The Syros, pronounced Sirr-Oss, will be unveiled in India on the 19th of December, becoming Kia Motors’ 7th offering here. The Kia Syros will slot in between the Sonet and Seltos, in terms of size, positioning and pricing. We expect it to be slightly longer than 4 meters in length, which means no excise duty benefits. On the brighter side, this also means Kia can go all-in, and equip the Syros with powerful engines. While we’ll get to that in just a bit, here’s another teaser that reveals some interior bits off the upcoming compact SUV.
As the teaser indicates, the Start-Stop button on the Kia Syros will be placed on the center console, which will also have the parking sensor and the rear camera activation buttons. Type A and C USB ports and wireless charging will be on offer as well.
Interestingly, there’s a Terrain mode on the Syros, leading to the question whether an all wheel drive layout would be on offer. We’ll have to wait for a little longer for this to be confirmed though. This Terrain mode button sits on the right-hand of the side butch-looking steering wheel, while the left hand side hosts a Drive mode button. Clearly, drive modes are different from Terrain modes, prompting us to wonder about the all wheel drive function.
If Kia Motors indeed offers all wheel drive on the Syros, it’ll be the only SUV in its segment to get one, and this is sure to excite enthusiasts. The only other affordable all wheel drive SUVs on offer in the 10-20 lakh compact SUV class are the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and the Toyota Hyryder.
Circling back to the Syros, the compact SUV will also get ADAS, again revealed through a button on the steering wheel. The cabin features plenty of squared off bits, again indicating rugged-ness and classic SUV positioning. There will be LED ambient lighting as well, and the feature Indians absolutely can’t get enough of – a sunroof, a panoramic sunroof to be specific.
Exterior styling, again, promises to be butch. Up front, there are LED headlamps in a stacked layout while the daytime running lights angle around them like a boomerang. Tail lamps are also stacked, giving the Kia Syros’ design the much needed height. Overall, the Syros seems like a Skoda Yeti – unconventional, modern and very SUV-like.
We’ve also managed to get our hands on spyshots of the Kia Syros. The spyshots indicate a near-production model, and show the butch lines from both the front and the rear. Under the hood, the Kia Syros will get a 1 liter-3 cylinder turbo petrol that it shares with the Sonet. This motor makes 118 Bhp-172 Nm, and is offered with 6 speed manual and 7 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox options on the Sonet. It’s likely to be carried over as is.
As for the diesel, it’ll be the super smooth and punchy 1.5 liter-4 cylinder turbocharged unit, putting out 115 Bhp-250 Nm. A choice of 6 speed manual and torque converter automatic gearboxes will be on offer. So, this is basically what you can expect from the Kia Syros in mechanical terms. We expect the Kia Syros to be priced at about Rs. 1 lakh more than the Sonet, variant to variant. Keep and eye on this space as we bring you more information about the exciting new SUV from Kia.
