Geely Galaxy Starship 7 EM-i 2025 Review

So let’s start with the basics here. Geely is a giant Chinese auto conglomerate that owns Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Zeekr, and Lynk & Co, among other brands. It also sells cars under its own name and under the new Geely Galaxy moniker.

Galaxy is what the Chinese call a new energy brand – so plug-ins and EVs – and it’s also the designated model line-up for the international expansion of Geely-branded cars. So what we already know as the Geely EX5 in Australia, is the Geely Galaxy E5 in China.

Look, I’m not sure I understand why it’s being done this way, it’s just the way it is. Five days spent with Geely in China on a media trip last week shed no light. Sadly, interactions on such matters – or any matters – with management were not offered, let alone encouraged.

So there is no concrete guidance right now about how much the 2025 Geely Galaxy Starship 7 EM-i will cost in Australia. After all, there is not even official confirmation this five-seat plug-in hybrid medium-sized SUV is coming to Australia.

But we reckon it will and when it does arrive it will be – like the EX5 battery electric SUV – very affordable for its segment.

The most obvious rivals for the Starship 7 are fellow Chinese medium PHEV SUVs, the BYD Sealion 6 and the Jaecoo J7 SHS.

The former starts at $42,990 plus on-road costs and the latter $47,990 drive away.

So maybe we’re looking at a starting price around $40,000, depending on how many models come to Australia and how they are equipped. All likely backed up by Geely’s seven-year vehicle warranty and eight-year battery warranty.

On sale in China since late 2024, the Starship 7 is priced there from about $23,000 to $30,000. But we won’t see it getting that low here!

The Starship 7 shares a lot with the slightly smaller EX5, including its underpinning GEA architecture. Externally, they’re clearly from the same design family.

In China there are five Starship 7 trims, two battery sizes and one powertrain that combines a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder with a permanent magnet synchronous e-motor to power the front wheels via a single-speed reduction gear (Geely calls it a dedicated hybrid transmission, or DHT).

In English the powertrain is dubbed NordThor EM-i and the Starship 7 is the first recipient of its second generation. A key improvement is a very high 46.5 per cent thermal efficiency rating for the engine. System efficiency is rated at 92.5 per cent.

In Australia it’s logical to think we’d get the Starship 7 with the larger 19.09kWh LFP battery pack (the smaller one is only 8.05kWh), which delivers a claimed EV-only range of around 100km.

In China they’re saying combined range is over 1400km, but that is based on China’s CLTC (China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle) protocol, which is optimistic. More like 1000km was being suggested to us. The fuel consumption claim is 3.75L/100km, but again that’s CLTC and highly theoretical.

Geely says fuel efficiency is improved with the help of artificial intelligence assessing driving habits, road conditions and the vehicle state.

The battery is capable of being DC fast charged at up to 36kW, but no AC recharging limit was specified in the material we could find online (Geely provided us with no specs).

Our very brief drive was limited to the flagship Pilot Edition with the big battery, so that’s what we’ll focus on here.

Equipment includes a 10.2-inch digital instrument panel, 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen with embedded satellite-navigation and a 13.8-inch head-up display.

The powered front seats are described as “marshmallow”, support 14-point massaging as well as ventilation and heating and can fold flat.

Other features include a panoramic sunroof, a power tailgate, some form of leather (maybe fake) trim, climate control air-conditioning, 50W cooled wireless phone charging (well positioned close to the driver), a 16-speaker audio system including headrest speakers and V2L (vehicle to load) and V2V (vehicle to vehicle) charging.

There was no spare tyre fitted to the test vehicle.

In China the drive assist systems combine to deliver Level 2 autonomy, but who knows how much of this will translate to Australia. Other safety equipment includes six airbags and a crisp 360-degree camera that provides see-through, rotating and other views.

Like the EX5, a five-star ANCAP rating will undoubtedly be the target for the Starship 7.

The 2025 Geely Galaxy Starship 7 EM-i measures up at 4740mm long, 1905mm wide, 1685mm high and has a 2755mm wheelbase. That’s a fair bit bigger than a Toyota RAV4 and marginally larger than the Geely EX5.

What that translates to is heaps of interior space, certainly enough to justify consideration as family transport. There is sprawling room in the back seat for two tall passengers and three could fit at a slight squeeze. The floor is flat and the base not hard, so that makes life easier for the person in the middle.

Creature comforts include dual map and door pockets, adjustable vents and two USB ports, a storage bin and a centre fold-down armrest with dual cupholders.

The boot space is a sizable 528 litres (including 100L under the floor), expanding to 2065L with the rear seats folded down.

Up front, the seats are indeed pretty soft and squishy, albeit lacking in support. The overall presentation features trims that present nicely and seem to be well assembled. If not luxury, it’s certainly premium in that way the Chinese brands do very well.

Space utilisation is good, including a split-level centre console with USB ports in the lower level, a centre lidded bin, a large glovebox with a smooth, damped opening, dual cupholders and sizable door bins, although the latter don’t have partitions. Geely claims 34 storage spaces across the cabin.

The gear selector is kept well up and out of the way as a stalk on the steering column. The two-spoke ‘squircle’ steering wheel adjusts for reach and rake and there is a huge left footrest.

The (Geely-owned) Flyme Sound audio system is very powerful and, unusually, includes speakers in the headrests. The Starship 7’s operating system is also a Flyme product, but harder to assess given the screen content was presented in Chinese.

And to drive? Well, a couple of laps around some witches hats do not allow a concrete verdict.

But the powertrain seems strong. The claim is 7.5 seconds from zero to 100km/h and while we never got to go that fast it certainly has tip-in throttle strength and is immediately responsive to throttle jabs.

NordThor launches as an EV before the engine chimes in at higher speeds. The engine also spends plenty of time recharging the battery pack.

But whatever it was doing it was very hard to hear. This is a quiet vehicle.

While our time driving the 2025 Geely Galaxy Starship 7 was brief, a couple of things were evident.

The electric-assist steering was feather-light in whichever drive mode was selected. I relied on my local co-pilot to select them for me and we tried both intelligent (which picks the mode based on your driving style) and sport.

But the steering stayed determinedly resistance- and feel-free. It would need to be retuned to deliver some more weighting variation for Australia to better suit open-road driving.

Momentarily, mid change of direction, the steering froze like it was hydraulic locking – only it’s not hydraulic of course. An isolated incident, but concerning.

The suspension set-up – Mac struts up front and four-link independent at the rear – would also need to be firmed up for Australia too. It is soggy and soft in a way that suggests a development focus on an urban slow-speed life.

Bodyroll, even at our constrained speeds, was pretty noticeable.

It also didn’t take much provocation for the front 19-inch Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance rubber to wash out into understeer as we twirled around the figure eights.

The good news is that Geely does plan dynamic retuning for global markets.

The set-up of the cockpit controls was also very much from the Chinese minimalist school. There were some buttons on the steering wheel, but most functions were controlled through the big screen and a mouse controller on the centre console that operated both fan speed and audio volume.

It’s way too early to make a strong recommendation about the 2025 Geely Galaxy Starship 7 EM-i.

So little info, so little drive time, no idea about price.

There are some promising signs here, like the powertrain performance and interior space. But there are worrying signs as well such as the floppy dynamics and the minimalist cockpit controls.

Let’s wait and see if it turns up in Australia, what it drives like and how it’s priced. Then we’ll make a call.

2025 Geely Galaxy Starship 7 EM-i at a glance:
Price: $40,000 to $50,000 (est)
Available: TBC
Powertrain: 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric
Output: 82kW/136Nm (electric motor: 160kW/262Nm)
Combined output: Unstated
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 8.05kWh and 19.09kWh LFP
Range: 55km and 120km (CLTC)
Energy consumption: Unstated
Fuel: 3.75L/100km (CLTC)
CO2: 23.2g/km (estimate)
Safety rating: Unrated

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au