Detailed review — 6-Months owning a Geely EX2 Max (Thailand)
TLDR :
The Geely EX2 feels like a car designed by engineers who love to drive. It is a responsive and smooth handling economy car. A few too many controls are in the touch-screen , which seems to have been designed by software engineers with no driving experience.
Positive:
Great driving car — smooth, solid, responsive
Spacious front and back. Frunk is useful
Negative:
Android Auto /Apple CarPlay is wired only (in Thailand)
Touch-screen and driver display could be better thought out
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The EX2 is the best selling car in China. Not EV, but car. After owning one for 6-months, it is easy to see why. It is a pleasure to drive. There are, however, a few nit-picky glitches with the displays and some controls.
I have the 2026 Thailand version of the Max. 39.4 kWh battery, 85kW motor. The feature set varies by country. I’ve tried to focus on more subtle details, and not repeat info in online reviews.
This is my first EV, so experienced EV drivers can discount the amazement. Two things surprised me about the EX2 after my first week driving it about 500 km (300 miles) on winding mountain highways in northern Thailand: battery range and acceleration.
The 2026 EX2 in Thailand has a NEDC rating of 395km (234 miles). Since NEDC is the weakest test, I was expecting about 320km in actual use. After a day of driving through mountains, I was surprised to see the battery at 51% after 199km. Exactly 390km range. (Though it read 210km remaining standard, 221 dynamic.) I had driven mostly 50-90km/hr (30-55mph), not holding back on steep uphills and passing; 25-30 C (75-85 F), mostly Econ mode, brake regen high, AC on.
In city driving, the EX2 has consistently used around 10kWh/100 km (6 miles/kWh). Perhaps the EX2 is starting down a virtuous circle of smaller battery, lower weight (1285 kg / 2800 lbs) and high efficiency…?
The EX2 reportedly takes 11.5 seconds for 0-100kph. Crawlingly slow, so I read. There is no freeway on-ramp driving where I live, so I can’t comment. What I do use is 50 to 120 kph uphill for passing. For a former driver of petrol economy cars (Hyundai Accent, Mitsubishi Mirage) the EX2 is mind-blowing.
I don’t drive with a stopwatch, but here’s an anecdote:
Following 4 cars behind a slow truck on a 2-lane mountain road, there was an opening. No one started to pass because oncoming traffic was visible. There would have been just enough room in an economy ICE. My wife reflexively says “be careful” if she thinks I may not see something. As I pulled out my wife says: “Be care… oh”. I was already past the 3rd car.
The responsiveness of the accelerator means this ‘lightly powered’ EV has plenty of acceleration for normal driving.
Other aspects of the car were not a surprise, but still pleasant. The ride is firm. I find it mildly jostling on rough roads, but very smooth on good ones.
The rear-wheel drive gives it light, easy steering and a tight turning radius. It is a joy in mountain driving. High-regen setting to slow into curves; rear wheel drive pushing smoothly out.
The seats are well-bolstered and comfortable. The imitation leather is ok even in tropical heat. The back seat is spacious.
The rear cargo cover looked odd without cords to lift it, but the opening is large so it has not been an issue. The frunk has been very useful for small items or a couple of bags of groceries. Surprising how convenient it can be to not have to go behind the car (where more road dirt collects).
Reviews have complained about the overactive bongs of the ADAS, but it feels correctly active. It reliably tells me if there is cross traffic (even pedestrians) when I am backing up. It bongs if I start to open my door and a vehicle or bike is coming up from behind. It rarely alerts me in other situations, and never without a plausible reason. It has saved me at least one parking lot scratch so far.
Even though visibility is really good in the EX2, the birdseye view showing parking lines and the car’s place inside them is handy.
The car feels solid. After 6 months it has given no signs of weakness.
There are negatives …
In the Thai version, Android Auto / Apple CarPlay is wired only. The EX2 was released in Thailand in November 2025 with CarPlay promised for 2026. Happily Geely came through in April. Unhappily it is wired only.
There is only 1 USB-A port for CarPlay / connecting to the media system. Additional USB-C and A are power only. There is also a bluetooth connection, but the reconnect has been unreliable. Perhaps Geely saved money with a substandard bluetooth chip.
Not unique to the EX2 is the over-use of touch screen controls. Of the amazing and sometimes stupid things that Elon Musk has brought to humanity, I would place “lots of car controls on a touch screen” in the stupid category. It is fine for a map route or a playlist, not for controls needed while driving.
You need a glance to see the icon, a glance or two to verify your finger found it, a glance to see the setting changed correctly. Hopefully, these microseconds away from watching the road will not cause any of us to crash. But over collective millions of km of driving they undoubtedly do.
The EX2’s displays are lovely, clear and fancy. Swiping from any edge has its own function. A permanent menu at the bottom, and the screens from pulling down or up from the edge, can be partially customized.
There are signs that experienced drivers were not involved in the touch screen interface design, though. For example, it distinguishes between a short and long-press. Pressing the fan button too long will bring up a sliding control. It is hard to consistently deliver a short or long press while driving. Distracting. And of no use.
As in many cheaper EVs, most climate controls are touch screen. Surely at least the fan speed should NOT be there. (I hear the government of China is requiring these to go away.)
The driving mode and brake regeneration setting are also on the touch screen. Both modes reset to the default middle setting whenever the car is turned off. Luckily these settings are good for most driving.
The driver display uses a needlessly small font. Only the speed limit and gear selection are clearly visible at a glance. The clock and ‘remaining km’ display font is 3mm high, kW usage 2mm, current kW bar 1mm! These are ok sizes for a phone in front of your face. Not for a display behind the steering wheel that you don’t want to gaze at for too long.
Many of the screens on the center display have a section that scrolls, revealing more features. Fine for home. Dumb in a car.
Some more niggles:
The cup holders are shallow and placed so that a tall cup blocks the few physical buttons (AC on, defrost, emergency flasher)
The AC, oddly, cannot be set warm enough. Ok, turn it off. But on a rainy night you need the dehumidifying. Not a big issue unless you drive a lot on rainy nights. (And don’t live in a country where the EX2 has a heater.)
The key fob has no attachment point or place for the mechanical key. You can buy a cover to solve the first problem.
Final niggle: the turn signal is too loud. I thought my mind would ignore it over time. Not yet. I turn off the signal when waiting at a light.
Even collectively, the niggles are minor. Driving a comfortable, smooth-handling car overwhelms them. I hope these details give you things to check out.