Chinese maker Geely enters the supermini EV segment with this EX2. Jonathan Crouch reports.
Ten Second Review
Geely's EX2 offers yet another option for someone in search of a budget EV hatch, with value as its over-riding trump card - though perhaps not quite as much value as we'd hoped. Still, though one of the less charismatic class options, it's spacious, well-equipped and fast-charging. So there's lots you might be tempted by here, but you'll need to know what you're getting.
Background
So what might the best-selling car in China be like? This Geely EX2 will tell us because this supermini-shaped EV sold 460,000 units in its home Oriental market in 2005 and has high hopes for success in Europe - and Britain in particular.
It has a rather less snappy model name in China - the Geome Xingyuan; and a simpler one in Europe - the E2. But either way, the recipe is the same - a value-based rear-driven small electric hatch aimed at the heart of the budget EV segment. Whose success will be pivotal if Geely is to reach its goal of selling 100,000 cars a year in the UK market by 2030 - by which time the EX2 will be one of ten models in the Geely line-up. Let's take a closer look.
Driving Experience
A rear-driven format is still a little unusual for a small hatch of this size, despite the way that the VW Group and MG have championed it. Yet that's what this EX2 has - a side benefit of which is a London taxi-like turning circle around town. There are two battery sizes, but almost all EX2 customers will ignore the base 35kWh 'Pro' version - rightly because it has a feeble 80bhp motor and takes you just 155 miles between charges. Focus instead on the 'Max' and 'Ultra' models, which use a 47kWh battery that energises a 114bhp motor and takes you up to 214 miles between charges. That's if you engage the most frugal of the provided drive modes - Eco; the others are Comfort, Sport and Snow.
You might hope that another advantage of the rear-driven drive format would be slightly more engaging drive dynamics, here apparently tuned (at least to some extent) by fellow Geely brand Lotus. We've heard that before on larger uninspiring Geely models but in this case, there is at least some evidence of Hethel's input in the precise (if relatively lifeless) steering, the grip from the decent-quality Yokohama tyres and the well-judged ride quality. There are four selectable brake regen levels - Low and High - but no fierce 'one-pedal'-style setting. 0-62mph with the 47kWh is supposed to take 11.5s, but the EX2 doesn't feel that fast and top speed is pegged to just 81mph. Which you could live with if at cruising speeds, there wasn't constant binging and bonging from all the various DAS drive assist 'aids'.
Design and Build
Imagine what a small electric Chinese hatchback might look like and it's quite possible that you'll find yourself picturing something quite similar to this EX2, with a rounded body shape and smartly-surfaced, anonymous curves. The idea was to create a B-segment (supermini) model with the cabin space of a C-segment family hatchback. And sure enough, the 4,135mm body length makes this Geely bigger than, say, a Renault 5 or a Citroen e-C3. But not quite as big as, say, a Volkswagen ID.3 Neo or a Renault Megane. Think MG4 EV in terms of size and you'll not be far out. Smart design details include flush door handles and light signatures inspired by bird's feathers. The wheel size is 16-inches and you can have some nice pastel colours.
Inside, despite the budget origins, the cabin actually feels quite nicely put together, though emits a rather chemical odour. You can have a white interior as well as a dark one and there are more buttons than you'd usually expect to find on a Chinese car. But of course the usual over-reliance on a centre screen dominated by the wallpaper backgrounds that Geely seems to like so much. There's lots of cheap-feeling plastic and piano black trim, but you'd expect that at this price (though rivals like the Renault 5 and the Kia EV2 more pleasingly use fabrics to break things up). A nice touch though, is the illuminated constellation patterning on the dashboard and doors.
The 8.8-inch driver's display is bright and sharp but over-busy with over-small fonts. It's a practical space, with 36 assorted cubbies and storage areas, including a rather unique 10-litre drawer-style glovebox that, astonishingly, is big enough to hold the charging cable. The driving position is fine but the seats lack lumbar and under-thigh support.
Rear seat space is a major selling point - or at least it will be if your point of comparison is something supermini-sized. In comparison to cars like that, where the rear seats are essentially only for kids, you can fit real adults in the back of an EX2. There's plenty of leg and headroom and a kind of alcove beneath the bench for storage of up to 25-litres. The boot is nearly family hatch-sized at 375-litres (50-litres more than a Renault 5) and you don't have to store the charging leads there because Geely provides a 75-litre under-bonnet 'frunk' for that. Fold the rear bench and there's 1,320-litres of space.
Market and Model
Geely's keen to tell us just how successful the EX2 is in its home market. But much of that success has to do with an Oriental asking price which is 2025 was the equivalent of no more than around £7,000. With this in mind, we'd hoped that the Chinese maker would be able to sell this model in the UK as one of our country's very cheapest electric cars - but the EX2 is far from that. The starting price of around £21,000 is actually more than some established supermini EV segment rivals - and that figure actually applies to a 35kWh 'Pro' version with restricted drive range more akin to budget EVs that are £5,000 or more cheaper.
Almost all British EX2 sales will be of the 47kWh models, either the 'Max' (at around £23,500) or the better-equipped 'Ultra' (around £25,500). Geely points out that in return for these figures, you're getting a near-family hatch-sized EV or the sort that might cost £5,000 or so more - and there's some truth in that.
You're also getting an awful lot of standard kit for your cash. This includes 16-inch alloy wheels, auto LED headlights, rear privacy glass, LED tail lamps, adaptive cruise control, keyless entry, a reversing camera and an alarm. Inside, there's an 8.8-inch LCD instrument cluster, automatic air conditioning and a 14.6-inch FLYME AUTO central touchscreen with 4G connectivity and wireless 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto. There's also Vehicle-to-Load tech so that external devices can be powered from the car's drive battery. If you stretch to top-spec 'Ultra' trim with its two-tone paint scheme, then you'll also get a 360-degree surround view camera, heated front seats, 256-colour ambient lighting and a heated steering wheel. Plus a 6-speaker audio system, cooled wireless 'phone charging and a powered tailgate.
As usual with Chinese cars, there's a huge suite of ADAS camera drive assist features, though as on other Geelys, these can be intrusive - and awkward to disable (though the brand says it's working on that). Remember that unless you choose your EX2 with the only standard solid white paint colour, you'll have to find £600 more for your chosen shade. And it's £200 more if you want a white (rather than a dark) cabin finish.
Cost of Ownership
The EX2 might not have very noteworthy drive range figures, but its DC charging speed is at least quite impressive. At a suitable rapid public charger, you can replenish the battery at up to 160kW, which is faster than most direct rivals. A 30-80% DC charge takes 25 minutes. There's the expected AC home charging at up to 11kW. With the 47kWh version, you'll need around 7 hours for a full charge from a single-phase 7.4kW wallbox - or around 5 hours 30 minutes if you've a three-phase 11kW wallbox. The EX2 also comes with standard vehicle-to-load charging for powering things like laptops or e-bikes.
There's an eight year/125,000 warranty (for the full car, not just the battery - which, incidentally, Geely makes itself). This should take away some of the fear factor from investing in an unknown brand. Plus four years of roadside assistance. Servicing intervals are every two years or 20,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Summary
The EX2 offers a strong value proposition, but given the cheapness of its price in its home market, we'd hoped for more. As it is, unless you get an exceptional deal one of these (which is very possible given the production cost margin the brand has to play with), it might not save you that much on a more established brand segment rival. Which might be an issue given that the competitor in question is likely to take you a little further on each charge than will an EX2. And probably won't have ADAS systems quite as intrusive.
But you might still be drawn to this Geely for its nicely furnished, spacious cabin, its fast charging speeds and its generous equipment levels. And the drive dynamics suggest that at last, the brand's R&D relationship with Lotus is bearing some fruit. In order to reach ambitious sales targets that took established brands decades to achieve, Geely will need bigger product development steps forward than this. But the EX2 represents a small but significant move in the right direction.
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