So generic is this car’s styling that it looks like the non-specific, badgeless cars that insurance and breakdown companies mock up for their adverts, to avoid upsetting any particular car manufacturer. If I look away for a minute, it’s gone, replaced in my memory by a sort of amorphous, car-shaped blob.
On the other hand, at least the Geely is free of the sort of chintz that some other Chinese manufacturers love; there’s none of their sparkly running lights, complicated surfacing and highly ornate grilles. So while the EX5 is plain, it is at least inoffensive.
Pros
- Roomy interior
- High-quality feel
- Long warranty
Cons
- Serious touchscreen usability issues
- Unpleasant ride quality over certain surfaces
- No larger battery option
Going for a Song
Geely says the EX5’s look has been influenced by Song Dynasty porcelain. But could this minimalism also be the result of a Scandinavian influence? Certainly, Geely’s proximity to Volvo and Lotus – it has a controlling interest in both – should have taught it plenty about what Europeans want from cars.
The entry-level SE costs £31,990 and prices rise to £36,990 for the top-spec Max; the EX5 isn’t eligible for the Government plug-in car grant, but Geely is temporarily offering an incentive of up to £3,750 to make up for that, along with £500 towards a home-charging wallbox or public charging.
There’s also an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty – not only for the battery, but the whole car. That’s the longest UK car warranty that isn’t service-activated. And while some wear and tear items fall off cover early, including the interior screens, these still have a pretty generous six years of warranty.
A useable battery capacity of 60.2kWh gives an official range of 267 miles (255 in the max; think 200-ish real-world), which is about the same as a Skoda Elroq; the difference is that the Elroq is available with a larger battery if you need more range.
Charging and efficiency figures are fine, if not class-leading; it will take 28 minutes to get from 10 to 80 per cent and average 3.8 miles/kWh in use.
It’s loaded to the gunwales with equipment, but there are some odd specification choices. Like the fact that a heated steering wheel is standard on all models – but heated seats can only be had on the top version. That said, an efficiency-boosting heat pump is also standard on all versions.
Touched by madness
Disappointingly, the EX5 car stays true to the template of “huge touchscreen and as few buttons as possible”. This creates several usability problems, not least because the touchscreen is quite slow and laggy.
Here, for example, is how the user manual tells you to turn on the dipped beam headlights: “Click the following on the multimedia display: Vehicle Settings → Lights → Exterior Lights in turn, and then low beam in this interface. After a prompt pops up, drag the slider to confirm and turn on the low beam.”
The idea is that you leave the lights in the Auto setting although, as anyone familiar with automatic headlights knows, they don’t always come on in daytime fog or heavy rain.
Can you imagine how far you’ll have travelled, completely distracted, to execute this borderline irresponsible series of stabs and swipes? And this is far from the only function that requires far more prods at the screen than it should.
To make matters worse, as you try desperately to navigate the labyrinthine menu structure, the driver monitoring system will bong away angrily at you for not paying attention to the road.
You will, naturally, want to turn this off at the start of every journey. But guess how you do so? That’s right: fumbling with the screen for countless minutes.
The shame of it is that the rest of the EX5’s interior is executed pretty well. There are chunky door handles and knurled switches, while the materials feel high-quality. There are cubbies galore, too, most notably under the rear seats, where a sizable pull-out drawer can easily house kids’ toys, nappies, snacks, or whatever else you may need during a long car journey.
The wireless charger has a grippy backing to stop your phone sliding around, while beneath the flying centre console there’s a huge bin for odds and ends. Top-spec models even have a 16-speaker sound system with tweeters in the headrests.
However, just a few more slick, well-damped physical switches could well have mitigated this car’s worst feature.
Space age
The sense of space is impressive, especially with the panoramic roof. Light materials and large windows mean the EX5 feels airy, while outward vision is good.
In the back seats, there’s room enough to swing whichever member of the feline genus you may choose. The boot’s a pretty useful space, too, with a variable-height floor that can either split the boot horizontally into sections of 302 and 159 litres apiece or, in its lower position, provide 410 litres with a 51-litre under-floor storage bin. In total, the space on offer is about what you’ll get in an Elroq or the like.
Geely says it asked Lotus to work on making the EX5’s chassis tauter to better suit British roads. It has had only partial success; you get the sense that the EX5 started out too soft and has been hastily stiffened by increasing the anti-roll.
Bump absorption remains decent enough, while the car still holds itself up well in corners. The trouble is that the payoff for the increased anti-roll means on cratered country roads, where axle articulation is called for, the EX5’s wheels feel too stiffly tied together so the whole car pitches and rocks ceaselessly, sometimes alarmingly.
It’s better over less undulant surfaces, or where each pair of wheels can move together over bumps that span the lane, such as sleeping policemen, though it never settles down entirely.
Otherwise, the EX5 is fairly “white goods” to drive; easy enough, mostly inoffensive and with direct but over-assisted steering. It’s fine for its use case, but unlikely to cause you to break into a smile.
The Telegraph verdict
This is not a car without its idiosyncrasies. Nor is it one you will lust after, or pine for after selling it. But you might just be willing to forgive all that for the price. Given the space, equipment and sense of quality – not to mention an impressive warranty – it’s hard to see it as anything other than a bargain.
Just make sure you memorise the ritual for turning on the lights. And maybe put a picture of it on your phone so you don’t forget what it looks like.
The facts
On test: Geely EX5 Max
Body style: five-door SUV
On sale: now
How much? £36,990 on the road* (range from £31,990)
How fast? 109mph, 0-62mph in 7.1sec
How economical? 3.8miles/kWh (WLTP Combined)
Electric powertrain: AC motor with 60kWh (usable) LFP battery, 160kW on-board DC charger, Type 2/CCS charging socket
Electric range: 255 miles
Maximum power/torque: 215bhp/236lb ft
CO2 emissions: 0g/km (tailpipe), 20g/km (well-to-wheel)
VED: £10 first year, then £200
Warranty: eight years / 100,000 miles
Spare wheel as standard: no (not available)
The rivals
Skoda Elroq 60 Edition
201bhp, 266 miles, £34,460 on the road
This Elroq beats the EX5 on price but can’t match it for space or equipment. It’s much nicer to drive, feels better quality and charges more quickly, however.
Omoda E5 Noble
208bhp, 267 miles, £34,564 on the road
Big-selling Chinese rival is smaller but more affordable. Just watch that warranty, though – it isn’t as all-inclusive as the headlines suggest.
*Prices quoted do not include Geely incentive of £3,750