What's the difference?
Okay, this is getting crazy. It feels like barely a week of 2024 is going by without another value-focused, pure-electric SUV hitting the Australian new-car market.
And this is the latest, the Chery Omoda E5, a compact, five-seater with the performance and range to challenge some other relatively recent arrivals.
It joins the internal combustion Omoda 5, variations of which have proliferated in the roughly 18 months it’s been on sale here.
This is CarsGuide’s first look and we’ve assessed everything from value and practicality to safety and driving performance. So, stay with us to see if this EV could be your entree into the world of battery-electric SUVs.
The small car segment is getting busy. Electric cars are reviving a part of the new car market we thought of as history.
The 2026 Geely EX2 hopes to come in and take the lead in that exact segment. In fact, it sold in enough numbers in China last year that it alone would make up close to half of Australia’s total annual new car sales.
A very aggressive price, plenty of features and cute styling are all weapons in its fight against the likes of the BYD Atto 1, GAC Aion UT or MG4.
The Chery Omoda E5 gets solid ticks for value, practicality, performance, efficiency and a great ownership promise.
But its suspension compliance isn’t in line with class standards and some of its safety assist features aren’t as refined as they should be. Both of which matter in a car likely to be used by families day-to-day. Its price and specification are strong drawcards and that will get it over the line for many. But we think this Omoda E5 would still benefit from some judicious fine-tuning.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
The Geely EX2 is right-priced, feature-packed and feels very well suited to the city in terms of on-road behaviour. Its driving range in the base Complete will be a limiting factor to many, but the low price puts it in contention to be a solid second-car.
What it’ll likely come down to for many is style, which the EX2 feels on the front foot with, but the first impressions from the launch drive are positive, and it would be a surprise to see it flop even in the increasingly competitive and volatile small car segment.