Geely EX5 review: a £31,990 electric SUV

The Geely EX5 is a family-sized electric SUV that starts from £31,990 and covers about 205 miles in the real world. You get a lot of luxury for your money, from massage seats to speakers built into the headrests. That said, the battery isn't the biggest, and it doesn’t have one-pedal driving.

As Asel, our resident EV reviewer, put it in our video review, you get the kind of luxury you'd expect on a £50,000 car, for a lot less. So did Geely cut corners? For this Geely EX5 review, we've been living with the Max version of the car (the top spec when we filmed it) to find out.

• The Geely EX5 starts at £31,990 for the entry level SE version. The Max version we tested costs about £5,000 more.
• Real-world range on the Max version we tested is 205 miles, and on the Ultra version (the top trim level) you can expect 230 miles. Either spec gives you plenty for the school run, the commute and the weekly shop. 
• A 10 to 80% charge on the Geely EX5 costs around £3.33 at home on Octopus Energy's Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver tariff.
• Using an ultra-rapid public charger, a 10 to 80% charge costs around £39.41, with the 10% discount Octopus EV personal leasing drivers get through Electroverse.
• The boot holds 461 litres, rising to 1,877 litres with the back seats down.
• The trade-offs are: it doesn’t have one-pedal driving, an overly chatty sat nav, and a lock chime your whole street will hear.

In short, the Geely EX5 is a five-seat, mid-size electric SUV. 

Geely who? You may not know the brand, but you'll know the family. Geely is a Chinese car company that owns Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and Smart, and Lotus even had a hand in the EX5's suspension.

Asel calls it handsome and confident-looking, without shouting for attention. It isn't trying to be a cheaper Polestar, either. Geely has used its own buttons, screens and design, and Asel gives it massive credit for that.

The Geely EX5 comes in four spec levels: SE, Pro, Max and Ultra. The first three share the same 60kWh battery, so real-world range is about the same whichever you pick. The higher you go, the more comfort and tech you get.

We tested the Max, and its massage seats and opening roof were the features Asel enjoyed most. If those don’t matter to you, the SE or Pro gets you the same range for a lower cost.

The Ultra arrived in May 2026. Its bigger 68kWh battery has an official WLTP range of 280 miles, and gives about 230 miles in the real world, around 25 miles more than the other trims. It’s also the only version of the Geely EX5 that can tow, up to 750kg braked.

The entry level SE costs £31,990 on the road, and the Max version we reviewed is about £5,000 more, at just under £37,000. Both have the same battery and motor, so the extra money buys you comfort, not extra miles.

Every EX5 gets heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and a 15.4-inch touchscreen. The Max adds:

• Ventilated and massaging front seats, plus a power leg rest for the front passenger
• A panoramic glass roof, half of which slides open. Asel says it feels like a convertible EX5
• A 16-speaker, 1,000-watt Flyme sound system, with speakers in the driver's headrest
• Privacy glass, an electric tailgate and 19-inch alloys, up from 18-inch. As Asel says, who doesn't love an extra inch?

Road tax is £10 in the first year, then the £200 standard rate. Cars with a list price over £50,000 pay an extra £440 a year for five years, but the EX5 is well under that.

The Geely EX5's real-world range is about 205 miles from its 60kWh battery. Which, for most families, it's plenty.

The official WLTP (aka lab tested) figure is 255 miles for the Max we tested (267 miles for the SE), but motorways and cold weather cut that. On a freezing day, EV Database expects closer to 175 miles.

Charging speeds 

• On a 7kW home charger, the EX5 adds about 21 miles of range an hour, and a 10 to 80% charge takes around 7 hours 42 minutes. Which is easy if you plug in overnight. 
• On a 50kW rapid charger, it's 1 hour 7 minutes. 
• The EX5's top charging speed is 120kW, so on a faster 150kW ultra-rapid charger, 10 to 80% takes around 30 minutes.

As Asel puts it, an ultra-rapid stop is just long enough to cross a soggy service station car park, take the kids to the loo and burn your mouth on a Greggs steak bake.

Most drivers charge between 10 and 80%, so we've based these prices on that. At home, it's a few pounds. On a motorway ultra-rapid charger, it's more like a round of drinks.

Charging prices and times from octopusev.com in October 2026. Energy prices change, so check the current price before you plan around them.

Home charging cost

The cheapest option needs a 7kW home charger. Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver is Octopus Energy's home charging tariff, and the discounted rate is exclusive to Octopus EV drivers. Asel reckons that makes a week of commuting cheaper than a coffee.

Public charging cost

Public charging costs more, and not just because of higher prices per unit. You're paying for convenience, just like you would with petrol at a motorway services. Tax is also higher on public charging, VAT on home electricity is currently 0% (until 31st March 2027), while public charging comes with 20% VAT.

Very. The boot holds 461 litres, and the floor drops down for taller loads. Under it there's a hidden compartment. What could you hide in there? Asel's answer: your charging cables and the vehicle-to-load adapter, which turns the battery into a power bank for anything with a three-pin plug.

Fold the back seats and you get 1,877 litres. Hard to picture? Asel reckons that's room to sleep in on a camping trip, or about two million IKEA veggie meatballs. Annoyingly, there are no levers in the boot, so you'll have to fold the seats from the back doors. Not ideal.

Storage is everywhere, from a wireless phone charger to a huge armrest cubby. Is that a drawer under the back seat? It is.

Two features stood out when we filmed the car:

• The massage seats. There are three strengths and several modes, including one called crawling. As Asel found out, it feels like something's crawling up your back. He wasn't sure at first, then he was a fan.
• Passenger princess mode. Press a button and the passenger seat slides back, reclines and raises a leg rest. Switch on the massage and, in Asel's words, forget about everything going on in the world.

Up front, the big touchscreen has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and there's a head-up display. You can also change the temperature with physical buttons. Bonus points to Geely for that. A 360-degree camera helps with parking, and Asel set the mood lighting to Octopus pink, naturally.

Relaxed, comfortable and soft, rather than sharp. Asel drove it on dual carriageways, B-roads and bumpy Surrey streets, and it coped well with all of them. Lotus helped with the suspension, but as Asel says, it's not a B-road blaster. It's set up for comfort, but feels safe and steady if you need to brake hard for a deer.

It'll do 0 to 62mph in 6.9 seconds, which Asel reckons is plenty fast enough for anyone. It leans a little in corners (Asel calls it wallowy), and there's some wind noise at motorway speeds, but that's normal for a family SUV.

A star button by the steering wheel switches on your saved settings in one press. Asel uses it to mute most of the bing bongs, like the speed limit warning, and pick eco mode.

Asel felt he'd been a bit too complimentary, so here's where Geely compromised. None is a deal breaker at this price.

1. There's no one-pedal driving, where lifting off the accelerator slows you all the way to a stop. The EX5 slows down when you lift off, but you'll need the brake to finish the job. Asel's plea: Geely, you make Polestars, and they've got a brilliant one-pedal system.
2. The built-in sat nav talks through the headrest speakers, nagging about speed limits and bends like the worst back-seat driver. Yes, there's a curve ahead. Asel can see it. He's driving. Use your phone's maps instead, or pick the SE, which doesn't have headrest speakers.
3. The lock chime is loud, and Asel couldn't find a way to turn it off. Heading out at 5am? Everyone on your street will know.
4. The battery and 120kW charging speed do the job, but they're not the biggest or fastest at this price.

Prices and specs checked October 2026. The Leapmotor B10 price includes Leapmotor's own £1,500 Leap-Grant, which runs until 31st December 2026 for private buyers. Without it, the B10 costs £31,495. The Leap-Grant is a discount from Leapmotor, not the government's Electric Car Grant.

The BYD Atto 3 is the closest match on paper, with the same usable battery and almost the same range. The EX5 has a slightly bigger boot and more comfort features.

The Leapmotor B10 costs a little less while Leapmotor's grant lasts, and goes slightly further on a charge. The EX5 is quicker, roomier in the boot and better equipped in Max trim.

And the big German names? Asel reckons you'd need to add a lot of options to a Volkswagen ID.4 to match the EX5's kit. His verdict: a spacious, quiet family EV with luxury you'd normally pay far more for.

Tempted? Leasing is one way into a Geely EX5 without buying it outright. We offer the Geely EX5 on personal lease, and it's also available on salary sacrifice, if your employer runs a scheme with us.

A personal lease includes servicing, road tax and MOTs, so it's one monthly payment rather than five bills. At the time of writing, the EX5 also comes with a free home charger, and Octopus Energy's Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver tariff gives you a discounted rate that's exclusive to Octopus EV drivers. Away from home, Electroverse gives you one large public charging network, on one card and one bill. Check out our current leasing offers.

Yes. Geely is a Chinese car company that also owns Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and Smart. The EX5 is sold under Geely's own badge, and Lotus helped tune its suspension. It has its own design, screens and controls, so it doesn't feel like a cheaper version of one of Geely's other brands.

A 10 to 80% charge at home costs about £3.33 on Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver, Octopus Energy's tariff whose discounted rate is exclusive to Octopus EV drivers. An ultra-rapid public charger costs about £39.41, with the 10% Electroverse discount if you lease through us.

The EX5 is new to the UK, so there's little long-term data yet. It uses an LFP (lithium iron phosphate) battery, which comes with an eight-year or 125,000-mile warranty, whichever comes first. It also scored the full five stars from Euro NCAP for safety in 2025.

Both have the same 60kWh battery and motor, so real-world range and speed barely change. For about £5,000 extra, the Max adds comfort and tech. Think ventilated, massaging front seats, a passenger leg rest, an opening glass roof, 16 speakers, 19-inch alloys and an electric tailgate.

The B10 goes about 15 miles further on a charge and costs a little less while Leapmotor's grant runs. The EX5 is quicker, has the bigger boot and, in Max trim, adds massage seats and an opening roof. If range decides it, the B10 edges it. If comfort does, the EX5 wins.

A note on our video review: the information in this review is the latest available, so some details, such as range, charging times and prices, may not exactly match what you see in our video.