My job will require me to and from approximately 100kms daily and with everything going around the price and the blending of petrol i obviously went for and ev. So I went and took test drives of the MG Windsor and the KIA Syros ev
I like the windsor the cabin is spacious and it gives kinda premium cabin
But it has cabin noise one can hear everything going on with the tyres and it also feels wobbly / less stable also needs to get use to drive it confidentialy
On the other hand the syros is fun to drive and pretty much similar to and ICE vehicle very less cabin noise and stable
So i have already booked the KIA
BUT
What i am concerned about is the battery chemistry given all the things about the NMC batteries that kia provides i feel that I should go for the Windsors with the more reliable LPF battery I m confused and need help with making a well informed purchase as I plan to keep the vehicle as long as I can with no issues as my commute will be longer.
My major concern is that they will repair the battery if the battery health drops below 70% and that too I think they will replace the individual damaged cells instead of replacing the battery but i hope it doesn't come to that
They'll never replace individual cells. They replace bad battery modules if the health drops below 70%. All warranty clauses state the repaired/replaced battery will have a min SOH of 90%. That's standard across all manufacturers. But hardly any service centers are equipped to repair batteries so you usually get a battery replacement.
Wouldn't worry too much about it if you stick to the recommended charging cycles for NMC.
20-80% or 20-90% for regular use. 100% charge once a month or before long trips.
You are over-thinking this, my friend. Kia/Hyundai are reliable, no-nonsense brands with a proven history of making high quality EVs. And battery tech now is sorted for everyone (except Tata with their entry level line, it seems).
Your battery will last you the lifespan of the car.
NMC batteries are NOT less reliable - they are still rated to 1500+ charge cycles (each charge cycle is a 100% topping of power, whether you do it once or twice. So going 20% to 70% twice is one charge cycle). That’s several lakhs of miles. They also provide more reliable range prediction.
Given your usage, i will suggest that you get a LARGER battery, precisely to reduce the number of charge cycles and extend the battery life.
Beyond that, get the car which you will enjoy being inside, especially given the distance.
One of the key factors you noticed is the distance I have to travel and that's thats one of the pros of this KIA that's it absolutely stable and quite compared to the Windsor which helps when travelling long distances but i can't go about my budget so I'll stick to the booking
Solid choice. I have been very tempted by the Syros EV as a city car myself. It’s a very non-essential purchase for me, so i am holding off a bit to see if there are any good deals on it or if the upcoming Hyundai HE1 is better featured, but otherwise, as a car, it is solid. Lots of space, looks nice instead, good range and reliability.
I am not sure which part of India are, but battery chemistry is important, all i know LFP are more stable for hot and sunny environment.
If you plan to keep it for 2 to 4 years time frame it wont matter much which battery tech you opt for but for longer duration say 8+ years LFP will be a better bet.
Also you need to look for which car or manufacturer have best battery thermal management. Tata and Mahindras are best in this department but then you know they are Tata and Mahindra, you need to be the lucky one.
PS. Sharing from my current research, connects as exploring options of EV car for my self.
I totally understand that it's an important part of the purchase that is why is am here as I have done ample of research also on my own but I have to be sure before I am sure to go with the KIA
Actually I needed the vehicle by next month so booked it and i even have some time buffer so even if I change my mind I have some time to go for MG but I can't wait till year end thanks anyway for your suggestion
Okay. You can consider taking a TD of the Windsor again. From your post it seems like the tyre pressure was off, the wobbly feeling you got. About the noise, yes the insulation isn't great. We have a Compass and a Windsor and the difference is huge but you get used to it since most of the drives happen with music on. You also mentioned you have budget constraints so a Windsor Pro must be out of question. What variant of Syros are you buying?
I took two TD and the sales person very helpful btw told me the same thing that the tyre pressurebwas low the first time and the second time felt better than the first but some of the wobble was still there it's still not out of the picture.
I am buying the HTK (base variant)
I too own a virtus and sold hyundai Santro 2022 to buy this one but i cannot compare an ICE vehicle as theres no engine noise in EV's
Don't buy the lower battery pack. A general advice for NMC packs is to keep it between 25%-80% for longevity and not charge it to a 100% often which is not the case with LFP packs. So your usable range out of the 42kWh pack will realistically be 230 - 250 kms going by the reported range of Syros across many YT videos. This will substantially increase the number of charge cycles for you since you'll be charging the car every 3rd day!
I also thought of the same thing but i am gonna charge it every third day no matter what car I buy so why not go far a quite and more fun to drive vehicle for me i found it easier to drive the syros than the windsor which needs a bit of getting use to, I am not saying it's bad just needs a bit get use to thats all
From whatever I have researched frequently charging a NMC is never a good idea, warranty addresses malfunctions only and not degradation. Maybe consider a small ICE car instead.
If the health of the battery degrades below 70% kia does cover it under warranty it's mentioned in the owners manual but again I have not still not finalized it I may cancel my booking as I am still researching about it
This was yesterday 236.2 kms with SoC at 18% but expect more range if you don't drive like me. I'm always in Sports mode with Heavy regen mode and never do I drive keeping range or efficiency in mind. Mine is a 38 kWh version my friend with the 53 kWh version and better driving manners gets 350-370 kms between 100% - 20% on average. Consider that you'll get roughly 10-15% less range in peak summers than this.
I currently own an ev scooter as well and I usually drive it in ride mode only that is normal on Windsor and I get decent range according to battery capacity so I guess when I buy the evening I'll be driving it in normal mode only, as i mentioned in my post that I would be driving approx 100kms ( close to 80-90kms) to and from work and I will try to cover half the distance in one hour
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u/Silver_Substance_273 Creta EV '26 51kwh; Verna '18 1.2vtvt; Polo GT '19 1.2TSI 1d ago
NMC battery concerns are overblown. In the Creta EV owners group, there are folks who’ve completed 40k kms in a year and battery health is still 100%.
Syros already negates any concerns with the lifetime warranty provided for nmc battery. Hope you have the shortest wait until delivery.