New Geely Starray 2026 review: notably cheap and reasonably cheerful
The Starray's price is appealingly low, but the cost-saving is a bit obvious in places
Verdict
We’re holding off on delivering a final verdict on the Geely Starray until we get to drive it on UK roads in the coming weeks. But even so, there’s no denying the offer of a plug-in hybrid family SUV for less than a bog-standard Nissan Qashqai is enticing value for money. The sleek, upmarket design will attract potential buyers, but the Starray lacks the interior quality to match, and the tech on board feels the same as pretty much every other Chinese car we’ve tested recently.
Brits clearly can’t get enough of mid-size family SUVs. Last year, the Kia Sportage, Nissan Qashqai, Hyundai Tucson, MG HS and Volkswagen Tiguan were, once again, among the top-10 best-selling cars in the UK. They also feature in the long list rivals for the new Geely Starray, which will go on sale very soon, offering plug-in hybrid power for less than £30,000.
The name Geely will be familiar to many, either due to its links with Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, or because of the brand’s recent entry to the UK market with the EX5 electric SUV. It’s the first of several models the firm is bringing here to fill up the 100 dealers Geely wants to establish across the country by the end of 2026.
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Cash £5,499We’re due to drive the Starray on British roads in the next few weeks, but we managed to get an early taste during a visit to Geely’s plant in Linhai, China, where the car is made. In fact, the factory-fresh models we got to drive were about to be shipped to UK showrooms, hence the plastic wrap on certain surfaces and the wheels.
As mentioned, this is a hybrid, although you might not have guessed there’s an engine under the bonnet as the Starray doesn’t have a traditional grille – making it look more like an EV. This helps make the car more aerodynamic, more efficient and, frankly, gives it a cooler than some of the competition.
There are no dramatic lines or sharp edges anywhere though, as Geely wanted to present a sense of “harmony and purity.” Whatever the thinking, the Starray looks rather sleek for a family SUV and more upmarket than you might expect after hearing the starting price.
The interior is relatively generic, closely resembling those of other Chinese SUVs like the XPeng G6 and Leapmotor C10. Every Starray will feature a sizable 15.4-inch central touchscreen with wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto plus a 10.2-inch instrument cluster, but the version we drove was also equipped with a head-up display, wireless charging pad and an opening panoramic sunroof.
The tech onboard feels on par with most other Chinese offerings we’ve tested recently. The touchscreen was responsive, the menus loaded quickly and the infotainment system wasn’t too difficult to navigate, which is good as there’s only a very limited number of physical buttons in the Starray. It does have a large volume dial which, bafflingly, if you press it twice can be used to change the wallpaper on the touchscreen.
Some drivers might find it hard to read the instrument display at a glance, due to the small font and the amount of information it tries to present you with. Although, this is also an issue in many of BYD’s mainstream products.
When it comes to practicality, Geely says there are more than 30 storage spaces dotted around the cabin, including a large area underneath the floating centre console. Meanwhile, the Starray’s 428-litre boot is on par with the plug-in MG HS and Chery Tiggo 7, but on top of that is an additional 100 litres of space under the floor.
Six-foot tall adults can happily sit in the back of the Starray. We found there was lots of headroom and decent legroom available for anyone that tall, and the rear floor is completely flat which will help if you want to squeeze three people into the back.
The ‘EM-i Super Hybrid’ powertrain consists of a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that acts predominantly as a generator of the car’s electric motor. These work together to provide 255bhp, 262Nm of torque and, according to Geely, up to 201mpg.
Depending on which model you go for, the Starray’s e-motor is powered by either a 18.4kWh or 29.8kWh battery which, the brand claims, offers a massive pure-electric range of up to 84 miles plus a combined petrol and electric range of 618 miles. For context, the Sportage PHEV has a 43-mile EV range, while the plug-in Tiggo 7 promises 56 miles of zero-emissions running.
The way this set-up works makes the Starray feel incredibly EV-like. The only time the engine became vocal was after the battery ran out of juice and we tried accelerating hard up to motorway speed, which caused the little four-cylinder motor to emit a loud, unpleasant droning that didn’t stop until we eased off the throttle.
Geely claims it called on the boffins at Lotus Engineering to tune the chassis and dynamics of the Starray to ensure it can cut the mustard on UK roads and handle as well as family-SUV buyers expect these days. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to properly evaluate Hethel’s work, as there were no twisty corners on the company’s test circuit for us to fling the car around. However we can say that there is little to no feeling or even weight to the steering, so can only assume Lotus’s engineers didn’t put much work into that.
The test circuit did allow us to find out how the Starray handled large potholes and other types of road imperfections. It seemed to cope with them fairly well; it didn’t crash into divots, and at no point did any of the plastic trim start rattling or squeaking even while going over the stretches of stone cobbles.
The Starray will be available in three trim levels: Pro, Max and Ultra, with prices starting from £29,990. Standard kit across the range will include the dual displays, heated seats, 360-degree camera, keyless entry, a suite of driver-assistance systems and 18-inch alloy wheels. An eight-year/125,000-mile warranty is also included.
Upgrading to Max trim brings the price up to £32,690 and adds some extra tech like the head-up display, a 16-speaker sound system and an electric tailgate, plus 19-inch rims. Finally, the top-of-the-range Ultra model costs £34,990 and features the larger battery pack plus faster 60kW DC charging capabilities.
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