Geely EX5 2025 Review

The 2025 Geely EX5 mid-size SUV is a crucial launch for the brand in the Australian market. As Geely’s first offering Down Under, it has a lot to prove in a segment that’s more competitive than ever.

And it's off to a solid start with very sharp pricing, the 2025 Geely EX5 Complete priced at $40,990 and the 2025 Geely EX5 Inspire costing $44,990.

Those prices undercut the Tesla Model Y and even the Leapmotor C10's $46k price. The BYD Atto 3 Essential is cheaper at $39,990 but has been stripped of some equipment to achieve that price.

Warranty details will be confirmed on March 11, 2025 but we know that service intervals are set at 12-months or 20,000km, whichever occurs first.

To make the deal more enticing, Geely is offering a three-year complimentary servicing program for customers who order before February 28. There’s also a year of free fast-charging with Evie, though that’s capped at 1000kWh.

Rivals? The BYD Atto 3 and Leapmotor C10 are certainly in the mix but the Geely EX5 could be cross-shopped against slightly larger, bigger-batteried models like the Xpeng G6 and BYD Sealion 7.

The entry-level Geely EX5 Complete doesn’t skimp on features. It packs a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a large 15.4-inch 2.5K HD touch-screen, all powered by Geely’s 7nm (nanometre) Dragon Eagle chip and Flyme Auto operating system.

Over-the-air updates are standard, as are power-adjustable synthetic leather seats with heating, plus wireless phone charging, GPS sat-nav, rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera, a six-speaker sound system, and 18-inch alloy wheels.

The EX5 Inspire ups the ante with 19-inch alloys, a panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting, ventilated and massaging front seats, a head-up display, and a more powerful 16-speaker sound system. However, it’s a little disappointing that a powered tailgate and front parking sensors are only available on the top-spec model, especially when many rivals offer them across the board.

As for colours, the EX5 is available in white, black, grey, silver, and green. But, like Tesla, only the white paint is free.

Geely is leaning heavily on its Volvo connection to push safety credentials and the EX5 comes equipped with a strong suite of driver-assist systems and seven airbags.

Adaptive and intelligent cruise control, lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition, auto lane change assist, blind-spot monitoring, autonomous emergency braking, front and rear cross-traffic alert with braking, and driver fatigue alert are all standard. A five-star ANCAP rating is expected following testing in April, 2025.

Propulsion is fairly spritely with both models sharing the same front-wheel-drive powertrain, a single-motor setup producing 160kW and 320Nm. Despite being relatively lightweight for an EV at 1700kg, the Complete model takes 6.9 seconds to hit 100km/h, while the Inspire takes 7.1 seconds.

Power is drawn from a 60kWh lithium-ion (LFP) battery, delivering a claimed WLTP range of 430km for the Complete and 410km for the Inspire. Charging from zero to 100 per cent takes around 9.5 hours on a 7.4kW home wallbox, while an 11kW system drops that to six hours.

DC fast charging maxes out at 100kW, which is on the slower side compared to rivals pushing 150kW or even 250kW. Geely claims a 30 to 80 per cent charge takes just 17 minutes, while a 20 to 80 per cent top-up requires 28 minutes.

For the record, we saw peak charging speeds of 118kW, suggesting Geely’s figures may be conservative.

First and foremost, the Geely EX5 feels well built. It’s a solid unit and should be considering all the high-strength steel used in its construction. Indeed, the Volvo and Polestar connections are immediately felt, and also manifest in the way the doors thud shut and the how the switchgear and controls actuate.

The synthetic leather seats – dubbed ‘GeeLuxe’ upholstery – are delightfully soft and supple and the front seat massage system on Inspire models is tremendous. It goes beyond merely manipulating the lumbar adjust and is fitted with six ‘cat-paws’ that can really get into your back and shoulder muscles if you dial up the intensity.

Smaller, less obvious touches, like the overall cabin ergonomics – the way the controls are laid out and how you sit in the vehicle – are thoughtfully executed.

The two-spoke steering wheel also has terrific tactility and shape and equipment levels are generous – you get plenty of kit on both models.

Given the EX5 is on the smaller end of the mid-size SUV scale – think Mazda CX-5 rather than Mitsubishi Outlander – it’s remarkably roomy inside.

It’s intended to be a proper family SUV and I think it achieves this, with plenty of room up front and generous rear seat room as well. This six-foot human had no issues with head or leg room in the back seats.

Clever packaging helps here and there’s loads of amenity in the front and rear, including multiple USB-A and USB-C ports, loads of incidental storage and a surprisingly spacious boot.

The EX5 also has vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality with the ability to provide up to 3.3kW of external AC power via an optional adapter that plugs into the charge port, so you can run anything from a microwave to a flat-screen LED TV.

There’s even vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) charging that can provide an emergency charge of up to 6kW to another EV or PHEV via a Type 2 cable.

Vehicle dynamics are fairly good too, starting with the punchy engine whose 0-100km/h claim of 7.1 seconds isn’t too far from reality. It’s very zippy from standstill and doesn’t struggle overtaking at freeway speeds either; top speed is 175km/h.

Speaking of freeways, the Geely is a reasonably quiet cruiser, although on coarse-chip surfaces tyre roar does creep into the cabin.

Geely’s new GEA platform architecture makes its debut on the 2025 Geely EX5 and appears to be a solid foundation for the suspension and chassis elements to bolt onto. The EX5’s Aussie suspension tuning helps the mid-size SUV deal with minor road abrasions easily and delivers a supple, accommodating ride quality.

Unlike the Chinese-market EX5 we tested in November 2024, Australian versions have firmer suspension which results in good body control through corners. We had the opportunity to really push the cars quite hard along challenging passes and there’s very little of the body roll encountered when we drove it in China.

The EX5’s relatively svelte 1700kg mass means it feels light on its feet and our energy consumption figures suggest it will quite comfortably cover 400km. We’ll conduct more thorough testing down the track to get a better understanding of its range.

The steering has also been improved and isn’t as anodyne as before. In sport mode it carries a lot of weight, then slot it into comfort and it’s far lighter and easier to twirl the wheel, providing meaningful options for open-road and urban driving respectively.

There are three principal misses for the 2025 Geely EX5 as I see it. The first is the lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility at launch; the second is the annoying beeps, bleeps and verbal harassment if you fail to drive with extreme precision; and the third is the suspension setup.

All three issues are curable, the first two via wireless OTA (over the air) software updates.

Moreover, Geely says Apple CarPlay will be made available (for free) from July 2025 and Android Auto ‘later in the year’ but for a company that’s marketing itself as a tech leader, this turn of events is far from auspicious and feels very much like an oversight.

The annoying driver attention and vehicle alignment nannies are common to many cars from many brands, but this one reprimands you for doing 101km/h in a 100km/h zone (and that’s with the cruise control on, so it’s not even operator error!) or when nearing road lane markings.

That said, the Geely EX5 is far from the worst offender in this respect. Deepal S07 – I’m looking at you!

These systems can be dialled back via software updates, but at present it takes time and effort to switch them off. Some of them seemingly cannot be switched off and this also highlights the complexity of the native operating system.

Sure, the central touch-screen looks incredible and has excellent refresh and response rates. But while similar to BYD’s system, it’s harder to figure out and has fewer shortcuts.

Then we have the suspension.

As mentioned, the secondary ride (the way the suspension soaks up smaller-amplitude bumps, cracks in the road and minor surface blemishes) is very good. This allows the car to traverse cruddy roads smoothly and makes it a good urban explorer and highway cruiser.

But the primary ride (the way the suspension reacts to bigger hits and larger undulations) still needs work.

It feels a bit floaty and bouncy at times and takes a moment to settle when negotiating larger and (sometimes smoother) lumps at higher speeds, the kind often encountered on country roads. Nevertheless, the suspension setup is fit for purpose and most customers will find no issues with the way it behaves on the road.

The Geely EX5 certainly doesn’t have the worst chassis in this class and could be tweaked in the coming months at a factory level to effect improvements.

Geely’s first shot fired in the Australia new car marketplace, the EX5, is a commendable EV with a solid, highly engineered and premium feel inside and out, backed up by strong Euro-traced genetics.

It’s pleasant to drive, has decent performance, good safety credentials and a feature list that stacks up well against rivals, giving the 2025 Geely EX5 a fighting chance to convince customers to take a punt on an unfamiliar vehicle.

Together with a high-tech execution and expected aggressive pricing, the big question is whether it can truly shake up the mid-size SUV segment. Geely says it’s here for the long run and plans to launch a range of vehicles in Australia, including hybrids and traditional combustion-engine vehicles.

But right now, the Geely EX5 is not a clear standout over all rivals in the increasingly busy mid-size SUV space. Nevertheless, there’s certainly a sense that with a few tweaks it could rise towards the top of the pile.

2024 Geely EX5 Inspire at a glance:
Price: $44,990 estimated (plus on-road costs)
Available: April 2025
Powertrain: Single permanent magnet synchronous motor
Output: 160kW/320Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 60.22kWh lithium-ion (LFP)
Range: 410km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 16.6kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested

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