Practicality is a key attribute of the Starray. There’s loads of room in the second row, so six-footers can get comfortable with ease. It’s almost as if it has been conceived for minicab duties: behind a 5ft 7in driver, space is palatial.
You get 528 litres of boot space, which, while more than you get in the BYD Sealion 5 DM-i, falls far short of the 705 litres offered by the Volkswagen Tayron e-Hybrid.
The lounge-like interior is visually impressive: the faux-wood centre console envelops the driver and every surface looks like it’s lined in imitation leather.
The panel fit is good too: you can barely run a fingernail in the gaps between the panels comprising the centre console.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel as good as it seems. It’s all plastic of some variety and the vinyl seats emit a distinct solvent smell. Life inside the Starray is plastic, and that isn’t fantastic, considering key rivals offer more tactile appeal.
You get a conventional combination of a digital instrument display and a large (15.4in) central touchscreen – and although there’s a paucity of proper buttons, you do get shortcuts to activate and tweak the climate control system.
The touchscreen’s graphics are clear and provide a bit of visual lustre, but it doesn’t have the most functional layout. The main display wastes a lot of space, with most of its real estate used for pretty photographs. Important functions such as Apple CarPlay are relegated to a small box in the bottom-right-hand corner, while the shortcut bar for the drive settings menu and app list is a tad too thin to easily press while you’re on the move.
It doesn’t improve noticeably in the various menus. For example, with Power mode selected in the main drive settings display, a sub-menu showed the car as still being in its default Hybrid mode.
Moreover, when indicating and slowing down – such as on approach to a junction – the touchscreen exits whatever menu or app you were using to display a bird’s-eye view of the car. This isn’t very helpful and proves incredibly frustrating if you’re following complex, quick-fire directions on a navigation app through Apple CarPlay. It doesn’t automatically revert back to the app you were in, either, meaning you have to fumble your way through the confusing interface while moving off.
Geely says it’s actively monitoring customer feedback – even joining owner’s groups on social media – and claims to have already rolled out over-the-air software updates to resolve “teething issues” with the EX5, so we hope this issue will be fixed in the future.
The front seats have a good range of electrical adjustment and a decent amount of squidge to them, remaining comfortable after a couple of hours behind the wheel.
The steering wheel, meanwhile, has a similarly decent range of adjustability, although it would be nice if this were powered too. The wheel’s two-spoke design means it’s easy to shuffle around while making manoeuvres, but it also leaves you without a natural spot to rest your hands when in the straight-ahead position for extended periods. Its switchgear feels a tad brittle, too, and its glossy finish quickly attracts fingerprints.
The gear selector is mounted on the steering column and engages with a reassuring thunk.
The same can’t be said for the indicators, which work in similar fashion to those mounted on BMWs about 20 years ago – more like a button than a traditional stalk. After being activated, the stalk immediately returns to the neutral position, rather than holding itself in place while you complete a manoeuvre. Cancelling the indicator requires you to activate it in the same position once more, which isn’t intuitive.
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