Geely Starray EM-i Inspire 2026 Review

This is where the Starray throws down the gauntlet to the rest of the increasingly crowded mid-sized hybrid SUV pack, coming in at a very keen $37,490 plus on-roads for the entry-level Complete model.

And it doesn’t miss out on much; 18-inch rims, 264-bead LED headlights and 368-bead LED taillights, heated and powered front seats, a large 15.4in central screen and a 10.2in dash screen are all standard, along with wireless Apple CarPlay, auto climate and a six-speaker stereo set-up.

In fact, the Complete shades all but the Chery Tiggo 7 ($39,990 DA), including the BYD Sealion 7, MG HS PHEV, Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and GWM Haval H6 Lux HEV.

Not only that, but the range-topping Inspire – tested here- knocks many of them off the ‘cheapest’ perch as well, thanks to its $39,990 (before on-roads) ticket.

It scores 19-inch rims, a huge panoramic sunroof, a large head-up display, wireless phone charging, 16-speaker stereo, powered tailgate, front parking sensors, LED ambient cabin lighting and a memory driver’s seat on top of the Complete’s basic spec.

On the powertrain front, Geely relies on its large electric /smaller ICE Super Hybrid system in the front-drive Starray, with dual electric motors housed inside a 1 x 11-speed transmission adding 160kW to the 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine’s 73kW.

They both feed back into an 18.4kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery, which can be zapped from 30 to 80 per cent charge in a claimed 20 minutes via a 30kW DC charger.

Geely will offer a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on the five-seat Starray, as well as an eight-year/unlimited kilometre battery warranty, alongside up to seven years of complementary roadside assistance if servicing is completed at a Geely dealership.

If you’re looking for interior space in a mid-sized SUV, the Starray is a great place to start. The cabin is generously proportioned in every direction in both the front and back rows – and that cabin room doesn’t compromise boot space, either.

With the rear seats in position, there’s 428 litres of space, and 528 if you pop the boot floor panel into its lowest location. Lay the seats down and it reveals more than 2000L of load area, which is very impressive.

Its interior design is pretty impressive, too, especially at the price point. There’s a home – more than 30 homes, according to Geely - for everything, including a neat wireless charger slot for your phone. The funky steering wheel is, thankfully, comfortable to use as well.

It can take a minute to find everything - the hazard button, for example, is in the roof console – but it all works well enough. There’s no seat back bolster for the front pair of seats, but the PU leather pews in the Inspire are comfortable enough, with deep, wide bases suitable for Aussie posteriors.

Driving the Starray is fuss-free, though the lack of a start/stop button will confound some potential owners. The Starray leans into its electric-first stance with aplomb, with the smaller-capacity petrol motor only making its noisy presence felt when pushing the Geely past normal limits. Three drive modes - Pure, Hybrid and Power – don’t really change its demeanour too much, with Pure locking the Starray into EV mode until the battery is depleted.

Speaking of which, I depleted the charge in my review vehicle’s battery after 78km (claim is 83km), give or take… the battery never actually gets to zero, though, thanks to regenerative braking and the petrol motor humming quietly and seamlessly away in the background.

In essence, the Starray feels more EV than ICE, which is a plus if you’re looking for quiet, fuss-free motoring.

As well, the Starray offers vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability of 6.6kW, which is quite cool. It means you can plug a powerboard adapter into the plug socket and run laptops, fridges, chargers and the like – or, in our case, an ice-cream cart on the Starray launch event site over a period of five hours.

Geely says the battery can be charged from 30 to 80 per cent in 20 minutes via a 30kW DC charger; figure on six or so hours on a 240v wall socket or three hours on a home-spec wallbox.

Geely claims the rear end is isolated by 22 rubber bushings throughout its independent set-up in the rear end, and I reckon they’re not wrong. Unfortunately, it means that the Starray trades ride comfort for handling response and body support.

On baby-butt smooth roads, it’s a thing of quiet, serene beauty, but when the bumps get even a little mean-spirited, the Starray wallows across the surface like an embattled tugboat, exacerbated by imprecise steering feel that can’t be improved by changing the three-stage steering mode found within the dash screen.

In fact, it’s possible to wiggle the wheel almost 45 degrees off centre in each direction without changing the car’s straight-ahead trajectory, which can make it tiring to guide the car across narrower, winding terrain.

It’s not about turning the Starray into a paragon of handling precision, either; it’s more about tying the car down a fraction more to ensure that passengers, in particular, are well looked after over a longer journey.

And while Geely has done the right thing and dragged a few key functions out of the massive central screen onto the dash and steering wheel as physical buttons, the fact that they are not especially well labelled means a steeper learning curve when it comes to using them. For example, I could not work out for the life of me how to cancel cruise control mode outside of tapping the brake pedal.

Speaking of cruise control, the car’s Intelligent Cruise Control Mode belies its name by being incredibly intrusive and ill-suited to use on even the mildest of curved roads, dropping road speed by up to half the posted limit when rounding the slightest turn and fighting back strongly on any steering input the driver dared to add.

It’s almost impossible to argue against the value equation offered by the Geely Starray, and it backs that value up with appealing looks both inside and out, an absolute tonne of interior room and a very sophisticated powertrain that offers genuinely low emissions, great economy and decent performance.

If long country drives are your thing, the Starray might not be the sharpest tool there is, but in the cut and thrust of soccer practice pick-up, its ride/handling compromise is – just – good enough.

A decent warranty offering (seven years, and eight on the battery) also helps the cause.

2026 Geely Starray EM-i Inspire at a glance:
Price: $39,990 (plus on-road costs
Available: October 1 2025
Powertrain: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Output: 73kW/125Nm (electric motor: 160kW/262Nm)
Combined output: 193kW/292Nm
Transmission: 1x11-speed automatic
Battery: 18.4kW lithium iron phosphate
Range: 83km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 14.7kWh/100km (WLTP)
Fuel: 2.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 56 g/km
Safety rating: Not tested

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