicle, the Syros EV, and pre-bookings are now open for a token amount of INR 25,000 through the Kia India website and dealerships nationwide. The headline news is a segment-best ARAI-certified range of 526 km (MIDC Full) on the Extended Range battery pack, making the Syros EV the first electric SUV in its class to break past the 500 km mark.
A Range and Charging Package Built to Ease EV Anxiety
The Syros EV is offered with two battery choices. The larger 51.4 kWh Extended Range pack delivers that class-leading 526 km, while a smaller 42 kWh unit still manages a healthy 443 km (MIDC Full). Either way, buyers get strong performance to match, with a segment-best power output of 171 PS and a 0–100 kmph sprint of 8.1 seconds on the bigger battery.
Charging anxiety has been a sticking point for EV buyers in India, and Kia is tackling it head-on. The Syros EV supports DC fast charging from 10% to 80% in a segment-best 39 minutes when hooked up to a 100 kW charger, helped along by a Battery Conditioning feature that pre-warms or cools the battery for quicker top-ups. There’s also 10.8 kW of onboard AC charging capacity for home or workplace charging.
The battery itself is a Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) unit, built on Kia’s reinforced K1 platform and wrapped in an IP67-rated casing with liquid cooling, so it should stand up well to India’s varied climate.
Ownership Perks: Lifetime Warranty, Buyback and Flexible Financing
Kia is leaning heavily on ownership confidence to win over first-time EV buyers. Every Syros EV comes with a Lifetime High Voltage Battery Warranty (with the small print noting “lifetime” is defined as 15 years), an Assured Buyback programme to protect resale value, and a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) scheme that lets buyers spread out the upfront cost. Together, Kia says these three measures directly tackle the biggest worries around EV ownership: battery life, resale value and purchase price.
Speaking at the unveiling, Kia India’s Managing Director and CEO, Mr Gwanggu Lee, said the Syros EV reflects the brand’s “Movement that Inspires” philosophy, framing the launch as an effort to make electric mobility more accessible while removing the anxieties that typically hold Indian buyers back from going electric.
K-Charge: One App, 20,300+ Charging Points
Charging infrastructure is bundled together under K-Charge, Kia India’s charging ecosystem accessible through the MyKia app. It brings together more than 20,300 charging points from the country’s top 23 Charge Point Operators into a single wallet, complete with route planning and payment, so drivers aren’t juggling multiple apps on a road trip. Kia is backing this up on the ground too, with over 129 dealerships fitted with high-capacity DC fast chargers and more than 275 EV-ready workshops across India.
Design: Bold, Upright and Unmistakably EV
Styling-wise, the Syros EV builds on the standard Syros’s upright SUV stance but adds EV-specific touches lifted from Kia’s global electric design language. Highlights include the Signature Digital Tiger Face front end, Ice Cube MFR LED headlamps, LED fog lamps as standard, and Star Map LED daytime running lights with integrated turn indicators up front, mirrored by Star Map LED tail lamps at the rear.
It’s also the first in its segment to get Auto Streamline Door Handles, and rides on 17-inch Crystal Cut Dual-Tone Aero Alloy Wheels (a 16-inch option is available too). Black high-gloss front and rear skid plates with aero inserts, gloss-black garnish-style roof rails, and eye-catching side garnish detailing round off the exterior look.
Tech-Packed Cabin with a 30-inch Display
Step inside and the dashboard is dominated by a first-in-segment 30-inch (76.20 cm) Trinity Panoramic Display Panel, which combines a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch touchscreen for navigation and infotainment, and a 5-inch climate control panel into one continuous unit. It runs on Kia Connect 2.0 with over 95 connected features, supports over-the-air software updates, and offers wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard, alongside a Harman Kardon eight-speaker sound system and wireless phone charging.
Practicality hasn’t been forgotten either. Rear passengers get generous legroom plus 60:40 split seats that slide and recline, while both front seats (seat and back) and rear seats (seat only) are ventilated. Other cabin highlights include a 4-way power driver’s seat, a dual-pane panoramic sunroof, 64-colour ambient mood lighting with LED footwell lamps in the front row, a dual-camera smart dashcam, rear door sunshade curtains, several USB-C charging points including a fast 100W front USB-C port, and a 16-litre front boot (frunk) with its own cover.
EV-specific touches round out the package: paddle-shifter regenerative braking with an auto mode and i-Pedal one-pedal driving, Vehicle-to-Load capability for powering devices from inside the car, a battery heating system, digital key access, a Virtual Engine Sound System (VESS) for pedestrian safety, and column-mounted shift-by-wire gear selection.
Safety: Level 2 ADAS and 25 Standard Features
On the safety front, the Syros EV comes with Level 2 ADAS offering a segment-best 16 autonomous features. These include front collision-avoidance assist that reacts to cars, pedestrians, cyclists, junction-turning traffic and oncoming vehicles, smart cruise control with stop-and-go functionality, lane keeping and lane following assist, driver attention warning, high beam assist and a leading vehicle departure alert. A 360-degree camera, a blind view monitor built into the instrument cluster, and parking collision-avoidance assist for reversing, plus front, rear and side parking sensors, all help with tight urban parking.
Beyond the driver-assist tech, the Syros EV also carries 25 standard Hi-Safety features, among them six airbags, electronic stability control, vehicle stability management, hill-start assist, brake assist, a high-line tyre pressure monitoring system, ISOFIX child seat anchorages, rear occupant alert, all-wheel disc brakes and an electric parking brake with auto hold.
Variants and Colours
The Syros EV will be sold in seven trims spread across its two battery options:
42 kWh: HTK, HTK+, HTX
51.4 kWh Extended Range: HTK+ ER, HTX ER, HTX+ ER, X-Line ER
Buyers can pick from nine exterior colours: Glacier White Pearl, Frost Blue, Gravity Grey, Pewter Olive, Magma Red, Ivory Silver Matte, Ivory Silver Gloss, Aurora Black Pearl, and — exclusive to the X-Line ER — Xclusive Matte Graphite with Aurora Black Pearl. Inside, there’s a choice of Cloud Blue & Grey, Onyx Black & Off-White, or the top-spec Onyx Black & Hunter Green theme.
With the Syros EV, Kia India is clearly betting that range anxiety and resale worries — not just price — are what’s holding back mass EV adoption in the country. By pairing a genuinely class-leading 526 km range with a lifetime battery warranty, buyback assurance and a unified charging network through K-Charge, Kia is positioning the Syros EV as a electric SUV built for everyday Indian ownership rather than just showroom appeal. Pre-bookings are open now for INR 25,000 via Kia’s website and dealerships across India.
