What's the difference?
You’re not alone if you’re struggling to grasp the sheer number of new names from China popping up in the Australian new-car market. There’s more than ten and the list is only growing.
Geely is yet another marque with an ambitious plan to break into Australia's top-10 auto brands. It might have a leg-up on rivals, though, because Geely has been dabbling in international marques for some time.
Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and Zeekr are either majority or entirely owned by Geely, and the father brand — like Volkswagen in its eponymous group — therefore benefits from years of engineering know-how from other brands. Clever.
The first car launching here Australia is the EX5, an electric mid-size SUV pitched at families. Think of it as a direct rival to the Tesla Model Y, Kia EV5 and XPeng G6 but (yet unconfirmed) sharp pricing might see buyers cross-shopping with Toyota RAV4s and Mazda CX-5s.
Geely even proclaims Australian-tuned suspension, something Ford, Toyota, Hyundai and Kia have used to huge success. But does that mean the 2025 Geely EX5 is top-10 material? A spin in an early production model should give us some answers.
Kia Australia has big expectations for its littlest EV.
Not only is the small SUV priced to take on some of the very popular offerings from China, but it’s also packed with enough features to make a Euro buyer think twice. In fact, it starts from less than $50,000 drive-away.
We drove it at its global launch in South Korea and came away pretty impressed, so now the big question is - does it hold up now that its rubber is on the road here in Australia?
The Geely EX5 has good bones. It’s well packaged, sturdily built, efficient and jam-packed with technology. But questions remain. The EX5 really needs work on its safety systems and another round of chassis revisions to be competitive.
Pricing, too, will be crucial for the EX5 to succeed in today’s savage new electric car market.
If the list of nagging complaints can be fixed and Geely is able to back up its product with solid aftersales support, it could be a winner. The jury is still out on the EX5.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.
The GT-Line is relatively expensive, yes. The Air Standard Range isn’t groundbreaking even at under $50,000, no. But the sweet spot in the EV3 line-up is being able to pay $53,315 for the Air Long Range and come away with a roomy small SUV that can realistically cover almost 600km in the real world.
And it does everything properly, no big red flags or dealbreakers.
Its steering weight at speed on winding roads being the biggest complaint isn’t the end of the world for how otherwise comfortable the EV3 feels on-road.
Put it this way - I recently spent a few days in a Mini Aceman, a five-door electric SUV not too far from the EV3 in size. It is about as fast, and costs a little more, but it doesn’t have a lot more to offer in terms of features and it’s nowhere near as good on range with about 400km to its longer-ranged versions.
The EV3 might still have a bit of ‘sensible’ about it compared to some other electric small SUVS, but when it looks this cute and can get you an extra round trip out of the city compared to ‘Euro’ brands at the same price, it’s hard not to be impressed.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.