The first UK-market model from Geely ought to feel like a statement. This is, after all, a company with enormous scale, vast resources and ties to some very familiar automotive names. Instead, the EX5 feels less like a declaration of intent and more like a competent opening note.
That is not necessarily a bad thing. As a piece of product planning, there is plenty to admire. The EX5 is a family-sized electric SUV with a 60.2kWh battery, front-wheel drive, official range of up to 267 miles and a strong standard equipment list, all at a price designed to sit more than competitively in the market.
The trouble is that competence is as far as it goes.
Understated to the point of anonymity
The EX5’s exterior design is clean, but there is very little to attract the eye. It follows the established electric crossover template closely: smooth surfaces, flush handles, slim lighting elements and a front end that prefers neatness to character.
Being kind, there is an argument that this restraint will age well. But there is a fine line between restraint and anonymity, and the EX5 spends much of its time on the wrong side of it. It is not badly judged, merely uninspired.
Step inside, though, and the Geely becomes more persuasive.
There is genuine visual and tactile quality here. Materials are better than expected at this price point, the layout is clean, and the cabin gives off the kind of upmarket atmosphere that the exterior never quite manages. Even where some surfaces prove firmer than they first appear, the overall impression remains strong.
Rear seat space is generous to the point of feeling slightly out of proportion with the car’s price, and there is a useful amount of cabin storage. The under-seat drawer in the rear is one of those rare details that feels thoughtfully practical rather than included for the sake of a brochure bullet point.
The compromise comes in the boot. It is serviceable rather than expansive, and for a family SUV that places so much emphasis on usefulness, that is a small but noticeable limitation.
Form over intuitive function
The EX5’s central flaw is its touchscreen. Well, not the touchscreen itself, but Geely’s confidence that the touchscreen should mediate so much of the ownership experience.
The 15.4-inch display is crisp and responsive. From a hardware perspective, it is entirely credible. Yet the software and control philosophy are less convincing. Too many everyday features are tucked away in menus, and the cumulative effect makes routine interactions more distracting than they should be. There are controls buried under multiple levels of menu, fiddly structures, small buttons, switches and sliders, and needlessly awkward everyday usability.
There is a rotary controller, but it never resolves the core issue because it remains too limited and too oddly configured to become second nature. It is the kind of almost-good idea that leaves you wishing the execution had been simpler.
The result is a cabin that impresses, then gradually irritates through use.
Comfort-first dynamics
The EX5 takes a comfort-first approach on the open road. The 218hp front-mounted electric motor delivers sufficient performance, and in ordinary driving, it feels adequately brisk. It is refined enough, settles reasonably well at speed and generally does its thing perfectly competently.
But there is also very little sophistication in how it communicates with the driver. Steering is light and remote, body movements are not always as tightly controlled as you might hope, and the chassis never develops much of a sense of cohesion. The EX5 is not uncomfortable, but neither does it feel especially resolved.
That may not concern every buyer. This is, after all, a family EV rather than a driver’s car. Yet the best vehicles in this class manage to pair calmness with precision. The EX5 never quite achieves that balance.
The EX5’s 267-mile maximum range puts it squarely in the middle ground. It is usable, credible and unlikely to alarm anyone with modest daily needs. But the absence of a longer-range option means the Geely cannot stretch beyond that space. In a fast-moving sector, that leaves it feeling slightly constrained.
Value, on the other hand, is far more convincing. Equipment levels are generous, and the EX5’s pricing gives it a rational appeal that is hard to dismiss, with a list price as much as £10,000 lower than a similarly sized Kia EV5. If you prioritise space, features and purchase price above intangible qualities such as design flair or driver appeal, the Geely is easy enough to justify.
Geely EX5: The CALIBRE verdict
The Geely EX5 is a capable, well-packaged electric SUV that makes a sensible case for itself but never truly distinguishes itself.
Its strengths are real: a spacious cabin, strong equipment, decent comfort and competitive pricing. Its weaknesses are just as real: an over-reliance on touchscreen controls, limited character, middling range relative to the best in class, and a driving experience that remains resolutely one-dimensional.
There is nothing here to actively dislike, but equally, there is precious little to admire beyond the logic of the package.
As an introduction to the Geely name in Britain, the EX5 is credible. It just isn’t especially compelling.
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