Geely EX2 Review: Exceptional Value Without Feeling Cheap

The Geely EX2 might look like another small electric hatchback arriving from China, but having now driven it through central London and properly put it through its paces on the faster, twisting country roads around Malmesbury in Wiltshire, I think there is far more to this car than its £20,990 starting price suggests.

There is a 70-litre storage compartment under the bonnet, a 375-litre boot, enough room in the back for adults, 36 storage spaces dotted around the car, Vehicle-to-Load technology and an eight-year warranty.

It is even rear-wheel drive with independent rear suspension.

On paper, that is an extraordinary amount of car for the money. More importantly, having now driven the EX2 in two very different environments, I can say that most of that promise translates surprisingly well to the road.

The EX2 isn't fast. In fact, bury your foot into the accelerator and remarkably little happens. Its maximum 214-mile range will not trouble the longest-legged EVs either.

But I'm not convinced either of those things really matters.

What Geely has created is a comfortable, practical, extremely well-equipped electric car that starts at under £21,000 and, crucially, doesn't constantly remind you that you bought the affordable option.

What is the Geely EX2?

If Geely is still an unfamiliar badge to you, you are probably not alone. The company is relatively new to the UK market, although the wider Geely organisation is enormous. The EX2 sits underneath the larger EX5 electric SUV and Starray EM-i plug-in hybrid and becomes the smallest and cheapest Geely available here.

The car itself isn't new globally. In China it is known as the Xingyuan, pronounced roughly shing-yee-wahn, and became a huge sales success.

For Britain, the range consists of three versions:

• EX2 Pro: £20,990
• EX2 Max: £23,490
• EX2 Ultra: £25,490

That puts the EX2 into one of the most interesting areas of the new-car market.

Depending on specification, buyers could realistically be looking at everything from the Renault 5 E-Tech and Hyundai Inster to the BYD Dolphin Surf and Citroën ë-C3.

The tiny Leapmotor T03 is much cheaper, but I don't really see it as a competitor. The EX2 feels like a substantially more grown-up car and something that could realistically serve as a household's only vehicle.

What is the Geely EX2 actually like to drive?

This is where my opinion of the EX2 became considerably more informed. My first experience of it was at the UK launch at Battersea Power Station, where I drove it through central London. That environment immediately demonstrated how easy the EX2 is to manoeuvre, particularly because of its remarkably tight turning circle.

I have since driven it properly around Malmesbury in Wiltshire, giving me the opportunity to try it on faster roads, country lanes and less-than-perfect British tarmac.

And it is good. Not exciting. Not sporty. But genuinely good. The ride is one of its strongest points.

The EX2 uses relatively small 16-inch wheels with chunky 205/60 tyres, meaning there is actually some tyre sidewall between the alloy wheel and the road. Combined with decent suspension, it allows the car to absorb bumps and broken surfaces much better than plenty of cars wearing fashionable oversized wheels and elastic-band tyres.

It feels settled and comfortable without becoming excessively soft. Throw it into the country roads around Wiltshire and there isn't an enormous amount of body roll either. I found myself carrying a reasonable amount of speed through corners and the EX2 remained composed and predictable.

The steering is light, particularly at lower speeds, but it is responsive. You're not getting masses of detailed feedback through the steering wheel, but the car goes where you point it and feels reassuringly easy to place.

For the type of car this is, I think Geely has struck a very sensible balance.

Just don't expect typical EV acceleration

There is one aspect of the driving experience that requires slightly more adjustment. If you've driven lots of electric cars, you may have become accustomed to instant acceleration.

Manufacturers seem determined to make every new EV capable of embarrassing sports cars away from the lights, regardless of whether anybody actually asked for their family crossover to achieve 0-62mph in four seconds.

The EX2 has opted out of that particular competition. Plant your foot completely flat on the accelerator and... not very much happens. It genuinely took me back to driving something with a little 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine. You press the pedal, politely request some acceleration and the car gradually builds speed.

The entry-level Pro has 82PS and takes 14.2 seconds to reach 62mph. Max and Ultra improve that to 116PS and 11.5 seconds. It isn't dangerously slow and once you're moving it keeps up with traffic perfectly well. But you do need to be aware of it when pulling out of junctions or joining quicker-moving traffic.

If you're waiting for a gap and thinking you'll simply bury the accelerator and fire yourself into it using a wall of instant electric torque, give yourself a little more room. This is emphatically not a pocket rocket. Strangely, I don't particularly dislike it for that.

The EX2 isn't pretending to be a sports car. Geely has clearly prioritised cost, efficiency, comfort and usability over providing acceleration you will demonstrate to your friends three times before never using again.

Why rear-wheel drive matters

Every EX2 is rear-wheel drive, which is unusual for something this affordable. Before anybody gets too excited, rear-wheel drive plus 116PS and 150Nm does not turn the EX2 into a miniature electric drift machine. Its biggest benefit is rather more sensible.

Because the front wheels aren't also responsible for transmitting power, Geely has been able to give them an enormous amount of steering angle. The result is a turning circle of just under five metres.

I noticed this immediately while driving through central London. You can make U-turns in places where you'd normally already be preparing yourself for an awkward shuffle back and forth. In crowded car parks, narrow residential streets and busy towns, that is something owners could appreciate every single day.

And frankly, in a car like this, an incredible turning circle is probably considerably more useful than another 100 horsepower.

Geely listened to complaints about the driver-assistance systems

Another thing I particularly like about the EX2 isn't really about the hardware at all. It is evidence that Geely is actually listening. Modern cars are packed with mandatory and semi-mandatory driver-assistance systems, and some of them can become irritating remarkably quickly.

Speed-limit warnings and lane-departure systems are particular culprits. On narrow country roads, the latter can become frustrating when you deliberately position the car closer to the edge of the road to give oncoming traffic more space.

Geely received feedback around this and, even before the EX2 properly reached UK customers, changed the software. An over-the-air update has added a quick-access control to the home screen, making it substantially easier to disable some of those warnings.

That might sound like a tiny detail, but I think it's significant. We talk endlessly about the benefit of cars receiving over-the-air updates. This is exactly what they're supposed to be for. Not simply changing an animation or adding another app, but taking something customers find annoying and making the car better.

Geely EX2 design: better in person than online

The EX2 isn't trying to be the most dramatic small car in the world. Its styling is rounded, friendly and relatively simple, with feather-inspired headlight detailing and semi-flush door handles.

Park it next to the brilliant retro design of the Renault 5 and I still think most people's eyes will wander towards the Renault first. But the EX2 looks neat and well proportioned.

At around 4.1 metres long and 1.8 metres wide, it remains properly compact, while its long 2.6-metre wheelbase helps explain why there is so much room inside.

Interestingly, the colour palette has changed for the UK market too. Geely Auto UK has renamed the colours:

• Mist White
• Moonstone Silver
• Magnetic Grey
• Sandstone Beige
• Pistachio Green
• Blush Pink

And this is a perfect example of why I wouldn't choose a car purely from an online configurator. When I first saw Sandstone Beige in the CGI imagery, I hated it. It looked like the sort of beige traditionally reserved for old hearing aids and medical plastics. Then I saw it in the metal. I really liked it. The colour works far better with the EX2's soft shape than the online imagery suggests and gives it a slightly unusual, premium appearance.

Magnetic Grey is another one worth seeing in person because it is considerably darker than the CGI images make it appear. Having now seen the colours properly, my choices would probably be Mist White, Sandstone Beige or Magnetic Grey. Yes, somehow the beige has made my shortlist. I didn't see that coming either.

Geely EX2 interior

Step inside and the value argument gets stronger. Dominating the dashboard is a 14.6-inch Full HD central touchscreen, accompanied by an 8.8-inch driver's display. For a car beginning at £20,990, both make a strong first impression.

The infotainment system uses Geely's Flyme Auto software and supports smartphone connectivity, connected services and over-the-air updates.

There is also a voice assistant capable of controlling functions including climate, navigation, audio and the windows. Say, "Hi Geely, open the driver's window," and it will.

Whether you want to have regular conversations with your car is another question, but the system works. More importantly, the touchscreen itself is responsive and reasonably easy to navigate. That's much more important to me than simply fitting the biggest screen possible.

Does it feel cheap?

There is an important difference between a car feeling inexpensive and feeling cheap. The EX2 mostly manages to remain on the right side of that distinction. You aren't going to find the materials from a £50,000 premium saloon in here, nor should you expect to at this price. But the cabin presents itself well.

Synthetic leather upholstery comes as standard, the front seats are electrically adjustable and the overall design looks contemporary rather than stripped back. 

There are a couple of compromises. I'd like lumbar adjustment and a little more flexibility in the seat base for longer journeys. There are also glossy surfaces that will inevitably collect fingerprints faster than you can clean them. But crucially, there isn't an obvious area where you sit thinking, "Ah, that's how they got it down to twenty grand."

The rear seats are one of its biggest strengths

This is where the clever packaging really starts to show. Despite being a compact car externally, the EX2 has a genuinely impressive amount of room in the back. The rear floor is completely flat and there is proper legroom for adults.

It is also genuinely a five-seat car. That sounds like a slightly ridiculous thing to praise until you remember that the Hyundai Inster, another of the EX2's obvious rivals, only has four seats.

For young families, grandparents carrying grandchildren, private-hire drivers or anyone regularly travelling with more than three passengers, that immediately matters.

The EX2 manages to offer small-car exterior dimensions without making everybody inside feel like they've been vacuum-packed.

Geely may have become slightly obsessed with storage

I don't know whether somebody at Geely had previously owned a car with nowhere to put their phone and vowed never to let it happen again, but they have been extraordinarily thorough. Geely claim there are 36 storage spaces dotted around the car, and some of them are blatantly obvious; others are I'd argue are just a tiny void of space or part of the same storage space. Either way, there's plenty of places to put everything from sunglasses, sweets, cables and shopping!

Under the bonnet is a 70-litre frunk. And it is properly useful.

This isn't a shallow plastic tray capable of swallowing a charging cable if you fold it with military precision. You could put shopping, muddy footwear, cleaning products or plenty of other everyday items in there.

Inside, there is a 10-litre drawer instead of a glove box, a 20-litre centre storage compartment and another 28 litres beneath the rear seats.

These are exactly the sort of features that don't sound glamorous on a specification sheet but become brilliant once you're actually living with a car.

How big is the boot?

The conventional boot offers 375 litres of space with the seats in place, increasing to 1,320 litres when they're folded. That is already competitive for a car this size. Then remember you still have another 70 litres beneath the bonnet. If you regularly carry luggage, shopping, pushchairs or simply an alarming amount of miscellaneous life-admin around with you, the EX2 is remarkably good at finding somewhere to put it all.

I powered a Nespresso machine from it

Vehicle-to-Load, or V2L, comes as standard across the EX2 range. This allows you to take electricity from the vehicle's traction battery and use it to power external electrical equipment, with around 3.3kW available. You could use it for camping equipment, laptops, power tools, electric bikes or all sorts of other devices. Or, as I discovered while filming my review, a Nespresso coffee machine.

I stopped during the day, plugged the machine into the EX2 and made myself a coffee using electricity directly from the car. Completely necessary? Probably not. Did I thoroughly enjoy doing it? Absolutely!

And aside from providing me with caffeine, it demonstrated that V2L isn't some obscure feature buried in a brochure. It works, it's simple and I can imagine owners finding genuinely useful applications for it.

Getting it as standard on a car costing £20,990 makes it even more impressive.

Battery and range

There are two battery sizes. The EX2 Pro uses a 35.35kWh usable LFP battery and offers up to 155 miles of WLTP range. Max and Ultra increase usable capacity to 47.14kWh, taking official range to 214 miles.

There is no pretending that 214 miles is class-leading. The Renault 5 and Hyundai Inster can both travel further in the right specification. But this is where buyers need to think about how much range they genuinely need rather than simply choosing the highest number.

If your normal week consists of commuting, school runs, shopping, the gym and local journeys, 214 miles could comfortably cover several days of driving.

Even the 155-mile Pro starts making a lot of sense as a household's second car. Why pay thousands more for another 100 miles of battery capacity if you will rarely use it?

Charging

The smaller Pro battery can accept DC charging at up to 60kW, while Max and Ultra increase that figure to 80kW. Geely quotes approximately 25 minutes to charge from 30 to 80 per cent in suitable conditions. An 80kW peak charging speed isn't particularly exciting in 2026. But the battery itself isn't particularly large either. An enormous charging figure matters far more when you're trying to refill a 100kWh battery pack.

For the EX2's likely owner, plugging in at home overnight will probably matter considerably more.

Which Geely EX2 should you buy?

Geely EX2 Pro: £20,990

The headline bargain. You get the smaller battery, 155-mile maximum range and 82PS motor, but Geely hasn't stripped all the desirable equipment out of it. The large touchscreen, digital driver's display, synthetic leather interior, electric front seats and core technology remain. If the EX2 is going to be a second car or primarily used locally, the Pro might actually be the most interesting model of all.

Geely EX2 Max: £23,490

This would be my recommendation for most. Max gets the bigger 47.14kWh battery, the full 214-mile range and the more powerful 116PS motor. That makes it much easier to recommend as somebody's only car while keeping the price comfortably below £25,000. It feels like the sweet spot.

Geely EX2 Ultra: £25,490

Ultra uses the same battery and motor as Max, so the additional money isn't buying you extra range or performance. Instead, you get more toys, including features such as heated seats, a heated steering wheel, wireless charging, ambient lighting, a powered tailgate, upgraded audio and additional camera technology. The Max is probably the sensible one. The Ultra is for somebody who reaches the options list and starts ticking boxes. I completely understand that mentality too, particularly because I rather like the upgraded Flyme audio system.

Geely EX2 vs Renault 5 E-Tech

The Renault 5 is probably the comparison most people will make first. And if we're judging purely on styling, the Renault wins. It has character, nostalgia and one of the most successful retro designs currently on sale.

The Geely's appeal is much more rational. There is more luggage space, a huge frunk, excellent rear passenger room and a lot of standard equipment. 

So perhaps the easiest way of separating them is this: Buy the Renault because you really want a Renault 5. Buy the EX2 because you've looked at everything you're getting for the money and can't ignore it.

Geely EX2 vs Hyundai Inster

I really like the Hyundai Inster. It has some very clever packaging, good efficiency and plenty of personality. But it is a four-seater. The EX2 carries five. For some buyers that makes absolutely no difference. For others, it immediately ends the comparison. The Geely also undercuts the Hyundai while providing an enormous amount of standard equipment.

Geely EX2 vs BYD Dolphin Surf

The Dolphin Surf attacks the EX2 particularly aggressively on price and BYD is rapidly becoming a much more familiar badge in Britain.

But the EX2 feels like the more practical proposition. Its conventional boot is larger, then you have the additional 70-litre frunk, spacious rear seats and enormous number of interior storage areas. It feels closer to being a conventional family hatchback that's been shrunk slightly rather than a city car that's been stretched.

Geely EX2 verdict

Having now driven the EX2 through central London and properly exercised it on the open roads around Wiltshire, I've come away liking it considerably more than I expected to.

Its biggest strength is not one individual feature. It is the sheer amount of car Geely is giving you for the money.

From £20,990, you can have a proper five-seat electric hatchback with a 375-litre boot, a huge 70-litre frunk, masses of interior storage, a large infotainment system, rear-wheel drive, independent rear suspension, V2L technology and an eight-year warranty.

And somehow, it doesn't feel like Geely has simply gone through the car removing things until it reached the required price.

The ride is comfortable. It handles country roads surprisingly well. The steering might be light, but it is responsive. It's extremely manoeuvrable around town and genuinely spacious inside.

Geely is even demonstrating that it is listening to feedback, using over-the-air software updates to improve annoying little things such as how quickly you can get to the controls for some of the driver-assistance warnings.

Then there is the performance. Or lack of it. If you want the instant punch normally associated with electric cars, the EX2 may genuinely surprise you. Flatten the accelerator and you'll have enough time to contemplate your decision while the car gathers speed. You simply need to remember that when pulling out into faster-moving traffic. But I can't mark it down too heavily for not being something it never set out to be. Not every EV needs to be a supercar in disguise.

I'd much rather Geely spent its money giving me comfortable suspension, proper rear passenger space, useful storage and a good interior than chasing a four-second 0-62mph time in a car designed for commuting and the school run.

For me, the EX2 Max remains the one to buy. Its larger battery and 214-mile range make it considerably more versatile without pushing the price too far upwards. But perhaps the car that deserves the most attention is actually the £20,990 Pro. As an electric runabout, commuter or second family car, the amount of equipment and practicality you're getting for less than £21k is exceptional.

The Renault 5 has more character. Some rivals travel further. Others charge faster. And practically every electric car I've driven recently accelerates harder. But the Geely EX2 isn't really trying to win any of those individual battles. Instead, it quietly does almost everything well while costing significantly less than you might expect.

And after driving it properly, I think that's the EX2's killer feature.

It doesn't feel like a cheap electric car. It feels like a genuinely good small electric car that happens to be exceptionally cheap.