In 1986, Geely was making refrigerators. Not sports cars. Not luxury SUVs. Fridges. Fast forward four decades and the company has grown into an industrial powerhouse, its meteoric rise mirroring China’s astonishing economic transformation. Today, Geely Automotive sits right at the centre of that revolution.

Founded in 1997, Geely Auto is still the youngster in a stable that includes some of the automotive world’s most storied names—brands blessed with the kind of heritage that accountants can’t manufacture and marketing departments can’t buy.

But here’s the thing: heritage doesn’t win tomorrow’s race. Not anymore.

The automotive world has been turned on its head. The rules written by the Western manufacturers that dominated the industry for more than a century have been ripped up. Even the Japanese brands, which famously rewrote the rulebook in the 1970s with quality, reliability and efficiency, are discovering that the game has changed once again.

Now it’s China holding the pen.

Rather than chasing the past, Chinese manufacturers are defining the future—combining world-class engineering, cutting-edge technology and relentless value to produce vehicles that are not only state of the art, but genuinely affordable. It’s a formula that’s forcing the rest of the industry to stop looking in the rear-view mirror and start paying attention to what’s coming up fast behind them.

The problem for the established players is that there’s precious little they can do about it. They underestimated the Chinese, dismissed them as copycats and bargain-basement manufacturers. They aren’t laughing now.

From refrigerators to electric vehicles, Geely’s journey has caught the automotive world completely off guard. So much so, in fact, that it owns a 10 per cent stake in Daimler AG—the company behind Mercedes-Benz. And here’s the twist: Mercedes has turned to Geely to supply hybrid powertrains built by the very company many once refused to take seriously.

Geely’s expansion has been nothing short of extraordinary. It owns Volvo outright, rescued the legendary British sports car maker Lotus, and has assembled an impressive portfolio of premium and luxury brands. Yet Geely isn’t content to live in the shadow of its acquisitions. It wants to forge its own identity.

That brings us to the EX5.

Available as both a hybrid and a fully electric vehicle, the EX5 is Geely’s opening salvo in the UK market. It arrives not as an outsider hoping for acceptance, but as a serious contender intent on disrupting the established order. The question is simple: in a market changing faster than at any point in the last century, does the EX5 have what it takes to become one of the new benchmarks?

The Exterior

It’s always difficult to explain why you like or dislike a particular design. I don’t go in for the pretentious language of design critics; I simply judge what my eyes tell my brain. And in this case, the verdict is an easy one.

The Geely EX5 is a very tidy-looking SUV.

Its styling has clearly been driven by aerodynamic efficiency, and when that’s at the top of the design brief the result is often little more than a blob on wheels.

Not so here.

The EX5 has a restrained elegance about it. It’s modern, neatly proportioned and refreshingly free of unnecessary creases, fake vents and visual gimmicks. First impressions matter, and within 10 seconds it had earned a firm thumbs-up from me.

It’s slightly smaller than a Volvo XC60 and, in terms of build quality, feels every bit as well assembled—perhaps even better.

The Geely EX5 is a fully electric SUV available in the UK in four trim levels: SE, Pro, Max and Ultra. Prices, at the time of writing, start at £31,990 for the entry-level SE, rising to £38,990 for the range-topping Ultra.

Battery capacities range from 60kWh to 68kWh, with the larger battery reserved exclusively for the Ultra.

The Interior

Step inside and the first impression is one of quality.

Yes, Geely uses a mixture of hard and soft-touch plastics, but that’s true of virtually every manufacturer—even Mercedes-Benz. The clever part is that the surfaces you actually touch every day are the premium ones, while the harder, more utilitarian plastics are tucked well out of sight. It’s a trick the industry has perfected.

The difference is that the EX5 executes it exceptionally well.

The cabin feels a class above its price point. Everything is solidly assembled, with no obvious weak spots, and it feels like a genuinely premium place in which to spend time. Every model features synthetic leather upholstery which, frankly, feels better than some real leather interiors I’ve experienced.

In fact, it feels more convincing than the leather fitted to a Volkswagen Touareg, which resembles imitation leather after only a few months from new.

There’s very little physical switchgear, reflecting the current trend towards minimalist interiors. Most ancillary controls are operated via the central touchscreen, voice commands or the steering wheel buttons. However, the controls you use most—the gear selector and indicator stalks—feel reassuringly substantial and engineered to a high standard.

By today’s standards, the EX5 is classified as a compact SUV, although that’s something of a misnomer. Inside, it feels anything but compact, offering generous accommodation for adults of almost any height or build.

The average adult male in Europe stands around 180cm tall, while the average female measures approximately 167cm. In other words, the EX5 has more than enough room for the vast majority of people. Unless, of course, you’re Dutch, where men over six feet tall is commonplace.

Storage is equally practical. The glovebox is a decent size and there are plenty of useful cubbies throughout the cabin. Surprisingly, however, there is no front boot—or “frunk”—despite that becoming an increasingly common feature in electric vehicles.

The boot itself isn’t class-leading, offering 0.00 litres with the rear seats in place, although there’s still enough room for two full-size suitcases.

Beneath the boot floor you’ll find an additional 0.00 litres of hidden storage, easily large enough for a duffel bag or airline carry-on. Fold the rear seats flat and capacity expands to 0.000 litres, making the EX5 more than capable of handling the inevitable flat-pack furniture run to IKEA.

Infotainment System

At the heart of the EX5 is a 15.4-inch touchscreen—the car’s central command centre, so to speak. It’s a high-resolution, responsive system with crisp graphics and fast processing, making it a pleasure to use.

Thankfully, the menu structure isn’t a maze of endless sub-menus buried beneath yet more sub-menus. It’s logically laid out, and Geely has wisely fixed the climate controls permanently along the bottom of the screen, making them easy to access while driving.

Voice control is competent, although somewhat limited. It handles simple commands such as adjusting the cabin temperature or switching the air conditioning on and off, but it lacks the conversational intelligence and accuracy of Google Assistant through Android Auto. Nevertheless, for everyday tasks it performs well enough.

Complementing the central display is a sharp 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster. It offers crisp graphics and several configurable display layouts, allowing the driver to cycle through a range of information. On Max trim and above, it’s further enhanced by a full-colour head-up display that projects key driving information directly into the driver’s line of sight.

Equipment levels are generous from the outset. Even the entry-level SE includes automatic LED headlights with High Beam Assist, roof rails, heated and power-folding door mirrors, 18-inch alloy wheels, Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) capability, a heated steering wheel, heated electrically adjustable front seats, three ISOFIX mounting points, a heat pump, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, keyless entry, wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless phone charging and a 360-degree parking camera.

The Max model tested here raises the bar further with a panoramic glass roof, powered tailgate, illuminated passenger vanity mirror, 256-colour ambient lighting, heated and ventilated front seats with memory and massage functions, a 16-speaker Flyme audio system featuring front headrest speakers, and front parking sensors.

The Drive

The entry-level SE rides on 18-inch alloy wheels, while the remaining trims receive larger 19-inch wheels. Regardless of wheel size, the EX5 delivers impressive levels of comfort and refinement.

This isn’t a sports SUV, nor does it pretend to be. If you’re looking for razor-sharp handling and grin-inducing cornering, you’ll need to look elsewhere. The EX5 is designed to make everyday driving relaxed and effortless, and for the most part it succeeds.

That said, there are a couple of areas that could benefit from further refinement.

At lower speeds, body control isn’t quite as polished as the rest of the car. I don’t believe the suspension is the culprit. Instead, the steering-ratio feels a little too quick around the straight-ahead position. Turn into a roundabout and the front responds immediately, while the body takes a split second longer to settle. It’s not dramatic, but it does create a slight disconnect between what your hands are doing and what your body feels.

This characteristic disappears almost entirely on the motorway, where the EX5 feels planted, stable and reassuringly composed. Given that it uses an electric power steering system, this is the sort of calibration that could potentially be improved with a software update.

The lane-keeping assist also needs further tuning.

I’m generally a fan of lane assist systems. Volkswagen, for example, has a good balance between assistance and intervention, allowing the system to work naturally without constantly reminding you it’s there.

The EX5’s system is rather more enthusiastic. On long motorway journeys it tugs at the steering wheel more frequently than necessary, giving the impression that it’s constantly second-guessing both the road and the driver. Rather than inspiring confidence, it becomes something you end up working against.

I eventually switched it off. With lane assist disabled, the EX5 settled into a relaxed, stable motorway cruiser with refinement approaching that of established German rivals. In other words, the underlying chassis is fundamentally very good; it’s simply being let down by software calibration rather than engineering.

The braking system tells a similar story.

Regenerative braking is well judged and feels entirely natural. However, during the final moments of coming to a complete stop—particularly from around 30mph—the mechanical brakes introduce a slight fore-and-aft rocking motion. It’s a minor annoyance on its own, but in slow-moving traffic, where you’re constantly stopping and starting, the repeated rocking can become mildly nauseating.

I quickly adapted my braking technique and largely eliminated the effect, but ideally the driver shouldn’t have to.

The encouraging aspect is that none of these criticisms relate to the fundamentals. The chassis, ride quality, refinement and overall engineering are competitive. What the EX5 needs isn’t a suspension redesign or mechanical overhaul—it simply requires a little more software fine-tuning. And in today’s software-defined cars, that’s entirely achievable. With a handful of thoughtful updates, Geely could transform a very good electric SUV into an outstanding one.

Efficiency

With a 60kWh battery, I wasn’t expecting exceptional range. Battery technology, however, is evolving at a remarkable pace, and Chinese manufacturers such as Geely are advancing battery chemistry faster than many of their Western rivals. Central to that progress is Geely’s proprietary Short Blade Battery technology.

The engineering behind it is complex, but the benefits are easy to understand: greater energy density, improved safety, longer service life and faster charging. Combined with the EX5’s advanced 900V electrical architecture, it delivers impressive efficiency and rapid charging performance. Better still, Geely claims the latest generation of its Short Blade Battery can retain more than 90 per cent of its capacity even in temperatures as low as -30°C.

Power comes from a single electric motor driving the front wheels. It produces 215bhp (160kW) and 320Nm of torque, giving the EX5 more than enough performance for everyday driving.

In reality, you’ll never be left wanting for power. Instant electric torque makes the EX5 feel brisk away from the lights, while a 0-60mph time of under seven seconds puts it firmly into what would once have been considered hot hatch territory.

As for range, expect around 255 miles on a full charge in mixed driving. Drive with a little restraint and you may squeeze out a few extra miles. For my day-to-day use, that proved more than sufficient, and longer journeys of around 200 miles were completed comfortably with range still in reserve.

Charging performance is equally competitive. Connected to a suitable public DC rapid charger, the EX5 accepts up to 135kW, allowing the battery to charge from 30 to 80 per cent in around 20 minutes. Using an 11kW three-phase wallbox takes approximately six hours, while a 7.4kW single-phase home charger requires between seven and nine hours. A standard UK three-pin socket remains an option, although a full charge will take somewhere between 26 and 30 hours.

Epilogue

Geely has arrived in the UK determined to succeed under its own name rather than relying on the reputation of the premium brands within its portfolio.

On the evidence of the EX5, that confidence is well founded.

Build quality is genuinely impressive, the cabin feels remarkably well screwed together, and overall refinement is easily good enough to make established premium German manufacturers take notice.

The fundamentals are excellent. The chassis is composed, the suspension delivers an excellent balance between comfort and control, and motorway refinement. The few shortcomings I encountered weren’t mechanical at all, but software-related. The steering calibration, lane-keeping assist and brake blending all require further refinement.

Even as it stands, the EX5 is a thoroughly accomplished electric SUV. I am looking for a new SUV at the moment and the Geely EX5 is now at the top of my list, sorry Jaecoo, hello EX5.

The reason is simple. Geely has delivered cutting-edge technology, impressive quality and generous equipment at a genuinely attainable price. At the time of writing, an EX5 Max can be leased in the UK from around £189 per month, representing exceptional value for money.

The EX5 doesn’t merely compete with its European rivals—it belongs in the same conversation. In terms of perceived quality, refinement and technology, it has little to fear from the established names. The automotive landscape is changing rapidly, and if this is a sign of what’s to come from Geely, Europe’s traditional legacy manufacturers have every reason to pay attention.