Is Geely's first UK car worth leasing? Our Geely EX5 review

In this full review

• The Geely EX5 at a glance
• Performance & driving
• Range, charging & running costs
• Interior, design & technology
• Practicality & boot space
• Reliability, safety & warranty
• Which Geely EX5 should you lease?

 Who is behind the Geely EX5?

The Geely Holding Group is probably the biggest car company you have never heard of. The EX5 arrives with a lot resting on it. It is the first car to wear the Geely name in the UK, from a company most British buyers know only through the badges it owns, and it lands in the most competitive corner of the market. It makes a strong account of itself. The equipment list is enormous, the pricing is keen, and the car is one of the roomiest in its class, with a five-star Euro NCAP result to reassure family buyers.

It is set up for comfort rather than driving thrills, a few controls that could be physical buttons are handled through the touchscreen, and the real-world range of around 205 miles is competitive rather than outstanding in a class where 260 miles is common. For the family this car is built for, none of that gets in the way, and considering you can now lease it from just £219 per month makes a great deal of sense for anyone who charges at home and does not need to cover huge motorway distances.

About the Geely EX5

Geely Holding Group is the parent  behind Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, so while the brand name is new here, the engineering pedigree behind it is not. The EX5 is a compact, all-electric family SUV that slots straight into the busiest part of the UK market, up against the Škoda Elroq, the Kia EV3 and the Renault Scenic, as well as a growing wave of other Chinese arrivals such as the Jaecoo E5 and Omoda E5. Geely has confirmed a plug-in hybrid will follow in 2026, with a smaller hatchback and a larger flagship SUV due after that.

The EX5 keeps things simple with one battery and one motor across four trims. Geely has been aggressive on price, knocking money off through its own grant scheme:

• Geely EX5 SE: £31,990 RRP (about £29,690 with grant)
• Geely EX5 Pro: £33,990 RRP (about £30,790 with grant)
• Geely EX5 Max: £36,990 RRP (about £33,240 with grant)
• Geely EX5 Ultra: £38,990 RRP (larger battery)

The number that matters for most, though, is how much does it cost to lease?. DreamLease currently has a featured offer on the Pro starting from  £219 per month, which reframes the whole value question, and we come back to it below.

Performance & driving

Set up for comfort and calm, and the better family car for it.

Pros: more than enough power, sensible comfort focus, good refinement at speed. Consider: light steering with modest feel, a soft ride tuned for comfort, no full one-pedal mode.

The EX5 sits on a new Geely platform called GEA, short for Global Intelligent New Energy Architecture, which so far is unique to this car (it is sold as the Galaxy E5 in other markets). It uses cell-to-body construction, integrating the battery into the structure to add rigidity and free up cabin space, and it is a multi-energy design, which is how the promised plug-in hybrid will share the same underpinnings.

So, is it quick?

Quick enough. A single 215bhp motor on the front axle serves up 320Nm of torque, good for 0 to 62mph in 6.9 seconds in the SE and Pro, or 7.1 seconds in the heavier Max, with a 109mph top speed throughout. It is comfortably quick enough for a family car, and unlike some cheaper front-driven EVs it manages its torque cleanly, with none of the scrabbling wheelspin you get from a Skywell BE11 pulling away from a junction. The throttle mapping is nicely judged too, with a little give in the pedal before the power arrives, which makes it easy to drive smoothly. Brake regeneration comes in three strengths, but there is no true one-pedal mode: even the strongest setting slows the car gently and with a slight delay, while the middle setting feels much like coasting.

What’s it like around town?

Urban driving in the Geely EX5 is a very stress-free experience. You sit high with good visibility all round, and the steering is so light at low speed that you could turn it with one finger, though you can add weight through the drive settings on the screen. The standard 360-degree camera is a genuine help when parking and impressive kit at this price, even if the resolution does not quite inspire total confidence; the plain rear-view camera is crisp and clear. The Pro and Max ride on 19-inch wheels (the SE gets 18s), yet low-speed ride quality is good, with the soft suspension shrugging off speed bumps without much fuss.

Independent early tests back this up. Australian motoring outlet carsales, one of the first to drive the EX5 on public roads, singled out its unusually tight turning circle and rated it an excellent town and city car – helped by that low kerb weight, which keeps it feeling nimble at low speeds.

And if you enjoy driving?

Be honest with yourself here, because this is not that car, and it never pretends to be. Geely did ask Lotus for input on the chassis, and by its own account got “a lot of comments” back, but the result is a car that is more about calm than corners. It is stable and grippy through the bends and the brakes scrub off speed well, though the steering is light on feel, so keen drivers will not find a great deal to engage with. For the family buyer the EX5 is aimed at, that comfort-first character is the point rather than a shortcoming. At 1,765kg it is lighter than most rivals, so there is little body roll, helped by the low-set battery. Comfort holds up well on a back road, and while you notice undulations a little more than in a Škoda Elroq or a Ford Puma Gen-E, but you won't get one of those at anything close to the cost of Geely, right now, It's exceptional value.

Is it happy on the motorway?

The motorway is where the EX5 is at its best. Refinement is genuinely good for the money: the powertrain is near silent apart from a faint hum at low speed, and wind and road noise are kept well in check, so you would happily run the battery down on a long trip. The ride stays compliant, if still slightly floaty, and the light steering firms up usefully at speed so you are not constantly correcting. The driver aids are the one area you may want to adjust to taste. Lane-keep assist is unobtrusive, though some drivers will prefer to switch it and the driver-attention monitor off through the touchscreen, and the forward-collision warning can be a little eager, which is easily dialled back.

Range, charging & running costs

Competitive charging, average range, and a lease price that does the heavy lifting.

Pros: 160kW charging, standard heat pump, strong lease value and low BiK. Consider: real-world range is competitive rather than class-leading, a single battery option for now, insurance a little higher than some rivals.

What range will you actually get?

Realistically, about 205 miles, whatever the brochure says. Every EX5 uses a 60.2kWh battery, which lines up closely with the smaller-battery Škoda Elroq (59kWh) and Kia EV3 (58.3kWh), and the official WLTP figure is 267 miles on the SE, falling to 258 on the Pro and 255 on the Max as the wheels grow and the kit count rises. In the real world, though, expect closer to 205: that was the predicted figure from a Max on test, admittedly after some hard driving and with the heated and massaging seats running, and it is worth knowing that the air-conditioning alone drew about five per cent of the battery. A heat pump is standard across the range to protect efficiency in winter, and Geely has confirmed a larger battery of around 70kWh usable is coming to push range past 300 miles.

Real-world signs are encouraging, too. On the launch test route, reviewers at carsales recorded 15.6kWh/100km – roughly 4.0 miles per kWh – across a 285km drive, the kind of efficiency that puts the official range figure within realistic reach in mixed driving.

How quickly does it charge?

Charging is a strong point. The EX5 takes up to 160kW on a DC rapid charger, which is quicker than a Renault Scenic and the smaller-battery versions of the Volkswagen ID.4, Elroq and EV3, and it means a 30 to 80 per cent top-up in about 20 minutes. An 11kW AC onboard charger is fitted. On the more common 7kW home wallbox, which is the only home figure Geely publishes, a brim from 10 to 100 per cent takes a little over six hours. The car can also act as a power source, with 3.3kW vehicle-to-load and 6kW vehicle-to-vehicle output for running appliances, e-bikes or camping gear. 

That headline DC figure also looks conservative in practice: carsales saw the EX5 peak at around 118kW on a rapid charger during its launch test, so real-world sessions may run slightly ahead of the official curve.

So what does it actually cost?

Very little, as new EVs go, and this is the section that wins the EX5 most of its sales. Being fully electric, it sits in the lowest Benefit-in-Kind band, at 4 per cent for 2026/27. On the Pro that works out at roughly £23 a month for a 20 per cent taxpayer and about £45 for a 40 per cent taxpayer, tiny sums for a new family SUV. It also sits nowhere near the £50,000 Expensive Car Supplement threshold, the extra £425-a-year VED surcharge that catches pricier rivals. On a lease, the headline is better still: DreamLease currently offers the Pro at £219 a month, with a £2,630.28 initial payment plus a £299 admin fee, 5,000 miles a year over 36 months on personal contract hire (correct at the time of writing, subject to availability and status). For a brand-new, five-star-rated family SUV this well equipped, that monthly undercuts plenty of smaller, plainer cars.

Any catch on the running costs?

One, and it is insurance. The EX5 sits in group 35 for the SE and Pro and group 36 for the Max, which is a notch higher than comparable versions of the Škoda Elroq, Renault Scenic and Kia EV3, and slightly above something like the Ford Puma Gen-E in group 18. It is worth a quick quote before you commit, because it slightly offsets the car’s otherwise low running costs.

Interior, design & technology

Roomy and better built than the price suggests, with most controls handled through the screen.

Pros: solid build quality, genuinely spacious, impressive optional stereo. Consider: understated styling, screen-led controls, a couple of budget-feel details.

What’s the cabin like?

The cabin plays it clean and understated, and it works. The dash is tidy, with a large central screen and a separate driver’s display that both stand proud of the fascia rather than being sunk into it, yet the mix of materials and the way the air vents are set against them still looks smart. The all-black cabin is the plainer choice, so we would go for the two-tone option, with its white lower section and darker upper half, which makes the cabin feel bright and airy, though family buyers may want to think about how the lighter upholstery copes with the usual spills. Top-spec Max cars add 256-colour ambient lighting.

Geely also makes a point of what it calls a healthy cabin: a CN95-grade filter scrubs incoming air, the steering wheel wears an antibacterial coating, and the air conditioning runs on briefly after you switch off to dry the vents and discourage mould. Gimmicky or not, it signals how much attention has gone into the details – as does the flat-edged two-spoke steering wheel, which early testers found genuinely nicer to hold than it looks.

A full-length panoramic glass roof floods the cabin with light, and unlike several rivals it comes with a proper physical sunshade rather than leaving you to bake on hot days – a small thing that matters a lot in summer.

Is it well made?

Better than the price had us expecting. Where some value-focused Chinese cars have felt flimsy, the EX5 largely holds up: the faux leather on the seats, dash and doors feels convincing, and there were no creaks or rattles on test. A couple of details, the steering-wheel buttons and the wood-grain trim on the centre console, feel a little less special than the rest, but they are the exception in an otherwise convincing cabin.

How’s the touchscreen?

This is the one thing you are likely to grumble about. Almost everything runs through the standard 15.4-inch touchscreen, which is at least sharp and quick to respond, and just as well, because you often have to dig through menus for everyday tasks such as adjusting the heated seats or even the sunroof. Wireless Apple CarPlay is standard, which is the escape hatch most buyers will use, and Android Auto is promised through an over-the-air update rather than being there from launch. There is one physical rotary dial on the console, which can be set to control audio, temperature, fan speed or, oddly, the screen wallpaper, which is its default. Max trim adds a clear 13.8-inch head-up display, complete with a blue-tinted snow mode, and a 16-speaker Flyme sound system with a 1,000W amplifier, subwoofers and headrest speakers that is a genuine step up for keen listeners.

Two smaller observations from early drives: the screen runs on a 7-nanometre processor and stays responsive even when you hop between menus, but the steering-wheel buttons are sparsely labelled, so it takes some trial and error to learn what does what – worth a few minutes on handover day.

Practicality & boot space

One of the roomiest cars in the class, with a boot that is more usable than its figures suggest.

Pros: loads of cabin space and storage, clever rear drawer, flat-folding front seats. Consider: no front boot, modest on-paper boot figures, a high load lip.

How big is it?

At 4,615mm long, the EX5 is among the biggest cars in the segment, so much so that Geely reckons it is close to D-segment territory. It outmeasures the key rivals in every dimension, and that shows up as space inside.

Is it practical for a family?

Very, and this is where it earns its keep. The EX5 is full of thoughtful storage, with so many pockets and cubbies that you keep finding new ones, which family buyers will appreciate for stashing tablets, snacks and toys. The front seats fold completely flat once you remove the headrests, creating a bed layout that makes more sense alongside the car’s vehicle-to-load socket for camping. Max cars add heated front seats and a powered leg rest for the front passenger that gives an almost limousine-like feel. Space is generous front and rear: even tall adults have room to stretch out in the back, headroom is excellent thanks to the SUV profile, and there is a neat 14-litre sliding drawer under the middle rear seat for things you rarely need.

How big is the boot?

Geely quotes several boot figures. With the adjustable floor in its highest position the boot holds 302 litres, dropping the floor lifts that to 410 litres, and beneath it sits a 51-litre box that houses the charging cables and tyre repair kit. Those numbers look modest next to something like the Ford Puma Gen-E and its 556-litre boot, but the EX5’s square shape and 1.1-metre width make it genuinely usable in practice. There is a high load lip to lift over, and the boot release sits just above the number plate, so taller drivers have to stoop for it. Max versions get a powered tailgate with five stopping positions. There is no front boot.

Reliability, safety & warranty

An unknown badge, but the safety score and warranty are reassuring.

Pros: five-star Euro NCAP, long standard safety kit, competitive warranty. Consider: UK aftersales is brand new, and the retail network is still expanding.

Is it safe?

Safety is a clear strength. The EX5 earns the full five stars from Euro NCAP, backed by a strong standard-equipment list. That covers automatic emergency braking, blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping and emergency lane assist, an emergency manoeuvre function, adaptive cruise control, a door-open warning and the 360-degree camera, all fitted to every trim.

One caveat from early testing: the EX5 arrives with a comprehensive set of speed and attention warnings, and launch-drive reviewers found some of them persistent – including a spoken over-speed alert that proved difficult to silence on early software. Geely has promised refinements via over-the-air updates, but it is worth asking your dealer to walk through the alert settings when you collect the car.

What about the warranty?

The warranty is competitive. Cover runs for a base six years, extending to a total of eight years or 125,000 miles, and the battery is covered for the same eight years and 125,000 miles. That is a reassuring package for a new brand, and on a typical three or four-year lease it comfortably outlasts your time with the car.

Should you worry about a new brand?

Possibly if you were buying, which is why leasing makes sense. The catch with any new arrival is aftersales, and here the EX5 asks for a little faith. Geely is rolling out all-new retailers and aims for around 100 UK sales and service locations by the end of 2026, but the network is still small today, so it is worth checking there is one within reach before you commit. On a lease this matters less than it would if you were buying outright, because the residual-value risk that comes with an unproven brand sits with the funder rather than with you.

The information provided is for general guidance only and reflects opinions at the time of writing. While we make reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, we cannot guarantee that all details are complete, accurate or up to date. Vehicle specifications, performance, pricing and availability may vary and are subject to change without notice. Images are for illustrative purposes only and may not represent the exact model or specification available.

DreamLease is an independent vehicle leasing broker and is not affiliated with any manufacturer. We are a credit broker and not a lender.