Geely EX5 vs Kia Niro

What's the difference?

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 Kia Niro S Electric is a solid little SUV that has decent space inside and some nice specs, but it's more expensive than its nearest rivals. The EV powertrain can take a little getting used to and I would have liked a smoother ride, but the 460km driving range is good.

For first-time EV owners, this wouldn’t be a bad option if you wanted to dip your toes in the water but it will suit urban dwellers and smaller families, like mine, best. This gets a 7.5/10 from me.

My son wasn’t in love with this one. Not enough buttons for him to press and he did comment on how bumpy the ride was in the back. He gives it a 6.0/10.

The Geely EX5’s exterior design is conservative verging on anonymous. Perhaps that’s because the brand is unknown here, but forgettable details like the six-rectangle badge rear and haphazard ‘Geely EX5’ badge placement aren’t the height of fashion.

Inside, though, the EX5 improves. The two screens are presented well, as is the cabin with upholstery that isn’t just boring black. The design language is more conventional — in a good way — than, say, a BYD Atto 3 or Tesla Model Y and doesn’t seem to unashamedly copy elements from established carmakers.

Key touch points, such as the rotary volume control, the (wrong way around) window switches and door handles appear to be made of real metal, with knurling in some cases. The dash and door tops are all encased in squishy rubber, too.

As for sizing, the EX5 is the exact same length as a Toyota RAV4, at 4615mm long, though being wider (1901mm) and riding on a longer 2750mm wheelbase should mean more cabin space.

It’s a compact SUV with a footprint that's 4420mm long, 1825mm wide and 1570mm tall. But while small, I wouldn’t call it cute. It’s boxier than its sibling and without any of the swoopy design elements that make the EV6 look cool. 

I do like the way the two-tone body panelling, which is seen most prominently on the C-pillar, breaks up the ‘blocky-ness’ and creates areas of interest. As do the high-mounted rear LED lights. 

Speaking of lights, the base model makes do with halogen headlights, which unfortunately stand out against the LED daytime-running lights. You’ll notice the dimmer light at night, too.

The 17-inch alloy wheels are thick for better aerodynamics but the clever two-tone colouring stops them from looking unfashionable.

The interior has a lot style cred with the curvature of the door panelling blending in almost seamlessly with the dashboard.

The gently sloping panelling that houses the multimedia systems and switchable touchscreen interface for the controls creates a very pleasing cabin space.

There are some harder plastics mixed in here but enough soft touchpoints that you won’t be bothered by them. 

Finding a comfortable driving position is easy in the EX5 Inspire with the octagonal steering wheel tilting and telescoping through a broad range of motion. The seats are supportive and well-bolstered, too — not a given in this class.

While we wish the front passenger seat was height adjustable, the Inspire’s leg rest and ability to lie the seats fully flat while charging is appreciated. The massage function has six modes, three intensity levels and is remarkably powerful. 

Between the EX5’s front seats is a floating centre console as gear selection is done via the right-hand stalk. It has two small cup holders on top, while under that is a generous, rubberised storage space perfect for handbags, cameras, or the like. It’s where the USB-A, USB-C and 12-volt socket are located for device charging.

There is a wireless charging pad that sits ahead of a large central storage box cooled by the air-conditioning. The Geely EX5’s door cards will easily accept a 600mL camping bottle.

Where the Geely EX5 falls down is the control layout. It is nice to have four physical switches beneath the touchscreen as shortcuts to switch the air-conditioning on or off, engage air recirculation and the front demister, but where’s the hazard light switch? It's on the ceiling.

Then there’s the large rotary dial which generally functions as a volume knob. Press it down and you can choose to have it adjust the temperature, fan speed, or — for some reason — one of several desktop backgrounds, including a computer-generated kitten playing with some wool. In this mode it also works as cursor for the multimedia screen, but never at any other time. Peculiar.

The convoluted menu structure has a strange control hierarchy. There's a shortcut target for the rear fog light, for example, yet to disable the lane-keep assist or adjust the regenerative braking power you need to jump through at least three sub-menus. And some of the text in the Geely EX5’s digital driver’s display is so small it’s almost illegible.

Then there are the typos and grammatical errors that should have been an easy pre-launch fix. A few include: ‘Distractive. Drive carefully’, ‘Keep safety distance’, ‘Driver is facial detection is missing’ and, a personal favourite: ‘The current battery is low, whether to enable super battery life?’ None of this inspires much confidence. At least the EX5’s processor is responsive for smooth tapping between the many menus.

The Geely EX5’s 1000-watt 16-speaker sound system is punchy and has presets – borrowed from Volvo and Polestar — which promise to emulate the sound quality of a recording studio, concert hall and other locations. Gimmicky in practice, plus, with the volume over 30 per cent, the EX5’s sound quality is disappointingly muddy.

Connectivity promises to be strong in the EX5 but the cars we drove were not fitted with 4G sims for live navigation, app downloads and remote smartphone control. Apple CarPlay will be added via a software update in July and Android Auto before the end of the year, says Geely. 

The Geely EX5’s back seat is very generous, at 188cm tall I had plenty of leg room, respectable toe room and excellent head room even underneath the standard panoramic sunroof. The floor is totally flat and, rarely, the middle seat is usable for adults.

Two more USB chargers can be found along with air vents, door pockets and a fold-down central armrest. There’s even a hidden sliding draw for storing valuables out of sight.

The Geely EX5 has ISOFIX child seat connectors on both outboard seats and three top tether anchors on its 40/60 split-fold backrest. 

The EX5 Inspire has a standard power tailgate which opens up to a total of 410 litres of boot space. If it looks a little shallow in pictures, that’s because the total space accounts for the large under-floor area (108L on its own) where Geely skipped a spare tyre.

There is one LED boot light, two shopping bag hooks and a wet storage area off to the side but, curiously, no parcel shelf.

It’s surprisingly roomy inside and all passengers will enjoy decent leg and headroom, but taller passengers will find the backseat cosier than the front.

As such, two child seats will fit best but you do have ISOFIX child seat mounts on the outboard positions and three top-tether points, if you need them.

The synthetic leather/cloth seat trim cleans well and is nice to touch. The seats themselves, front and rear, are well-padded and super comfortable.

The backs of the front seats can double as coat hangers and have hardened kickplates, which are always practical for little feet.

The front row gets the most amenities and tech. The 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system has clear graphics but is different to other Kia’s I’ve sampled recently. It seems to have been simplified but you’ll get used to it quickly.

There are plenty of charging options available, too, with a USB-A and C port, plus a 12-volt socket. Not needing a cable for the wireless Apple CarPlay is a bonus, too!

The front row also has the most storage space with two retractable cupholders, dedicated phone tray, glove box, middle console and skinny drink bottle holders in each door.

Back seat passengers enjoy two USB-C ports, reading lights, drink bottle holders in each door plus an armrest with two cupholders. As well as, a standard three-pin socket in case you need to run electrical gear or charge anything up on the go.

The windows are wide and offer good visibility but I really like the 150mm ground clearance. It was super easy for my six-year old to climb in and out, plus he got a good view this week!

The boot is good for this size SUV with 475L of capacity available. It does look more like a hatchback, because while you can readjust the floor to sit lower, the back still slopes up.

However, it was fine for my weekly grocery and school run. The 'frunk' storage is small at 20L, which is just big enough for a charging cable.

You don’t get a spare wheel but you do get a puncture repair kit. And being the base model, it’s not a powered tailgate but it’s not heavy to close.

There are two variants for the Niro, our base model, the S, and the range-topper GT-Line.

Despite being the base model, the Niro S will still set you back $65,300, before on-road costs. Which makes it about $5K dearer than the equivalent Kona Electric, and $20K more expensive than the ZS EV.

There is a hybrid Niro (also available in two grades), if you’re not quite ready to commit to a full EV life. The price isn’t as eye-watering, either, being just $44,380, before on-road costs.

The Niro is well-specified, though, and the driver will enjoy an electric seat with adjustable lumbar support while the passenger side remains manual.

The regenerative braking is customisable (levels 0-3), there’s an 'iPedal' function, a dual-zone climate system, reversing camera and the backs of the front seats even double as coat hangers.

The tech is also good, with an 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system, 10.25-inch digital instrument panel plus wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto all coming as standard equipment. More on the tech below.

Geely claims the EX5’s front axle-mounted 11-in-one motor, transmission and power unit is the lightest and most compact in class. Though power and torque outputs of 160kW and 320Nm are nothing groundbreaking it was perfectly adequate for the EX5’s 1765kg tare mass.

In Eco, Standard and Sport modes the tip-in response is intentionally dulled to minimise wheel spin. Three are three regenerative braking levels; medium felt most natural, though High was acceptable. There’s no one-pedal drive mode in the Geely EX5.

The front-drive Geely EX5 Inspire's claimed 0-100km/h time is 7.1 seconds and its top speed is limited to 175km/h.

The Niro is a full EV and has a front-wheel drive drivetrain with a maximum output of 150kW/255Nm. It’s not as powerful as its stablemate and only has the single-motor which is powered by a 64.8kWh lithium-ion battery but going from 0-100km/h can still be achieved in 7.8 seconds. With specs like those, this is most suited for an urban setting.

Real-world efficiency is one of the EX5’s most impressive attributes, with the Inspire’s WLTP-range being 410km dependent on returning energy consumption of 14.7kWh/100km.

Over a 100km distance taking in suburban, motorway and country roads, the EX5’s dash showed a lower-than-rated energy consumption of 13.5kWh/100km, representing nearly 460km of real-world range from Geely’s 60.22kWh ‘Aegis’ lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack.

Along with the motor, some of the efficiency can be put down to the Geely EX5 Inspire’s quality 235/50R19 Goodyear EfficientGrip tyres.

Charging is middling for this pack, with the EX5 using a 400-volt architecture that allows DC power up to 100kW. Rejuicing from 20-80 per cent takes 28 minutes, says Geely, which is faster than the Deepal S07 and Leapmotor C10 but a long way short of the XPeng G6 and Model Y.

Three-phase AC charging caps out at 11kW, meaning you can take the EX5 from flat to full in around five and a half hours at home.

Such is the EV life but you can’t escape the charging.

The onboard DC charger has up to 85kW of capacity and that means on a 50kW fast charger station, you can get from 10 to 80 per cent in 65 minutes.

However, if plugged into a 350kW ultra-fast charger, you’ll only save 22 minutes because it can’t accept that faster speed.

On a 7.5kW system, you’ll go from 10 to 80 per cent in approximately nine hours, 25 minutes. On an 11kW, you’ll see that figure drop to six hours, 20 minutes.

The charging port is a Type 2 (CCS Combo2) and the car comes with an emergency charging cable that can plug into a standard three-pin domestic socket, if needed.

However, it’s slow going and you’re looking at a wait time of up to 27 hours, 30 minutes to get to a full charge. All other cables cost extra.

The official kWh/100km consumption is 16.2kWh and my average on-test figure was 14.3kWh after a mix of urban and open-road driving.

However, I did see figures getting closer to 20kWh on longer trips. Still, I would consider my average to be efficient.

The Niro S has a driving range of up to 460km (WLTP).

Underpinning the Geely EX5 is the new Global Intelligent Electric Architecture, or GEA for short. It is a newer and lower-cost version of the group’s SEA platform as used in Volvo, Polestar, Zeekr and Smart products and the bones are good.

The Geely EX5’s body doesn’t rattle, creak or shimmy over nasty road surfaces. Some solid knowhow has made its way into the brake pedal calibration which is light but delightfully smooth. It’s impossible to detect where regenerative slowing ends and hydraulic begins.

It has allegedly undergone Australian suspension localisation but don’t expect outright handling excellence, the EX5’s ride is still pillowy — verging on melted marshmallow — soft. Some will find this acceptable, however there’s plenty of potential for improvement.

Over large bumps both in town and at speed it takes the Geely EX5’s rear end between two and four rebound cycles to settle. There’s also a large amount of lateral ‘head toss’, with both attributes key ingredients in making back seat passengers car sick.

I also experienced a low-frequency boom in the EX5's cabin over concrete and rough coarse chip surfaces common on Sydney roads. Otherwise, the EX5’s is a mostly quiet car.

The sharp steering is light around town but weighted up unnaturally through corners. With high quality tyres and stability control that intervenes very early, you’re unlikely to get out of shape in the EX5 on a twisty road at least.

That said, with good bones like McPherson struts up front and multi-link rear suspension we would love to see Geely revise the EX5’s chassis to bestow the sort of fluency that makes the Kia EV5 and combustion equivalents like the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5 so much more pleasant to drive. Doing so would provide the EX5 a clear point of difference from the XPeng G6, BYD Sealion 7, Deepal S07 and Leapmotor C10.

This is a pretty simple car to drive but it doesn’t feel as fun as some other EVs I’ve driven. It can even feel sluggish when you accelerate from a full stop and that makes it feel laggy in stop/start traffic.

Once you’re on your way, the acceleration is fairly responsive. You feel confident overtaking on the open road, too.

The car feels connected to the road with minimal shuddering through the steering wheel. The car responds in a timely manner when you have to make sudden moves, which I like.

Sometimes, the lane keeping aids make it feel jerky and I turned it off in some situations.

The regen braking delivers a big physical presence like the EV6 but isn’t as refined and can feel almost ‘bunny hoppy’ at times.

You can customise it up to four levels, zero being low regen and four being the iPedal. I’m not overly fond of the iPedal, so didn’t use it that much this week and kept it at level 3.

You do have to change up how you drive an EV, so this wasn’t that surprising and something I’m sure you’d get used to.

The ride comfort is pretty mixed. Around town, it’s good but there’s quite a bit of passenger movement in this. You kinda feel like you’re bobbing along sometimes, which is jolting.

You also feel the road but the seats are so comfortable, they stop it from feeling too rough. 

Surprisingly, the cabin gets very loud with wind and road noise. You can still chat but you won’t forget that it’s there, which is a shame.

I didn’t notice much difference between the drive modes, so it was kept on 'Normal', too. 

This is very easy to park! It’s a good size for even a tight car park with a 10.6m turning circle and the reversing camera is super clear, which is great. 

However, I would have liked to have seen front parking sensors, as well as the rear sensors. You can get them on the GT-line though.

The Niro EV S has a good list of safety features, with the following being standard: LED daytime running lights, lane departure alert, lane keeping aid, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, a reversing camera (with dynamic guidelines), rear parking sensors, driver fatigue alert, check rear occupant alert and adaptive cruise control (with stop/go function).

It has auto emergency braking with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection as well as junction turning assist, which is operational from 5.0-85km/h. 

The Niro was recently awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2022. It has eight airbags and that does include the newer front centre airbag.

There are ISOFIX child seat mounts on the rear outboard seats and three top tethers, but two seats will fit best. And while there will be room for a 0-4 rearward facing child seat, it will encroach on front passenger comfort.

Geely is doing its best to ensure smooth parts supply from launch, having run around for 12 months stocking inventory and partnering with DB Schenker for logistics.

To promote the EX5, Geely’s launching with three years complimentary servicing and one year (or 1000kWh) of free charging on the Evie network for those who order an EX5 before February 28.

Geely has yet to announce warranty details. The brand will want to aim for more than five years, as seven years is fast becoming the minimum standard for new vehicles.

Service pricing is also yet to be confirmed, though maintenance will be due every 12 months or 20,000km.

The ongoing costs are great on the Niro. It comes with Kia’s ‘better-than-average-for-the-market’ seven-year/150,000km warranty, which also covers the battery.

You get a seven-year capped-price servicing plan and services average $250 per year, which is good.

Servicing intervals are more in line with a petrol car at every 12 months or 15,000km. It’s usual to see those intervals doubled on an EV but it’s still reasonable.