Geely Starray
Not quite a star but certainly a protostar
Words by Mark Slack
Few people with even a vague interest in cars can have failed to notice the number of Chinese brands appearing everywhere, I can’t recall a time when so many new names have appeared on the motoring market.
One of those new names, Geely, isn’t actually that new and has already been a presence, certainly in the UK, for some years. The company owns British sports car name Lotus, Volvo and EV garage-mate Polestar, they even own the company making iconic London Black Cabs.
In addition to some new models under their own name they also own a brand called Zeekr, stylish and sporty it’s already appeared in Europe and I suspect it will be a hit in the showrooms when it drives onto our shores.
Geely currently has the EX5, a pure EV, and then the Starray, a petrol hybrid, which shows how clever the Chinese car industry has been in not pursing a totally electric route. They have recognised that for many people EVs don’t work at the moment.
The Starray uses a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine with a single motor driving the front wheels. The three-model line-up has two versions with an 18.4 kwh battery and a top-line model with larger 29.8kwh battery. There’s a potential 51 miles of pure electric range, with the larger battery delivering an impressive 84 miles.
Standard equipment is excellent even on the lead-in model and prices start at £29,990. From a style point of view the Starray is pretty much standard fare for SUVs these days with no outstanding features, and no dreadful ones either. Inside it’s pretty much the same story but the fit and finish is noticeably good throughout with tactile finishes and doors that close with a reassuring thud.
I’d like to say the switches work the same but they’ve pretty much been made extinct. A large central touchscreen of excellent clarity can’t take away the pain of having to dip into menus for so many functions. Even opening the sunroof. And while on the subject of annoying some of the ADAS safety systems interfere constantly and even the shortcut button requires more touches than its name suggests.
On the road the Starray is built for comfort and delivers, with three driving modes, in electric or hybrid drive it’s smooth and refined. It doesn’t deliver the accelerative kick of a pure EV but is more than capable. Handling is pretty decent too for such a large and softly sprung car, and the many bumps and potholes are soaked up with ease.
Starray is the perfect example of high quality, well equipped and comfortable motoring that will appeal to anyone looking at value-for-money family transport. The promise of more economical motoring without the range anxiety.
Words by Mark Slack
