2025 Geely Starray EM-i review: Australian first drive

The onslaught of new electric and electrified SUVs for Australians to choose from isn't slowing down, growing th dizzying range of options to the table of consideration.

Sounding half like a fan-fiction sci-fi and half like a five-year old commercial-grade office printer, Starray EM-i is the name of the the second model to arrive in Australia from Chinese automotive giant Geely.

Firstly, let's get something clear. You might not have heard of Geely before, but this is a seriously big company. It sold over two million vehicles last year (that's twice the total of Australia's entire new car market). It plans on growing that number to three million, as well.

Naturally, Australia is only a tiny portion of this staggering figure. But still, we are still seen as an important flag in the ground.

While electric SUVs are seeing some headwinds in terms of sales and take-up, hybrids are going into a golden era. Toyota read the tea leaves here decades ago and has been basking in a dominant position with its hybrid technology.

But there's a new battle front, in the form of plug-in hybrids. Following on from Chinese compatriots like the Jaecoo J7, Chery Tiggo 7 and BYD Sealion 6, this Geely Starray EM-i is the most compelling overal package yet.

What's more, the Geely comes in at a price that really puts the competition on notice.

There are two trim levels to choose from in the Strarray range, both of which manage to stay underneath the $40,000 threshold.

Complete is the name of the entry level model, which confusingly is the less complete than top-spec Inspire. With a starting price of $37,490 plus on-road costs, the level of standard equipment here is quite impressive:

There's 18-inch alloy wheels, a 15.4-inch infotainment display, 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster, power-adjustable and heated front seats and two-zone climate control. There's also LED headlights, tail lights and daytime running lights, rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera system and a leather-appointed interior.

Stepping up to the Inspire for $39,990 plus on-road costs does bring a significant uplift in standard equipment, for the $2500 of extra spend.

This includes a panoramic sunroof, 19-inch alloy wheels, front parking sensors, a powered tailgate, head-up display, upgraded sound system, ventilated front seats and driver's position memory.

In terms of value for money, the Geely Starray EM-i is a game changer. Only the Chery Tiggo 7 plug-in hybrid holds a flame in this conversation, thanks to a drive-away pricing structure that starts at $39,990. But, the levels of equipment avaiable in the Geely does seem to the tip the overall argument into its favour.

The 2025 Geely Starray EM-i is every bit a medium SUV, with more length than the likes of a Toyota Rav4, Nissan X-Trail or Hyundai Tucson.

It's also a little wider, giving it a good amount of space through the seating and storage areas.

This continues to underpin the value quotient of the car, in comparison to the established players in this part of the world. In other words, it's not just well specced, it's also well sized.

The second row is particularly good for space, offering high levels of room for large adults and space-sucking baby seats (for those young family buyers). There's loads of legroom, good headroom (even with the panoramic sunroof) and comfortable seats. The seating position feels relatively low compared to the rest of the cabin, offering a welcome sense of airiness.

Buyers can opt between the bright white and pragmatic black leather-appointed upholstery, which looks and feels good (especially for the price).

The layout up front is similar to what you get in the electric EX5, which has a floating centre console up front with lidded cup holders and a larger underslung storage area. The lidded storage bin is a decent size, and the build quality of the vehicle feels good. There's USB-C and 12V power outlets, along with a wireless charging pad in the top-spec model.

Having heating and ventilation on fancy seats with stitching and perforations feels like a cheat code at this price, and that's before you learn you have in-built speakers in the headrests in the top-spec Inspire model.

The seating position, ergonomic and available adjustment for the driver also feels good, and was a comfortable place to be for our two three-hour stints behind the wheel.

428 litres of boot space is decent, but not as big as others have available in the segment. Although, I'd wager it's big enough for most requirements in this segment. There is a bit of extra space hiding underneath the false floor, but you unfortunately won't find a spare wheel down in here. Instead, you're stuck with an inferior tyre repair kit.

The infotainment display is big at 15.4 inches for the Starray, which is shared across both trim levels. It's not the typical Android-based operating system that is employed by many other carmakers, but is one that comes from within the broader Geely technology empire.

The system comes with Apple Carplay, but Android Auto users will need to wait until an over-the-air update to get Android Auto running. Geely tells us it will arrive some time in the first half of 2026.

Otherwise, the operating system is pretty good overall. It's not a game changer for responsiveness, loading times or layout, but it's good enough and will no doubt be highly impressive to those who are coming into this Geely Starray out of an older vehicle.

Other features included here is Digital Radio, Geely Connected Services (for remote functionality and over-the-air updates), FM radio but no AM for those who want old-school analogue talk-back radio.

Being a relatively new car to the Australian market, the Geely EM-i is yet to be crash-tested by ANCAP. However, the company is looking to submit the vehicle for local testing and is confident in some good results.

However, we won't know exactly how it performs until results are published.

Both trim levels of the Geely Starray are well stacked with all of the modern safety equipment.

However, some of it is quite annoying to live with. As usual Traffic Sign Recognition has its moments as it struggles to read or mis-read the occasional speed sign and giving the driver pointless and annoying haranguing of beeps and bongs. However, this technology can be helpful

Less helpful for me is the driver monitoring, which is too overactive, interrupting and infuriating to use. It seemingly criticises any use of the neck for viewing your surroundings or a look at the screen that is more than a glimpse, and quickly had me rifling through the various menus to turn it off.

At first, I couldn't find any off switch. But, the wording of the 'fatigue monitor' control inexplicably also includes the driver attention monitoring. So, if you're like me, turn it off.

The problem is though, you're forced to do this every time you start up again.

Service costs for the Geely Starray are kept in check by capped-price servicing program, which costs a very reasonable $968 over the first three years. This averages out at $322.66 per year, whle the five-year average blows out to $386 per year due to a costlier fourth-year visit.

But still, costing less than $2000 after five years and 75,000km is still good value.

12 months of comprehensive insurance for a Geely Starray works out to be $1,927.74 for 12 months, as is a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male, living in Chatswood, NSW. But don't forget, insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances. We also used the more expensive Inspire trim level in our calculations.

One good thing about the Starray is the fact that even with a flat battery, the car appears to have good efficiency levels when using mostly fuel.

Don't believe the 2.4-litre per hundred claim by Geely, that's an anomaly of the testing cycle that benefits plug-in hybrid vehicles like this one.

Normally the rule of thumb for plug-in hybrid vehicle is that they are never really as efficient as either a straight hybrid or full EV in direct comparison, because the car is effectively lugging around two powertrains and energy stores.

However, we saw an indication as good as 5.0-6.0 litres per hundred kilometres in our testing, which isn't too far off what you would get with a regular hybrid vehicle.

The worst we saw on our test was as bad as the mid-7s, which can from a repeated testing loop on a more dynamic, twisty and hilly road.

But of course, the beauty of a plug-in hybrid is the fact that you can have your fuel consumption as low as zero if you keep the battery topped up, and keep running costs low by using cheaper electricity from home.

Compared to the overly soft Geely EX5, this Starray EM-i is an improvement for the brand.

Where the electric SUV quickly loses composure through steering and body control beyond any moderate cornering, this Starray is a bit more tied down and controlled overall.

Along with having a more sophisticated independant rear suspension, the Starray has adopted a more Europe-centric steering and suspension tune that clearly pays more attention to dynamic capabilities.

However, it's still quite a softly sprung vehicle overall, which is a good and bad thing.

The good revolves around a smooth and absorptive ride quality around town. Sharp potholes are despatched with barely a jiggle into the body, while speed bumps are wafted over smartly. And considering the likely use case for a hybrid SUV, this is good and important.

However, once you leave behind the suburban sweepers and start fighting against higher speeds, uneven surfaces and more complicated corners, the Starray does start to wobble around a little. It's much better than the EX5 in this regard, but steering is still affected by the lurching lack of body control, and this sense that the rear of the vehicle cannot keep up with the front through a corner.

If you keep things around town mostly, and aren't too fussed about the latter, this is less of a problem. But if you want a more dialled machine for country roads and exploring beyond the city, then this might be more of a bugbear.

The plug-in hybrid powertrain in the Starray doesn't look to impress by blowing the doors off through some monstrous combined power output (like what GWM does with the Haval H6), but instead goes about it's business feeling mostly electric, and keeping petrol intervention as unnoticable as possible.

And for the most part, it achieves this task well. When the battery is charged up, you've got an EV-esque driving experience with enough power from the electric side of the powertrain to give you easy, responsive everyday performance. Only when you really plant the foot – and for an extended period of time – does the petrol engine wake and start revving high and hard for some assistance.

This is rare, and the 1.-5-litre petrol engine (which is sourced from the Geely-Renault joint venture Horse Powertrain) is for the most part impressively quiet and imperceptible.

Once the battery goes down to zero kilometres left, it's not a dead rubber. The car looks to maintain a level of 20-25 percent in the battery, which allows the car to always have a bit of electric shove available. This is important, because the car would start to feel woefully undergunned if it was only dependant on the 75kW petrol motor.

But instead, you'll hear and feel and rising wave of petrol revolutions to keep up the charge into the battery, and provide a bit of direct motivation to the front wheels. The engine is more noticeable when the battery level is low of course, but it's all at an acceptable level.

To get the best out of the Geely Starray EM-i, you do need to plug it in for an occasional charge to boost up battery levels, just like any other PHEV on the market. However, it does still feel good and appears to be quite efficient even if driven like a regular vehicle.

The powertrain feels well sorted here, rightly prioritising a miserly attitude over faux supercar performance. The ride quality is impressive as well, but that is a double-edge sword in more demanding conditions.

But the star of the show is no doubt the value for money equation. The Geely Starray is astoundingly well equipped, impressively spacious and comfortable for occupants, and feels particularly well suited for a life of family hauling around the 'burbs.

Hopefully in the future, the driver monitoring system can be improved to not be so painfully annoying to live with.

Sam Purcell has been writing about cars, four-wheel driving and camping since 2013, and obsessed with anything that goes brum-brum longer than he can remember. Sam joined the team at CarAdvice/Drive as the off-road Editor in 2018, after cutting his teeth at Unsealed 4X4 and Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures. Off-road writer of the Year, Winner - Sam Purcell

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