The Geely EX2 is one of Australia’s cheapest electric cars, with a relatively small battery, compact dimensions and a clear focus on urban driving.

So naturally, we decided to do almost the exact opposite of what it was designed for.

We took a Geely EX2 from Melbourne to Albury and back again in a single day, covering 671km and spending more than 11 hours on the road.

The idea was simple: take an affordable city EV and put it through one of its least favourable scenarios.

The result genuinely surprised us.

• Highway speeds
• Cold weather
• Two occupants
• Camera gear
• Multiple charging stops
• And a very long day behind the wheel

What were we driving?

Our Geely EX2 Inspire uses a 47.1kWh LFP battery, with a claimed WLTP driving range of 345km.

The higher-specification version we tested produces 85kW and 150Nm, driving the rear wheels.

It can also accept up to 80kW DC fast charging, which doesn't sound particularly impressive compared with some more expensive EVs capable of charging at several hundred kilowatts.

But there is an important difference.

The EX2 has a relatively small battery, so it doesn't necessarily need enormous charging speeds to get back on the road quickly.

And that became very obvious during our trip.

We started with 98 per cent battery and headed north out of Melbourne.

Highway driving is typically where small EVs suffer most.

Unlike driving around town, there is very little regenerative braking and the aerodynamic load increases significantly as speed rises.

We also weren't trying to set an efficiency record.

The air-conditioning was running, there were two of us in the car with camera equipment, and we were travelling at normal Victorian freeway speeds.

Despite that, the EX2 initially returned consumption figures of around 15 to 17kWh/100km according to its trip computer.

That was considerably better than we expected.

What also surprised us was just how genuinely good the EX2 was to drive.

Even after hours behind the wheel, the ride remained comfortable, the cabin stayed impressively quiet at freeway speeds, and the chassis felt far more mature than we expected from such an affordable EV.

The rear-wheel-drive layout gives it a slightly playful character too, while the multi-link rear suspension helped keep the car composed both on the highway and during a brief detour onto gravel.

After more than an hour on the freeway, the EX2 still felt settled and easy to drive, while its adaptive cruise control and lane-centring systems made the long stretches of highway relatively effortless.

For something positioned primarily as an affordable city car, it didn't feel particularly out of place.

Perhaps one of the biggest compliments we can give the EX2 is that, after seven hours and 20 minutes of actual driving, neither of us got out of the car with a sore back or feeling particularly beaten up by the experience.

The seats remained comfortable throughout the day, there was plenty of space for two adults and all of our camera gear, and the cabin itself is genuinely a nice place to spend time.

The design feels modern without being overly complicated, the materials and presentation are impressive for a car at this price point, and there are plenty of useful storage spaces for the sort of stuff you accumulate on a long day on the road.

Combined with the quiet cabin and comfortable ride, it made the EX2 feel like a much more substantial car than its compact dimensions and affordable price might suggest.

That matters because it is one thing for a small EV to technically complete a 671km journey.

It is another thing entirely to get to the end of it and still feel comfortable.

Our first charging stop also highlighted one of the biggest challenges facing EV owners in Australia.

The EX2 wasn't the problem.

The charger was.

Although the car is capable of accepting up to 80kW, our first charger was limited to around 40kW, and we initially experienced connection issues before charging successfully.

Even then, because the EX2's battery isn't particularly large, the delay wasn't disastrous.

We arrived with 38 per cent battery and, after roughly 40 minutes, had charged to around 90 per cent.

Our next charging stop was much better.

Arriving in Albury with approximately 29 per cent remaining, we connected to a charger that allowed the EX2 to pull close to its 80kW maximum charging speed.

The car maintained close to that rate for much of the session and took approximately 40 minutes to go from just under 30 per cent to full.

For a vehicle with relatively modest peak charging specifications, that's a very usable result.

The return journey proved more challenging.

Temperatures dropped as night arrived, and our consumption increased.
At one point the trip computer was showing close to 20kWh/100km over the previous 50km.

With the battery falling towards 16 per cent, our margin started to become considerably tighter.

Then we reached our next planned charging stop.

Every charger was occupied.

After some manoeuvring, we managed to get access to one, only for the charging session to fail.

Another attempt resulted in a communication error; a fault of the charging station, not the car.

Eventually, after moving to another charger, the EX2 successfully began charging.

Again, the car itself hadn't caused the issue.

It was simply the reality of relying on public charging infrastructure during a long Australian road trip.

We charged to 82 per cent and finally headed back towards Melbourne.

By the time we arrived home, we had covered 671km.

The EX2 had spent seven hours and 20 minutes actually driving, while the entire trip took approximately 11 and a half hours.

Total charging time was two hours and seven minutes, although that figure includes time lost dealing with slower chargers, waiting for charging access and unsuccessful charging attempts.

Across the entire trip, our calculated real-world energy consumption was approximately 19.0kWh/100km.

That was higher than the car's trip computer figure of around 17.1kWh/100km, but the conditions weren't exactly favourable.

For a compact EV designed primarily for city driving, that result is impressive.

• Freeway speeds for most of the journey
• Temperatures falling to around 8 or 9 degrees at night
• Two adults and camera equipment onboard
• What appeared to be a tailwind heading north and a headwind on the return journey

We spent $67.57 on public charging, purchasing 95.7kWh of electricity during the journey.

For comparison, when we previously completed the same route in a Geely Starray EM-i, it averaged around 6.8L/100km.

At $2.30 per litre, completing the same journey using petrol would have cost roughly $105.

And public fast charging is effectively the expensive way to run an EV.

If you can charge an EX2 at home using cheap overnight electricity or excess rooftop solar, its day-to-day running costs can be dramatically lower.

Around town we have seen energy consumption as low as 11.6kWh/100km, which is where a small and lightweight EV like the EX2 really starts to make sense.

Yes.

Not because it's suddenly the ultimate Australian touring car.

There are larger EVs with bigger batteries, longer driving ranges and much faster charging systems that are better suited to regularly covering huge distances.

But that wasn't really the point of this test.

We wanted to find out whether owning an affordable city-focused EV means you simply can't undertake a long interstate journey.

Our experience suggests otherwise.

The EX2 itself handled the trip remarkably well.

It was efficient, comfortable, easy to drive for hours at a time and, importantly, never really felt like the limiting factor on the trip.

The greater concern was Australia's public charging infrastructure, particularly charger reliability, availability and the number of different networks and apps required along the way.

As more Australians move into electric cars, that infrastructure will need to improve quickly.

Because after 671km, the little Geely wasn't the part of this experiment that struggled.

CarSauce Buy can help you source a new Geely EX2 and negotiate with dealers on your behalf.

Head to CarSauce.com/buy to get started.

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