2026 Geely EX2 Inspire Review

The Geely EX2 arrives in Australia with a fairly enormous claim behind it: this was China’s best-selling car outright in 2025, not just its best-selling small EV.

That matters because cheap EVs are no longer novelty acts. The BYD ATTO 1, BYD Dolphin, MG4 Urban and GWM Ora 5 are all circling the same buyer: someone who wants to stop buying petrol without feeling like they’ve bought a penalty box.

After our first drive, the EX2 makes a seriously strong case. It is quiet, roomy, efficient and far more polished inside than its price suggests.

But it is not a clean sweep. The driver-assistance tuning needs work, the performance is modest, and we think there is one version of the EX2 that makes a lot more sense than the other.

The EX2 range looks sharp on paper, but the smarter buy is clearly the Inspire. The base Complete is cheap at $26,490, though its smaller battery, shorter range and weaker motor make it feel like the version built to advertise the headline price.

The Inspire asks $30,990 before on-road costs, which puts it at nearly $35,000 drive-away depending on where you live. That drags it into the orbit of higher-profile small EV rivals, but it also brings the battery and equipment package that makes the EX2 feel properly useful.

Against the 2026 BYD ATTO 1, the Geely is not the cheapest option. BYD’s four-seat hatch starts at $23,990 before on-roads, and even the ATTO 1 Premium is $27,990 before on-roads with 310km of WLTP range and a much stronger 115kW/220Nm motor. The Geely fights back with a bigger-car feel, a larger boot and a more mature cabin.

2026 Geely EX2 Pricing

• Geely EX2 Complete $26,490 plus on-road costs
• Geely EX2 Inspire $30,990 plus on-road costs

The EX2 is not trying to be angry, over-styled or pretend it is an SUV. It is a compact electric hatch with a soft, rounded shape, and we reckon that restraint works in its favour.

There is a bit of visual character here, though. The colour palette includes Moon White as standard, plus premium finishes like Star Silver, Comet Grey, Nebula Beige, Aurora Green and Nova Pink. The Inspire also adds a contrasting black roof and metallic side accents.

Up front there are LED headlights, although they are not the brightest units we’ve used at this end of the market. There are also active aero shutters, which is a neat touch on a cheap EV and helps show Geely has paid attention to more than just screen size.

The semi-concealed door handles are another win because they still use a physical action. You do not have to wave hopefully at the side of the car and wait for it to understand your intentions.

Both grades run 16-inch wheels. The Inspire swaps the Complete’s covered steel wheels for alloys, and our test car was on Yokohama BlueEarth GT tyres. It can look slightly under-wheeled, but the upside is ride comfort and efficiency, which matters more in this sort of car.

The front of the EX2 is one of its strongest cards. Close the door and it has a surprisingly solid feel, with a cabin that is calmer and more expensive-feeling than we expected at this money.

There are still hard plastics around the place, because of course there are. But the main touch points are done well, some of the harder surfaces have a rubberised texture, and the whole thing feels more cohesive than a lot of affordable EV cabins.

The driving position is quite high, so the EX2 feels more like a tiny crossover from behind the wheel than a low-slung hatchback. The seats are comfortable over a longer stint, though we would like more under-thigh support, which is a familiar complaint in plenty of Chinese cars.

Storage is excellent. There is a large sliding drawer-style glovebox, big door bins, useful space under the centre console, cupholders and phone storage. Geely claims more than 30 storage spaces throughout the cabin, and while we did not count every last nook, the impression is that this car has been packaged by people who understand daily use.

Tech is also a highlight. Both grades get a 14.6-inch central touchscreen, an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster, built-in navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The big screen is crisp and quick enough, although too many functions, including climate controls and drive modes, still live inside it.

The Inspire adds the niceties that make this feel properly sorted: heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, wireless phone charging, a six-speaker sound system and 256-colour ambient lighting. The sound system is only okay, but the overall cabin experience is genuinely strong.

The rear seat is where the EX2 starts to explain why it has been such a huge seller overseas. For a small electric hatch, the amount of passenger space is seriously impressive.

At 5-foot-11, we had heaps of leg room, decent toe room and generous head room behind our own driving position. The floor-mounted battery does not ruin the seating position either, with a comfortable enough knee angle for adults.

The rear bench is set up in a slightly theatre-style position, so passengers sit a bit higher than those up front. That gives the back of the cabin an open feel, rather than the buried-in-a-battery-box sensation some small EVs can have.

Amenities are better than expected. There are two rear air vents, a USB-A port, map pockets and big door bins. Plenty of cars in this price range still make rear passengers feel like an afterthought, so this is a proper tick.

There is no fold-down centre armrest, which is a shame, but the seats themselves are comfortable and the cabin remains quiet from the second row. For small families, rideshare use or urban commuters who regularly carry adults, the EX2 does this bit very well.

The EX2’s packaging is not just good for a small EV; it is good full stop. The front storage area is a standout, with a 70-litre frunk made possible by the rear-mounted motor layout.

That frunk is big enough to be properly useful for charging cables, soft bags or the awkward stuff you do not want sliding around the boot. It is also held up by gas struts, which is one of those small details that makes a cheap car feel less cheap.

Out back, the boot measures 375 litres with the rear seats in use. That is in the same broad territory as a Volkswagen Golf, which is a strong result for a compact electric hatch.

Fold the second row and cargo space expands to 1340 litres. There is a noticeable load lip, so sliding heavier items in and out will take a bit more effort, but the actual space on offer is excellent.

The Inspire also gets a powered tailgate, which is unusual and welcome at this end of the EV market. The annoyance is the flimsy boot-floor arrangement, which lacks a simple pull strap and can be awkward to lift cleanly. It is a small thing, but small things matter in cars people use every day.

The EX2 is at its best when you stop asking it to be sporty. Around town and on ordinary roads, it is quiet, relaxed and properly comfortable.

Ride quality is a real strength. Bumps do not send you crashing out of the seat, and the cabin isolation is excellent for a car at this price point. Geely has used a multi-link independent rear suspension setup, and while that does not automatically make a car brilliant, here it helps the EX2 feel more mature than expected.

There is also carpeting in the wheel wells, which helps suppress road noise. That sort of detail is easy to overlook, but it contributes to the serene feel that makes this car good over longer drives.

Push harder and the polish fades. There is noticeable body roll, the steering is a bit lumpy and vague, and the rear-drive/multi-link ingredients do not translate into sharp handling. The MG4 Urban feels more convincing dynamically, despite the EX2 looking more sophisticated on paper.

The turning circle is excellent, though, and that matters in the real world. This is a car built for tight streets, shopping-centre ramps and suburban commuting, not back-road hero work.

Our bigger frustration was not the chassis, but the driver-assistance behaviour. Adaptive cruise control and lane centring were too eager to pull the car around, and the constant alerts took the edge off an otherwise calming drive.

The EX2 has not yet been rated by ANCAP, so the final crash-test verdict is still to come. On equipment, though, Geely has thrown plenty at it.

Standard safety kit includes seven airbags, rear parking sensors, autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, intelligent cruise control, forward and rearward collision warning, front and rear cross-traffic systems, lane-keeping assistance, traffic sign information, door-open warning, lane-change assist, blind-spot detection, emergency lane keeping, evasive manoeuvre assist, occupant detection alert, driver fatigue alert and auto lane-change assist.

The Inspire adds a 360-degree around-view monitor with transparent view. That is genuinely useful in a small urban EV, especially when navigating tight parking spaces or low-speed obstacles.

The issue is calibration. On our drive, the driver monitoring and warning systems were too keen to chime in, while the adaptive cruise and lane-centring behaviour felt unsettled. It is not enough to have a long list of features if the car annoys you into switching them off.

Geely has shown in other models that it can tune these systems better, so this feels fixable. But right now, the EX2’s safety tech is both a selling point and one of its most obvious frustrations.

There are two very different EX2 powertrain packages, and this is where the Inspire justifies its extra spend. The Complete uses a rear-mounted electric motor producing 60kW and 150Nm, fed by a 35.3kWh LFP battery.

The Inspire upgrades to an 85kW motor and a larger 47.1kWh LFP battery. Torque stays at 150Nm, which tells you this is not chasing hot-hatch theatrics.

Even in the Inspire, the EX2 is not quick. Geely claims around 11 seconds for the 0–100km/h run in this grade, while the Complete is around 14 seconds. That is slow by modern EV standards, and it is especially noticeable when plenty of rivals feel much punchier.

The 2026 BYD ATTO 1 Premium, for example, brings 115kW and 220Nm, while the entry ATTO 1 Essential still offers 65kW and 175Nm. On outputs alone, the Geely is not the muscle car of the cheap-EV set.

Still, for city use the Inspire has enough response to feel easy. It pulls away cleanly, it is smooth, and the rear-wheel-drive layout gives it a neat 9.9m turning circle. As an urban commuter, it does the job; just do not expect much excitement when you bury the throttle.

The EX2 Complete gets a 35.3kWh LFP battery and up to 252km of WLTP range. That might be enough if you live close to work, have easy home charging and rarely leave the suburbs, but it feels like the compromise version.

The Inspire’s 47.1kWh LFP battery lifts the WLTP range to 345km. That is a huge difference in daily flexibility, and it is the biggest reason we would not talk most buyers into the cheaper car.

Charging is split in the same way. Both grades are limited to 6kW AC charging, which is not especially quick if you are comparing it with the BYD ATTO 1’s 11kW AC capability. At home overnight, though, 6kW will still be fine for the way most owners use a car this size.

DC fast charging is 60kW in the Complete and 80kW in the Inspire. Again, the top grade is the better package, even if those numbers are not going to scare larger and more expensive EVs.

Efficiency was the pleasant surprise. Across a mix of urban roads, freeway running, 80km/h zones and some more enthusiastic driving, we saw 13.7kWh/100km. That works out to roughly 343km of real-world range, which is bang on the official claim. In urban use, we reckon 350km is genuinely achievable.

The EX2 launches with a decent sweetener for early buyers. Customers who order and take delivery during the launch period receive a complimentary 7kW home EV charger hardware offer and premium paint upgrade, with a low comparison-rate finance offer also available for eligible buyers.

That charger offer is useful, but installation is not included. As always with EV ownership, the equation is best if you can charge at home and avoid relying on public fast chargers for routine top-ups.

The LFP battery chemistry is another positive. LFP packs are generally well suited to lower-cost EVs, and both EX2 variants use liquid cooling for battery longevity, efficiency and cabin comfort on hotter days.

Geely Connected Services are set to be active from August 2026, with access included for 24 months from activation. The app is intended to support remote functions including door and window control, climate control, vehicle status monitoring and scheduled charging.

Emergency Call functionality is due to be activated via an over-the-air update in Q4. That OTA capability is important, because the driver-assistance tuning is exactly the sort of thing we want Geely to improve quickly after launch.

Complete

• 60kW/150Nm rear-mounted electric motor
• 35.3kWh LFP battery
• 252km WLTP range
• 6kW AC charging
• 60kW DC fast charging
• Rear-wheel drive
• Multi-link rear suspension
• 16-inch covered steel wheels with Yokohama tyres
• LED headlights, daytime running lights and tail-lights
• 14.6-inch centre touchscreen
• 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster
• Built-in satellite navigation
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Powered front seats
• Multi-function steering wheel
• Four-speaker sound system
• Four drive modes: Eco, Comfort, Sport and Snow
• Geely Connected Services from August 2026
• Seven airbags
• Rear parking sensors
• AEB, adaptive cruise control, intelligent cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert with braking and broader Geely safety suite

Inspire

• 85kW/150Nm rear-mounted electric motor
• Larger 47.1kWh LFP battery
• 345km WLTP range
• 80kW DC fast charging
• 16-inch alloy wheels
• Contrasting black roof
• Decorative metallic exterior accents
• Power tailgate
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Illuminated sun visors
• 256-colour dynamic ambient lighting
• Wireless phone charger
• Six-speaker sound system
• Heated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• 360-degree around-view monitor with transparent view

The Geely EX2 Inspire is a very convincing small EV, and after driving it we can understand why this thing has been such a monster seller overseas.

Its best traits are the ones that matter every day. It is quiet, comfortable, spacious, easy to park and genuinely efficient. The cabin feels properly finished, the back seat is excellent for the size, and the boot-frunk combination gives it a practicality advantage over plenty of small electric hatches.

We would not buy the Complete unless price is the only thing that matters. The smaller battery, shorter range and weaker motor make it feel like a harder compromise. The Inspire costs more, but it is the version that turns the EX2 into a proper all-rounder.

The weak points are clear. It is not quick, it is not particularly fun in corners, and the driver-assistance systems need better tuning. That last one is the biggest own goal, because the underlying car is calm and refined until the beeps and steering interventions start getting in the way.

So, would we recommend it? Yes, with conditions. Buy the Inspire, make sure the range suits your life, and test the safety systems properly on your own roads. If Geely fixes the calibration, the EX2 could become one of the easiest cheap EVs in Australia to recommend.