Kia Syros EV— The battle for electric vehicles has now intensified in the Indian automobile market. Korean car manufacturer Kia has officially introduced its new contender Kia Syros EV in the country’s compact EV segment. Although the company has not yet disclosed its prices, complete information about its variants, design, battery pack and features has been revealed. With the longest range in the segment and the fastest charging support, it is directly challenging the Tata Nexon EV and Mahindra XUV 3XO EV already present in the market.

Kia Syros EV: New electric SUV with the biggest battery and 526 km range, increased tension between Tata Nexon and Mahindra XUV 3XO

Size of vehicles: Syros EV is surpassing everyone in height

In terms of size, the Kia Cyros EV has been designed as per the needs of Indian roads. Its overall length is 3,995mm, which is same as Tata Nexon EV and Mahindra XUV 3XO. However, its real USP is its height. This vehicle has emerged as the tallest SUV in its segment with a height of 1,670mm. The wheelbase of this vehicle has been kept at 2,550mm. This wheelbase is slightly longer than that of the Nexon EV, but sits marginally shorter than that of Mahindra’s XUV 3XO. Because of this, passengers get excellent legroom and headroom inside the cabin.

Battery and range: Claimed to cross 500 km for the first time in the segment

To eliminate range anxiety, Kia has given the largest battery pack in this segment in this vehicle. In this, customers will get two different battery options:

• 51.4kWh Extended Range Variant: This variant offers an ARAI certified range of 526 km on a single charge. This range is 37 km more than the 45kWh variant of the Tata Nexon EV and a full 175 km more than the Mahindra XUV 3XO EV.
• 42kWh Standard Range Variant: Its smaller battery pack also claims a range of 443 km. This is 168 km ahead of the Tata Nexon EV’s 30kWh base battery and 92 km ahead of the Mahindra.

In terms of power, its electric motor generates power of 171 PS (about 175hp) and torque of 255Nm. However, in terms of initial torque, the Mahindra XUV 3XO EV still leads on paper with 310Nm.

Charging Time: 100kW DC fast charging will charge in the blink of an eye

The Kia Cyros EV uses advanced technology to reduce charging time during long journeys. This vehicle supports DC fast charging up to 100kW. In comparison, Tata Nexon EV can only support DC fast charging up to 60kW and Mahindra XUV 3XO EV can only support DC fast charging up to 50kW. With a 100kW charger, the Cyros EV can be charged from 10 to 80 percent in just 39 minutes.

If we talk about charging with a normal AC charger at home, then its 42kWh battery takes about 6 hours to be fully charged (10 to 100%) with a 7.4kW charger, whereas the larger 51.4kWh battery takes 7 hours and 15 minutes to be fully charged.

Comparison of prices and what is the market condition

At present, Kia has not officially announced the prices, but its pre-booking has been started at the dealership level with a token amount of Rs 25,000. Talking about the rivals present in the market, the ex-showroom price of Tata Nexon EV ranges between Rs 12.49 lakh to Rs 17.49 lakh. Whereas the ex-showroom price of Mahindra XUV 3XO EV is seen between Rs 13.89 lakh to Rs 14.96 lakh. Auto experts believe that Kia can launch this vehicle at an aggressive price and it can also get the option of ‘Battery-as-a-Service’ (BaaS), which will reduce the initial cost of the vehicle significantly.