First Drive: Geely Galaxy E5 EV – Proton eMas 7’s Twin Driven!

In case you missed it, national automaker Proton recently welcomed a convoy of Geely Galaxy E5 EVs, where ten of them came all the way from Guiyang, China, as part of the Geely E5 Long Test Drive World Tour.

More importantly, the arrival of this E5 convoy not only marks the beginning of the Proton eMas 7 national tour but also gives us a good idea of the things we can expect to see coming into our nation’s first all-electric vehicle.

We’ve tested the Geely Galaxy E5 EV, and here are five things we learnt about the Proton eMas 7’s twin model.

Having said that, we’re recently invited by Proton to size up and drive the left-hand drive (LHD) unit of the Geely Galaxy E5 not only around the Proton CoE test track but also for a short trip around the Klang Valley area. Without further ado, here are five things we learnt about the Galaxy E5 EV…

1. It Looks Pretty Nice In Real Life

While it is easy to dismiss the E5 as yet another Chinese EV SUV with borderline generic design, we actually learned that the eMas 7’s donor model looks pretty neat up close in real life.

Sporting a streamlined SUV bodystyle, the E5 features several interesting design cues, such as its sharp LED headlights complemented by a pair of L-shaped DRLs, a matrix-light enclosed front grille, and full-width LED taillights, to name a few. The China-spec model also rides in stylish 19-inch alloy wheels with turbine-style spokes, as opposed to the 18-inch units used on the camo-wrapped eMas 7 prototype.

Dimension-wise, the E5 definitely fits the bill as Geely’s C-segment EV SUV contender, measuring 4,615 MM long, 1,901 MM wide, 1,670 MM tall, and has a wheelbase of 2,750 MM.

Granted that not all things are yet to be finalised for the eMas 7, the E5’s design can really give us a good glimpse into what we can expect to see in our nation’s first EV model. And should the eMas 7 follow the same convention as other Geely-based Proton models prior, perhaps we can expect some minor yet substantial design changes taking place.

2. The Cabin Is Well-Equipped & Quite Spacious

Given that Proton is being quite secretive regarding the eMas 7’s innards, having a closer look at the E5’s cabin tells us that there’s a lot of stuff for local automotive fans to get excited about this upcoming EV SUV.

Typical fashion of many China-made EVs of late, the E5 gets a pretty minimalistic yet well-equipped cabin with a dark-on-top-light-on-bottom colour scheme that provides a stark contrast against the dark-themed interior found on many current Proton models.

Some tech amenities found here include the 15.4-inch floating infotainment screen powered by Flyme Auto OS, a smaller 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster, a 16-speaker Flyme Audio system, ventilated, heated, and powered front seats with ottoman support for the passenger’s side, a wireless charging tray, and a physical control dial for the infotainment screen, to name a few.

Thanks to the GEA platform's cell-to-body (CTB) construction, the E5 boasts tons of spaces that are used for storage and secret compartments.

Besides the plush seats and faux leather upholstery, Geely also bragged a lot about the abundance of storage solutions inside the E5, with the SUV boasting no less than 33 storage spaces (including ones under the rear seats). Also impressive is the E5’s cargo space (461 litres), which features a 51-litre secret compartment underneath the main floor to compensate for the lack of a frunk in this front-wheel-driven (FWD) EV SUV.

Seeing all these practicality features and tech amenities does tell us that the E5 makes for a pretty stellar family-oriented SUV, with said fact also reflected in the way this EV SUV drives.

3. Drive Is Pretty Refined & On The Comfort Side

Upon adjusting ourselves with the LHD test unit, the first thing we noticed when driving the E5 is how refined and smoother the drive feels when compared to some of its Chinese adversaries.

Starting with the ride and handling, the China-spec E5 is definitely tuned with comfort and smoothness in mind, with the car’s damper setup gravitating towards the softer side—a typical trait we found on many Chinese EV SUVs we’ve tested so far.

Besides its softer-tuned suspension setup, the GEA platform underpinned by the E5 also contributed to its refined driving experience.

As a result, ride comfort is quite decent for this EV SUV, and this is especially prevalent during the ‘B-roads’ segment of our short driving trip, where the E5 managed to absorb most of the bumps and humps from the uneven road surfaces.

But then again, we are certain that Proton’s famous ride and handling department is planning to localise the suspension tuning for the eMas 7, just like what it did with all previous Geely-derived Proton models.

Back to the E5, this EV SUV feels pretty stable and solid even when we’re driving slightly beyond the highway speed limits. Our only gripe is the subpar noise suppression offered to this EV, as wind noises become quite noticeable once the speedometer passes the 100 KM/H mark.

Handling-wise, the E5 is definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed, as we did experience some minor body rolls and lean when cornering at higher speeds. But then again, this comes as no surprise given the family-friendly nature of this model, not to mention that we’ve seen or experienced worse in other Sino-badged EV SUVs.

What’s also good on the E5 is the single-motor FWD powertrain setup primed. Rated at 215 HP (160 kW) and 320 NM, we find this single-motor setup more than enough to power this 1.6-tonne EV around, plus the Sport driving mode also allows drivers to experience the EV's rapid acceleration, but don’t expect it to be borderline face-ripping like the smart #3 Brabus.

Additionally, we also find that the linear power delivery on normal driving is a good starting point for the uninitiated to get acquainted with the rapid torque delivery that is often associated with EVs.

All in all, the Geely Galaxy E5 provides a stellar comfort and smooth driving experience for all occupants, while its single-motor powertrain setup proves to be more than enough to power this C-segment EV SUV.

4. The eMas 7 Will Get The Same Battery Specs as The E5, But…

One of the biggest highlights for the Geely E5 lies in its battery and chassis setups, with this EV underpinning the brand’s new GEA platform derived from the popular SEA platform, featuring cell-to-battery (CTB) integration technology and the Aegis short-blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery.

Our tester uses the larger 60.22-kWh unit that Geely claims is good enough for up to 530 KM of CLTC range, although gauging it on the more realistic WLTP standards may tell us a different story.

Unfortunately, our short and spirited driving session with the E5 was definitely not enough for us to truly gauge the actual driving range for this EV SUV, but one of the participants from the E5 world tour claimed that their E5 unit managed to achieve about 15 kWh per 100 KM, thus suggesting that you can get at least 400 KM from the 60.22-kWh pack.

Charging-wise, however, this is where the eMas 7 may or may not deviate from its Geely-badged twin. As indicated by a representative from PRO-NET, the eMas 7 might get a slightly different charging performance to the E5’s 120 kW DC and 7.7 kW AC charging rates.

Again, nothing is yet to be finalised at this stage, but given the local-spec smart #1 is offered with both 11 kW and 22 kW AC charging rates, it’d be nice if PRO-NET managed to offer the same configuration for the eMas 7 in the future.

5. The Proton eMas 7 Won’t Be A 100% ‘Copy’ of The Geely E5

Even before testing out the Geely E5, folks at Proton insisted that the upcoming Proton eMas 7 won’t be a 100% copy from the E5, as the automaker stated that the nation's first EV model is instead the result of a collaboration between Proton and Geely.

Having said it many times prior, this means that not all the things we’ve tested on the Geely E5 will trickle down to the eMas 7. Besides the minor styling and branding changes, we can also expect the eMas 7 to deviate slightly from its donor model on things like the equipment list, suspension tuning, and more.

Also unknown is the car’s infotainment suite, as we previously reported that Proton’s technology arm Aco Tech might come up with something special and different for the eMas 7 to use.

Ultimately, the biggest takeaway we get from our short yet meaningful stint with the Geely Galaxy E5 is that the Proton eMas 7 promises to be a pretty stellar EV for Malaysians to look forward to. Should Proton manage to price the eMas 7 around or even lower than the RM100,000 price mark, then the current crop of affordable Chinese EV SUVs definitely has a lot to worry about.