2026 Geely EX2 review

Our verdict

The EX2 is the budget EV done with a little more thought than most: roomy, comfortable and easy to like, especially in Inspire trim. It suits the buyer after a smart second car or a low-stress city runabout, provided you go in knowing the cheaper Complete trades pace and range for its keen price. The catches are a missing spare and no crash rating yet.

What does the Geely EX2 cost in Australia?

The range opens with the Complete and steps up to the better-equipped Inspire, and both are rear-wheel drive. Geely lists the Complete from $26,490 before on-roads and the Inspire from $30,990 before on-roads.

See EX2 driveaway pricing and specifications →

The split is more than a badge. The Complete uses a smaller 35.35kWh LFP battery and a 60kW motor, while the Inspire runs a 47.14kWh pack and 85kW. So the extra spend buys you meaningful range, a decent lift in pace, and a longer standard equipment list.

On value alone the Complete is the headline act and it is a genuine price leader for a brand-new EV. But it is the Inspire we would steer most buyers toward, because the Complete's limitations start to bite the moment you leave the suburbs.

What does the Geely EX2 look like?

Geely has leaned into cute rather than tough and it works.

The EX2 is soft-edged and friendly, with a smooth nose, slim lights and a rounded tail that make it look a size up from its 4135mm length.

The Inspire earns the visual glow-up. It gets 16-inch alloys, a contrasting black roof, rain-sensing wipers and little metallic accents along the waistline and skirts, where the Complete makes do with 16-inch steel wheels and a plainer look. Six pastel-leaning paint options, from Nova Pink to Nebula Beige, give it personality without trying too hard.

In a segment that too often defaults to grey-on-grey anonymity, the EX2 stands out simply by looking cheerful. It has presence for a small car and it photographs far pricier than it is. Don't underestimate that either, because plenty of people will buy this car on looks alone, and that soft pastel colour palette will do a lot of the selling.

What is the Geely EX2 like inside?

Step in and the EX2 feels a class above its price.

A crisp 14.6-inch touchscreen anchors the dash, backed by an 8.8-inch digital cluster, and the whole layout is clean and modern rather than cluttered.

Material quality is a pleasant surprise. The lower dash gets a soft-touch finish, both grades run leather-like power front seats, and the Inspire adds a heated wheel, heated seats and 256-colour ambient lighting. It is built to a price, clearly, but it never feels cheap.

The software is quick and responsive in a way plenty of pricier cars are not. Unlike the larger EX5, there is no steering-wheel shortcut to silence the driver-assist chimes. You instead swipe down to a driver-profile shortcut on the screen, which works, but a physical button would be quicker.

How practical is the Geely EX2?

This is where the packaging pays off.

Despite the compact footprint, rear legroom is genuinely small SUV-like, the floor is flat and there are rear vents and power outlets back there too. Adults will sit behind adults without complaint.

Storage is clever in parts. There is a 70-litre frunk, a drawer-style glovebox and a 375-litre boot that grows to 1320 litres with the rear seats folded. Both grades get ISOFIX and top-tether points, so a child seat fits without drama.

The frunk is genuinely unique in this segment, as no direct rival offers one, but it comes at the expense of boot space, and in daily use it is really only good for stashing charging cables. A bigger conventional boot would arguably be far more usable day to day, and the one you get is a fine size but shallow, so you cannot dig into a proper second level of space.

That neat drawer glovebox also becomes almost impossible to open if a tall front passenger is stretched out.

Then there is the bigger one: there is no spare wheel of any kind, just a tyre repair kit, which not everyone will be comfortable with.

What is the Geely EX2 like to drive?

Almost everything else at this money is front-wheel drive, but the EX2 puts its single motor at the back. Pair that with a multi-link rear suspension and you get a small car with a nice natural balance, happy to be threaded through corners with the front wheels left to simply steer.

We only drove the Inspire. With 85kW and a claimed 11.5 second 0-100km/h, it is no rocket, yet it feels quicker than that number suggests around town, and it pulls cleanly up to urban speeds.

We have not driven the Complete so for now we can only go on its numbers, and they are sobering. With 60kW and a 14.2 second sprint, it is one of the slowest new cars on sale in Australia today. That makes it a car for a specific buyer: short suburban runs and second-car duty, and not much past the city limits. Anyone regularly on highways or covering real distance should step straight up to the Inspire.

The ride is the standout. It is comfortable and smooth, soaking up the rough stuff in the relaxed way a city car should.

It helps that the turning circle is a tight 9.9 metres, which makes cramped car parks and quick U-turns almost effortless. It is not a hot hatch and never pretends to be, but as an easy, pleasant thing to potter around in, it nails the brief.

How efficient is the Geely EX2?

Geely quotes WLTP energy use of 15.9kWh/100km for the Complete and 15.5kWh/100km for the Inspire, which translates to 252km and 345km of claimed range respectively.

Charge at home overnight and you are looking at just a few dollars per 100km, a fraction of what an equivalent petrol hatch costs to run.

Charging is where the budget positioning shows. AC charging is capped at 6kW, so a full top-up at home is an overnight job rather than a quick splash. DC fast charging peaks at 60kW on the Complete and 80kW on the Inspire, good for a 30 to 80% top-up in roughly 20 to 25 minutes. That is fine for the occasional longer run, but the small battery and modest speeds mean the EX2 is a city car first and a road-tripper a distant second. Both grades also offer 3.3kW vehicle-to-load, handy for running gear off the car.

Geely covers the EX2 with a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and an eight-year battery warranty, backed by capped-price servicing under its EV Assured program. Indicative pricing looks like this:

Under $1,500 to service across five years is competitive and the low running costs are a genuine part of the EX2's appeal.

Is the Geely EX2 safe?

The equipment story is strong. Both grades come with seven airbags, including a front-centre airbag, plus a deep active-safety list: autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and brake, lane-keeping, driver-fatigue alerts and more, all standard. The Inspire adds a surround-view monitor with 3D vehicle view, where the Complete makes do with a reversing camera and rear sensors.

The catch is that the EX2 carries no ANCAP rating at launch. The kit is comprehensive on paper, but until an independent crash result lands, that unknown is the one thing holding the safety story back.

What are the main competitors to the Geely EX2?

The MG4 EV Urban is the class benchmark and remains our pick of the budget EVs. From $31,990 driveaway it is bigger and more practical than the Geely, its numbers are stronger almost across the board, and MG's warranty runs longer. The EX2 counters with a comfier ride, its rear-drive character and a cheaper way in via the Complete, but the MG4 EV Urban sets the bar the Geely has to clear.

The BYD Atto 1 is the price play and it undercuts the EX2 outright. It is smaller and simpler though, with a torsion-beam rear end and front-wheel drive, where the Geely brings multi-link rear suspension, rear-wheel drive and dedicated battery cooling. If your budget is the hard limit, the Atto 1 wins on the sticker; if you want the more sophisticated small car, the EX2 pulls ahead.

The GAC Aion UT is the range play, offering a larger battery and more claimed kilometres for similar money. That makes it the pick if maximum range per dollar is your priority. The EX2 answers with a nicer drive, a plusher cabin and slicker software, so it comes down to whether you value the extra range or the nicer everyday experience.

The Hyundai Inster is the polished alternative. It costs more, but you pay for Hyundai's local tuning, aftersales network and long-run reassurance. The EX2 undercuts it and offers more rear space and that rear-drive party trick, so the decision hinges on how much brand and dealer confidence is worth to you.

Cross-shop the Atto 1 or the Aion UT if the lowest price or the biggest range number is what matters most. Cross-shop the MG4 EV Urban or the Inster if you want the most rounded, sorted small EV and are willing to pay a touch more to get it.

Should I buy the Geely EX2?

If you want a brand-new EV for the least money, the Complete is a tempting price leader, but be honest with yourself about the slow pace and the short range before you commit.

For most people the Inspire is the smarter buy: it is well-equipped, comfortable, roomy for its size and genuinely pleasant to drive, and it looks a class above its price.

The MG4 EV Urban still remains our pick for its space, numbers and warranty. But the EX2 is a likeable, well-packaged thing that makes a lot of sense as a second car or an easy city runabout.

China's best-seller has arrived here with a real shot at finding an audience.