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The Geely EX5 is a compact electric SUV from a company that many UK motorists may not have heard of, but Geely is behind a number of automotive brands including Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Smart and Zeekr.
Geely is another Chinese car brand that’s entering the UK market, and it’s another brand that many UK motorists may not have heard of, but its parent company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group owns, or has strategic stakes in, Volvo Cars, Polestar, Lotus, Smart, Proton and Zeekr. Now Geely is selling cars in the UK under its own name; the EX5 is the first, and there are ten models planned over the next three years.
The Geely EX5 is a compact electric SUV with clean exterior and interior styling. The EX5 is built on Geely’s ‘Global Intelligent New Energy Architecture’ (GEA), with a battery structure built into the body using Cell-to-Body (CTB) technology. This increases torsional rigidity – which benefits safety, refinement, and comfort – and also allows for more efficient packaging and improved interior space.
The result of this is a car that’s 4,615mm long yet offers spacious rear legroom and a 461-litre boot with a ‘three-layer luggage compartment system’. If you fold down the rear seats the luggage space increases to 1,877 litres, and there’s even a 14-litre drawer that slides out from under the rear seat which should keep families happy by storing away all the kids’ paraphernalia. Geely describes the EX5 as a C-segment SUV with D-segment interior space, and the front seats can be folded fully flat (driver-only in Max trim).
The EX5 has a 60.22 kWh Lithium-ion Phosphate (LFP) battery (usable capacity) with a 218 PS electric motor delivering front-wheel drive.
The Geely EX5 ticks all the right boxes in terms of the driving experience. It’s easy to drive, it’s quiet and refined with comfortable ride quality, handling is reasonably agile, and with a 0-62 mph time of 7.1 seconds in Max trim, performance is perfectly sufficient. Geely says that the EX5’s springs, dampers and anti-roll bars have all been revised for UK-specific models – with a bit of help from Lotus. The company also says that the Geely-Traction Control System (G-TCS) is fast-acting and can cut wheel slip by as much as 50% compared to competitor systems; during our relatively short first drive on dry roads we certainly didn’t experience any wheelspin.
The EX5 offers three drive modes: Eco, Normal and Sport, and you can select three levels of regenerative braking.
There’s a large 15.4-inch HD central touchscreen, a 10.2-inch HD driver display, and a 13.8-inch head-up display on Max models. You even get a ‘multi-function rotary dial’ which you can use to control media volume, fan speed, temperature and ambient lighting. There are also some physical buttons for heating controls.
The Geely EX5 has an electric driving range (WLTP) of up to 267 miles, although our test car in Max trim had a WLTP range of 255 miles.
The EX5 has a maximum rapid charging rate of 160 kW, which can deliver a 30% to 80% charge in 20 minutes. It also has an on-board 11 kW AC charger which can provide a 10% to 100% charge in just over 6 hours.
A heat pump is fitted as standard, to warm the cabin in cold weather with minimal impact on the battery’s range. Efficiency is also helped by the EX5’s drag coefficient of 0.269Cd, one of the lowest in its class, with features such as an active shutter for the grille that reduces aerodynamic drag.
All EX5 models feature 3.3kW vehicle-to-load (V2L), allowing the charging of electrical devices, and 6kW vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) power, enabling the charging of another EV.
As part of the UK launch offer, Geely EX5 customers are offered a choice of two incentives: either a reduced cost home wallbox in partnership with Andersen EV, or £1,000 public charging credit through Octopus Electroverse.
The Geely EX5 is available in three trim levels: SE (£31,990), Pro (£33,990) and Max (£36,990).
Geely is also offering its own EV Grant until the end of 2025, which varies depending on the trim, with the Geely EX5 SE benefitting from £2,300, the Geely EX5 Pro £3,200, and the top-spec Geely EX5 Max £3,750.
As if all that wasn’t enough, Geely will also offer you a £1,000 part exchange allowance for petrol or diesel vehicles until 31 December 2025.
For the £36,990 Geely EX5 Max, all this translates to a potential discount of £3,750 for the Geely EV Grant plus £1,000 part exchange allowance, resulting in a price of £32,240.
Geely has 25 franchised dealer showrooms operational in the UK from launch, with another 25 planned before the end of 2025, complete with a parts supply chain, which isn’t always in place with some new Chinese brands.
It feels like Geely has taken the top 10 compact SUVs on sale and created the EX5 from the best bits, to result in an EV that has all the features that families want. The EX5 has clean styling on the outside and in the interior, lots of space, and the driving experience is easy, refined, comfortable and responsive. The driving range of up to 267 miles is competitive, as is the maximum rapid charging rate of 160 kW. So all is good, but the real selling point is the EX5’s price, which starts from £31,990 for the SE model, although the top of the range Max trim is potentially available for £32,240 after the Geely EV Grant and the £1,000 part exchange allowance. The Geely EX5 is another example of a Chinese EV being a much better car than many people are likely to expect; it’s awarded a Green Car Guide rating of 8 out of 10.
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