Geely EX5

First Impressions

Walking up to the Geely EX5 for the first time, what struck me was how approachable it looks. There's no aggressive styling trying too hard to be futuristic. It's rounded, clean, and inoffensive in the best way possible. The flush door handles pop out automatically when you approach with the key, and the electric tailgate rounds out a polished first impression.

The Moonlight Silver on my test car is apparently the best seller, and I can see why. It flatters the simple lines without looking boring. Five colour options isn't a huge palette, but they've picked sensible ones.

Interior and Tech

Inside, the cabin is dominated by a 15.4-inch central screen flanked by a 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster and a 13.8-inch head-up display. That's a lot of screens, but the layout never feels overwhelming. The physical climate controls deserve special praise because they're genuinely useful and quick to adjust without diving into menus.

The feature list is stacked. Massage seats with six modes and three intensity levels for both front occupants, ventilated seats, wireless charging, ambient lighting with 256 colours, memory seats, and a rest mode that reclines your seat and wakes you after a set timer. Voice commands in Thai work snappily too. The 360-degree camera is impressively sharp and the 3D view makes parking a breeze.

There are niggles though. The cup holders are annoyingly small. Standard coffee cups fit fine, but anything from a convenience store or a large Starbucks tumbler simply won't go in. I tested about eight different cups and only four fit. For a family car, that's a genuine daily frustration.

Back Seat and Boot

Rear legroom is generous. There's loads of headroom too, even with the panoramic sunroof eating into the roofline. The rear seats recline in two stages, and there are USB-A and USB-C ports back there with a clever little phone shelf. The middle seat stays reasonably soft, which is rare, though the seat cushion length felt a touch short even for my not-particularly-long legs.

The boot is decently wide and has a deep underfloor compartment. Folding the 60/40 split rear seats creates a flat-ish load floor. I tested whether someone 175 cm tall could sleep flat in the back and the answer is just barely not, so dedicated camping vans have nothing to fear.

Driving Experience

After four or five days behind the wheel, the defining character of the EX5 is comfort. The suspension is tuned soft but retains enough firmness that it doesn't wallow on smooth roads. Cruising at 120 km/h on the expressway, the car feels planted and quiet. It's genuinely relaxing.

The flip side is that quick lane changes reveal noticeable body roll, and taller speed bumps produce a bouncy secondary motion that passengers will feel. Sport mode adds throttle response but doesn't firm up the chassis, so it mainly just makes traffic-jam driving jerky. Eco mode is perfectly adequate for city use and I couldn't tell much difference in air conditioning performance.

Regen braking has a quirk: there's a 1-2 second delay after you lift off before it kicks in, which feels unnatural. Medium regen was the sweet spot for me. The brake pedal is sharp, almost too eager in the default setting, but switching to the comfort brake pedal mode plus the soft brake feel option smooths things out dramatically. I wish I'd discovered that combination on day one.

ADAS and Safety

The ICC system, Geely's full lane-centring adaptive cruise, works impressively well. It handles gentle curves smoothly and maintains comfortable distance from the car ahead. It tops out at 120 km/h and drops out cleanly when you brake. The lane departure and blind spot warnings are effective but come with an annoying quirk: the blind spot alert overrides the turn signal sound, so you momentarily wonder if your indicator is even on. Also, every safety assist resets to default each time you start the car, which means if you prefer certain features off you have to toggle them again every drive.

Charging

I charged from 20 to 80 percent in about 34 minutes while sharing the charger with another EV. The car accepts up to 100 kW DC, and once the neighbouring car left the power climbed noticeably. Not the fastest in its class but perfectly acceptable for a road trip coffee stop.

Final Verdict

The Geely EX5 is a thoroughly likeable family EV. It wraps you in comfort, throws in features that rivals often reserve for higher trims, and drives with an easy-going personality that suits long commutes and weekend trips alike. It's not for anyone craving driving excitement, and the small cup holders and a few software quirks hold it back from greatness.

If you're shopping for a roomy electric SUV to carry the family in comfort, put the EX5 on your test-drive list. Just bring a small coffee cup.