2026 Geely EX5 review

The Geely EX5 may look like a generic white good, but it’s one of the best affordable electric SUVs around.

Coming from the same Geely conglomerate which has Polestar, Volvo, Smart, and Zeekr under its wing, Geely Auto has landed in Australia as the most affordable brand in the portfolio.

The Geely EX5 is the debut model, a medium full-electric SUV boasting a sharp $40,990 before on-road costs starting price to rival the BYD Atto 3, Jaecoo J5 EV, and MG S5 EV.

After a week driving the top-spec EX5 Inspire, it’s clear to see that it’s one of the best Chinese cars available despite its generic exterior design.

NOTE: The press vehicle was provided by Geely Auto Australia for a seven-day independent evaluation. Toll costs were covered, but we have no commercial arrangements with the company and it had no editorial control.

Vehicle tested:

Model	2026 Geely EX5
Variant	Inspire
Starting price	$44,990 before on-road costs*
Exterior colour	Arctic White (standard)
Interior colour	Midnight (standard)
Country made	China

Design and quality.

The Geely EX5 arguably looks generic and boring, but the interior is far better with a high quality mix of materials and parts for the price.

From the outside, it’s difficult to separate the EX5 from any other Chinese SUV with a BYD-esque face due in part to the eyebrow-shaped daytime running lights.

The back only has ‘Geely EX5’ badging on the side with a plain rear light bar that can be attributed with almost any brand from Chery to Porsche. Typical with most Chinese cars, the licence plate base is larger than most Australian plate styles, resulting in an ungainly look.

This standard Arctic White exterior colour also doesn’t do it any favours and it’s certainly worth paying $600 more for other paint colours.

Inside, the EX5 looks far more interesting. While a large display dominates the centre, the standard Midnight interior colourway is refreshingly not black, with a console that raises up featuring a brushed texture and wavy lines, and soft silicon-like seats.

Material quality is great with knurled and clicky metal-like window switches and dials, a damped hinge on the cup holder lid and glovebox, plus soft-touch door cards across both rows.

Only harder plastics are found lower down the doors and on the side of the centre console bridge – more than acceptable for the price – and the Inspire’s ambient lighting is rather subtle and dim.

Practicality.

2026 Geely EX5 Inspire dimensions:

Length x width x height	4615 x 1901 x 1670mm
Wheelbase	2750mm
Ground clearance	168mm
Boot space (min / rear seats folded)	302 / 1877L
Frunk space	N/A
Rear seat split fold	60:40
Child seat anchors	2x ISOFIX and 3x top tethers
Air-conditioning system	Two-zone climate control with rear air vents

The EX5 is a spacious and practical medium SUV with very few weaknesses.

While the Geely’s 302-litre boot is more spacious in reality than it sounds with an impressively deep well underneath the boot floor that can fit a small suitcase.

There are two proper bag hooks, one pocket on the right side, a flat loading lip, and LED lighting on the side and from above inside the tailgate.

An electric tailgate is included on the flagship Inspire, but it lacks a hands-free function. The boot area is also missing a cargo cover to protect items from the sun and prying eyes, just like the Kia EV5 – but this has since been added on the updated EX5 Extended Range.

The Geely EX5 does not offer frunk storage under the bonnet.

Meanwhile, it provides good space in the second row with plenty of legroom and headroom.

However, the flat floor is rather high – a common trait for electric cars due to the underfloor battery pack – which limits footroom underneath the front seats. The slanted bench and prominent lower back support make for a slightly uncomfortable experience, too.

While there are two rear air vents (which isn’t a given on some value-priced rivals), it’s strange that both sides are joined together in the vertical direction up and down, but are separated for left and right adjustment.

But the real highlight of the Geely EX5 is its clever storage design, with a slide out drawer underneath the rear seat bench – great for storing laptops, towels and other flat horizontal items – while there’s another cubby and slide out tray hidden behind the console.

Other amenities include one USB-C and one USB-A charging port (albeit non-illuminated), seatback pockets, adequately-sized door pockets and not-too-bright, not-too-dim LED ceiling lights at each side.

This top-spec Inspire also nets tinted rear windows and an impressively large openable panoramic sunroof complete with a sunshade.

Disappointingly, unlike the Geely Starray EM-i hybrid, there aren’t any physical switches above to operate the sunroof; you’ll need to dig into the touchscreen by swiping down the control panel or speak to the built-in voice control.

As for the front row, the centre console is home to two rather small cup holders with a thin card holder slot – which can be hidden with a lid – a Qi wireless charging pad with a non-charging pad on the side (great for putting the car key), and good storage underneath the middle armrest.

The console rises up to provide open access to a tray underneath which is where you’ll find USB-C, USB-A and 12-volt power ports.

Unfortunately, the surface isn’t rubberised so items slide and scratch around while driving (I’d avoid placing your phone here). It also lacks illumination, ditto the small glovebox.

Both sun visors offer good lighting with each mirror, but they don’t extend when put to the side.

Additionally, the Geely EX5’s synthetic leather seats are super soft and feel rubbery, typical for many Chinese cars, and are comfortable even though it lacks lumbar adjustment.

It’s worth spending $4000 more for the Inspire for three-level heating and ventilation, plus a range of firm massaging modes for the front seats, and a heated steering wheel. Uniquely, there’s three memory settings for both front seats and the passenger pew can be remotely adjusted via the screen.

The Inspire also provides the front passenger with a leg rest that extends from the seat base itself, similar to the Hyundai Ioniq 9.

The Chinese SUV offers a camp mode, rest mode (complete with ambient sounds and a timer), and keep climate on functions, too.

Like many EVs, the Geely EX5 implements flush door handles – but thankfully they all automatically pop-out on one side upon unlocking, akin to the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Unfortunately, only the driver’s door handle has a touch button for locking/unlocking, but it can automatically lock/unlock on approach or walking away respectively with the proximity key.

Technology.

2026 Geely EX5 Inspire tech features:

15.4-inch touchscreen running Flyme Auto	10.2-inch driver instrument display
Wireless/wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto	13.4-inch heads-up display
Built-in maps	15-watt Qi wireless charging pad
Geely Connected Services with mobile app (two years included)	2x USB-C, 2x USB-A, and 1x 12-volt charging ports
16-speaker, 1000-watt Flyme Sound	Proximity key with auto-folding mirrors, door handles, and auto locking/unlocking

The Geely EX5 features clear and responsive screens, but it’s lacking some refinement and features in some areas.

Running the Chinese automaker’s own Flyme Auto software, it offers a quick, modern and intuitive to use interface, a customisable bottom bar of shortcuts and control panel from the top, and a prominent adaptive home button right next to the driver.

It’s great that the built-in mapping system can automatically plan EV charging stops, too.

While it has built-in Spotify, I would like to see video streaming apps or at least a web browser added to the app store to truly take advantage of the large and high resolution 15.4-inch touchscreen as per brands such as Leapmotor, Tesla and Polestar.

Certain elements on the left side, especially in Apple CarPlay, are a bit too far to reach from the driver’s side, too.

The system offers automatic light and dark mode switching, but I’d suggest setting a darker wallpaper as it doesn’t adapt alongside it unlike the Jaecoo J7 SHS.

The automatic brightness calibration also needs work with it dimming too much for my liking and reacting temperamentally to driving under brief shadows, similar to the Polestar 4. I left it on manual brightness, which is fortunately quickly accessible by a swipe down for the control panel.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now standard, after initially launching without both in early 2025.

At the time of testing, only the former was available which worked well, but it can’t show the 360-degree camera pop up on top of the CarPlay interface.

I regularly had to press the small icon on the top right as it doesn’t re-enter CarPlay after going into the climate controls or vehicle settings, too.

Unfortunately, the single 15-watt Qi wireless charging pad is slow and lacks ventilation so my phone often stopped charging to prevent overheating.

The Geely EX5 features a clicky centre console dial, which changes the volume by default, then a press in can adjust one selectable function that you choose, such as the temperature, fan speed, and wallpaper.

It’s great for changing the climate control, though there’s some lag between the physical clicks and it actually responding.

The dual-zone climate control is otherwise primarily operated via the touchscreen with a bottom bar always showing, but it can still be a distraction while driving.

A key gripe is the fact that toggling the heated/ventilated and massaging seat functions are buried in a ‘Seat Comfort’ menu in the touchscreen (or via a swipe down for the control panel), while selecting the memory settings are in a separate ‘Comfort Seats’ page.

There are physical buttons for turning on/off the climate control, air recirculation, and windscreen defrost.

Meanwhile, the 10.2-inch driver instrument display is thin and horizontal so elements aren’t blocked by the steering wheel unlike other brands. While it’s clear with cool vehicle animations as you open the doors or drive, it’s lacking in customisability with only some selectable widgets on the right side.

Certain text and icons on the instruments also appear smaller than ideal. A strange quirk is the fact that Geely always displays the speed in miles per hour as well with no way to turn it off.

The halo EX5 Inspire gains a head-up display which clearly shows the speed readout on the windscreen, but other elements including the safety assists and set speed on the adaptive cruise control are rather small. It doesn’t link with the automatic brightness on the two other screens either.

Geely Auto Australia includes connected services and a mobile app for free for two years. We weren’t able to test out the Geely app on this press car.

The in-house 16-speaker Flyme Sound system is impressively good, especially in surround sound mode, and beats many well-known branded systems on other carmakers.

Safety.

2026 Geely EX5 Inspire safety features:

Front AEB with vehicle/pedestrian/cyclist/junction turning detection	360-degree camera system
Rear AEB	Front and rear parking sensors
Blind-spot assist	Road sign detection with overspeed warning
Front and rear cross-traffic assist	Door open warning
Lane-keep assist	Rear occupant alert
Adaptive cruise control with lane-centring assist and auto lane-change assist	Full LED headlights with auto high beam
Driver attention monitoring camera	Full LED tail-light with a rear fog light

The Geely EX5 offers some well-tuned safety assistance systems for a Chinese car, but it’s annoying in some areas.

While the adaptive cruise control and lane-centring system performs well at keeping a distance with the vehicle in front and actively steering without being assertive, it isn’t as confident as other Korean and Japanese rivals.

Disappointingly, it aggressively slows down when driving through a bend – up to 20km/h down in one case – just like many other Chinese brands. It can also change lanes by itself, but it’s off by default every time you enter the EV as per the Polestar 4.

At least the physical steering wheel buttons make adaptive cruise easy to toggle, though adjusting in 1km/h increments is hard as there is a delay in holding the button and it changes too quickly.

While the lane-keep assist is more sensitive than ideal, it doesn’t tug the wheel too aggressively.

Additionally, the 360-degree camera system is very clear with a range of selectable views, easy access via the bottom touchscreen bar or steering wheel button, and shows a pop up of the top-down view when you’re indicating and travelling at low speeds.

The cameras can’t be activated if driving faster than 30km/h, which is better than brands such as Volkswagen and Nissan, but it could be limitless like a BYD, Tesla or Hyundai.

However, the more annoying aspect to the Geely EX5 are the over-sensitive overspeed, driver attention, and lead vehcile departure warning systems. It can detect speed signs incorrectly at times and chimes repeatedly for driver inattention often – with the latter completely cancelling out any audio playing while it’s sounding off.

The overspeed and drive attention alerts reactivate every time you re-enter the car, too.

Thankfully, Geely recently released a software update which switches on and off a range of preferred settings, including safety warnings, with one tap.

Any safety warning sound cancels out the indicator clicking like most Chinese vehicles, which confused me when the parking sensors are triggered and I wanted to know if the indicators were still.

The Geely EV’s full LED headlights perform well at night with full LED tail-lights, although activating the rear fog light requires going into the touchscreen settings.

The 2026 Geely EX5 received the full five-star Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) safety rating under 2025 testing criteria.

Range and charging.

2026 Geely EX5 Inspire battery and charging specs:

Claimed driving range (WLTP combined cycle)	410km*
Claimed energy efficiency (WLTP combined cycle)	16.6kWh/100km*
Battery size and type	60kWh (~62kWh gross) LFP*
Battery voltage	400-volt class
Max AC / DC charging speed	11 / 100kW
Bidirectional charging	Exterior V2L and V2V
Connector type	Type 2 CCS
Everyday charging limit recommendation	100%

The Geely EX5 Inspire indicated an impressively low average energy consumption of 13.1kWh/100km after a week of city and highway mixed driving scenarios.

Therefore, expect a real-world range of around 459km on a full charge. But note that this is from the old 60kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery; Geely has since given the EX5 a bigger 68kWh ‘Extended Range’ battery.

This level of efficiency almost gives the Tesla Model Y a run for its money, even though that popular midisze SUV is still provides more power and is rear-wheel-driven so it isn’t exactly a like-for-like comparison.

Due to the LFP chemistry type, fully charging everyday is generally recommended.

All models feature an energy-saving heat pump.

Tested on a 150kW DC fast charging station, the Geely EX5 recharged from 14 to 80 per cent in around 30 minutes which is acceptable for the price but nothing outstanding.

The session averaged 80kW overall with the EX5 initially peaking at 115kW, then charging through at a flat 73kW speed after roughly 28 per cent.

Unlike some affordable EVs, the Geely EX5 offers up to 11kW AC charging with three-phase capability.

The Type 2 CCS port is located at the front-right quarter fender of the vehicle which can be awkward for some cables to reach depending on the charger position, but it is a good location for use on Tesla Superchargers.

The flap pops open manually with ease, although it adopts two flimsy caps for the AC and DC ports and lacks any lighting.

A trickle charging cable is included.

The Geely EX5 is capable of vehicle-to-load (V2L) outputting up to 3.3kW and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) for charging other EVs at up to 6.0kW using an adapter via the exterior charge port.

Driving.

2026 Geely EX5 Inspire powertrain specs:

Electric drive unit	Single permanent magnet motor
Power / torque	160kW / 320Nm
Transmission	Single-speed
Drive type	FWD
Tare weight	1765kg
Payload	~450kg
Towing (unbraked / braked)	N/A
Turning circle	10.8m

The Geely EX5 is surprisingly good to drive with darty steering and a responsive powertrain.

The single electric motor makes up to 160kW of power and 320Nm of torque to the front wheels only.

It’s a quick medium SUV thanks to the instant response of the accelerator, with some traction loss when pressed to the floor while cornering.

Although there are three regenerative braking levels (which defaults to level two), they’re all rather weak with no one-pedal driving.

The brake pedal feels light as well, but I didn’t have any issues when changing the drive selector via the conveniently placed stalk, as opposed to the Jaecoo J7 SHS.

Moreover, the EX5’s steering is tuned very direct and sharp. Combined with the small-ish steering wheel with a flat bottom, this electric SUV feels nimble and fun around corners.

If you like the driving experience of a Tesla, the Geely provides a similar feel at a budget price.

Noise insulation is good and the ride is compliant but slightly on the firmer side.

Moreover, it’s easy to change between drive directions thanks to the stalk, without needing to lift your hands of the steering wheel.

The EX5 provides a high driving position and good all-round visibility, though no model includes height-adjustable front seatbelts and automatic wipers.

Warranty and servicing.

2026 Geely EX5 Inspire capped-price servicing costs:

1 year/20,000km	2 years/40,000km	3 years/60,000km	4 years/80,000km	5 years/100,000km
$171	$303	$171	$671	$171

The 2026 Geely EX5 is backed by a seven-year, unlimited kilometre vehicle warranty and an eight-year, unlimited kilometre battery warranty.

For commercial use drivers, both the vehicle and battery warranties have a 150,000km driving limit.

Geely covers battery degradation down to 70 per cent state-of-health of its original capacity.

Servicing is required every one year/20,000km (whichever occurs first) with prices fixed for up to seven years/140,000km. After the first five visits, it’ll cost a reasonable $1487 in total to maintain the EX5.

Up to seven years of roadside assistance is included, which is renewed every 12 months provided you service it with a Geely dealer.

A key advantage of Geely is a good dealer network footprint with more than 40 sites established despite still being in its infancy in Australia – which provides more assurance for consumers.

Two years of Geely Connected Services are included with 2GB of data provided per month. The Chinese brand hasn’t announced a subscription cost after it expires.

Like most EVs, the Geely EX5 does not come with a spare tyre.

Price and rivals.

2026 Geely EX5 Extended Range model range pricing (accurate as at the time of publication):

Complete	Inspire
From $41,990 before on-road costs	From $45,990 before on-road costs

The 2026 Geely EX5 Extended Range is priced from $41,990 before on-road costs in Australia.

Two variants are offered with all exterior colours except Arctic White costing $600 extra. Even though a ‘Midnight’ interior is standard across both variants, the Complete actually appears black and the Inspire is a dark blue despite sharing the same name.

The top-spec Inspire can be optioned with a Cloud white interior for free.

The Geely EX5 directly rivals the following electric SUVs:

• MG S5 EV
• BYD Atto 3
• Leapmotor C10 BEV (full review)
• Kia EV5 (full review)
• Skoda Elroq
• GAC Aion V
• Jaecoo J5 EV

Other alternatives to the Geely EX5 include:

• Kia EV3 (full review)
• Hyundai Kona Electric (full review)
• Leapmotor B10
• Mazda 6e
• Hyundai Elexio
• Jaecoo J7 SHS (full review)
• Kia Sportage Hybrid (full review)
• Hyundai Tucson Hybrid (full review)
• Nissan Qashqai e-Power (full review)

Would I pick the 2026 Geely EX5 Inspire?

The Geely EX5 is one of the best affordable electric SUVs available, even though it looks like a white good.

This Chinese EV features an impressively high quality and spacious interior, Tesla-level energy efficiency, and sharp handling at a low sub-$50K price tag.

But the exterior looks generic and boring, some safety assist systems need work, the tech has room for improvement, and it lacks an easily accessible physical sunroof switch.

I’d pick the top-spec EX5 Inspire which is worth the extra $4000 for niceties such as heated/ventilated seats, a head-up display and punchier audio system.

If you’re looking for value, this Geely EV is worth strongly considering.

Photographs by Henry Man

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Pros:

• Quality and spacious interior
• Low energy consumption
• Sharp handling and acceleration
• Great value for money
• Low servicing costs

Cons:

• Generic exterior
• Weak regen braking
• Some annoying safety warnings
• Adaptive cruise aggressively slows in corners
• No physical sunroof switch