Tesla Model Y vs Geely EX5

Geely lists the EX5 Complete at $41,990 and the EX5 Inspire at $45,990, both before on-road costs. Tesla lists the Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive at $58,900. That is a $16,910 gap between the two entry cars, which is most of the price of a small hatchback.

Both brands quote a list price rather than a single national drive-away figure, so the comparison is like for like at the top of the page and then diverges. Tesla adds a $400 order fee and a $1,400 delivery fee before government charges, and its own configurator worked a NSW example out to $64,115 drive-away for the Rear-Wheel Drive. Geely quotes what it calls a Manufacturer's Recommended Drive Away Price, which it describes as "an estimated price based on the state or territory selected" and which includes a $900 dealer delivery fee, stamp duty, 12 months registration and 12 months CTP. Geely also runs rolling campaigns, a free home charger on new stock and short factory-bonus windows on demonstrators among them, so the number in front of you may be better than the number here. Campaign offers move; the list price is the stable thing to compare.

Tesla Model Y (single-speed, 400V)

Geely EX5 (single-speed, front-wheel drive)

Note what the $4,000 walk to the Inspire does and does not get you. It adds a 13.8-inch head-up display, a 16-speaker Flyme sound system, six-mode massaging front seats, an opening panoramic sunroof and 19-inch alloys. It also costs you 25km of range, because the bigger wheels and the glass roof add drag and weight. The Complete is the better buy, and it is also the one that makes the Tesla comparison look most brutal.

Both hold a five-star ANCAP rating awarded in 2025, both apply to all variants, and both run to December 2031. Unlike a lot of budget-brand comparisons, this one does not end with the cheap car losing on safety.

The Model Y is ahead in all four, and its 92 percent safety assist result is among the best ANCAP has recorded under the current protocols. But the EX5's 86 and 87 percent occupant scores are genuinely strong numbers, and the three-point gap on vulnerable road user protection is small. A $41,990 car scoring in the mid-eighties across the board is not something that was happening in this market a few years ago.

Geely fits a 16-function level-two driver assistance suite as standard on both grades, covering autonomous emergency braking, adaptive and intelligent cruise, lane keeping assist, blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, emergency manoeuvre assist and a door-open warning, plus a surround-view monitor with a 3D view. The body uses a high-strength cage with what Geely calls a cloverleaf energy-dissipation structure. The EX5 also carries a five-star Euro NCAP result alongside its ANCAP one.

The one thing worth saying plainly: a five-star rating tested in 2025 means the same thing whichever badge is on the bonnet. ANCAP does not grade on a curve for price.

For $41,990 the EX5 Complete arrives with a 15.4-inch HD touchscreen, a 10.2-inch instrument display, satellite navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, climate control, wireless phone charging, proximity unlocking, power and heated front seats, a surround-view monitor with 3D view, LED headlights, selectable drive modes, 18-inch alloys, a portable Mode 2 charging cable and vehicle-to-load plus vehicle-to-vehicle capability. Standard. On the base car.

The Model Y at $58,900 has no head-up display and no vehicle-to-load, and it does not have a grade walk at all: you buy it in one specification and choose paint, wheels, interior colour and the driver-assistance software. What it gives you instead is Tesla's software: over-the-air updates that add real features over time, trip planning that routes you through Superchargers automatically, and an interface that, love it or hate it, is the most polished in the segment. It also gives you a car with no instrument cluster and almost no physical switchgear, which suits some people and annoys others permanently.

Cabin quality is closer than the price gap suggests. The EX5's materials and assembly are the part reviewers consistently single out as better than expected, and the Inspire's 16-speaker Flyme system is a standout at any price. The Tesla is not luxurious inside so much as minimal and well made. If you are shopping on how much car you can see and touch for the money, the Geely wins that comparison comfortably.

Two years of Geely Connected Services are included with 2GB of data a month, and Geely has more than 40 dealer sites established in Australia, which is a lot for a brand this new. Neither car comes with a spare tyre.

The Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive makes 255kW and 340Nm from a single rear motor and hits 100km/h in 5.9 seconds. The EX5 makes 160kW and 320Nm through the front wheels, and Geely quotes 7.4 seconds for the range. On torque the two are close. On power and on the way they deliver it they are not, and the Tesla's rear-drive layout gives it a poise the front-drive Geely cannot match when you lean on it.

Range is the surprise. The EX5 Complete claims 475km WLTP from a 68.4kWh lithium iron phosphate pack, against 466km for the Model Y from 60kWh (57.5kWh usable). The cheaper car goes further. LFP chemistry is the reason Geely can fit that much battery at this price, and it brings a genuine ownership advantage: LFP tolerates being charged to 100 percent every day without the degradation worry that comes with the Tesla's nickel-based pack. Geely markets it as Shortblade battery technology.

Charging is where the Tesla money shows up. The Model Y peaks at 175kW and our data has 10 to 80 percent taking about 16 minutes. The EX5 peaks at 100kW, and Geely quotes 30 to 80 percent in approximately 20 minutes. That is a respectable number, but a smaller window on a slower peak, and it comes without Supercharger access. Both charge at 11kW on AC, so a night on a home wallbox fills either one.

If your driving is a commute plus a home charger, the charging gap costs you nothing at all. If you do Sydney to Melbourne twice a year, it costs you an hour each way and some route planning. Worth working out honestly which of those you are before you decide. Our range estimator is a better guide to that than a WLTP figure is.

Both of these are mid-size SUVs, and the exterior dimensions are closer than the price gap suggests. The EX5 is 177mm shorter, 81mm narrower and 46mm taller, on a wheelbase 140mm shorter. In the metal they read as the same class of car, and the Geely is actually the easier one to park.

The boot is the one number that genuinely separates them, and it is a big one. The Model Y's 854 litres behind the second row is close to best in class, helped by a deep under-floor well and a 116-litre front boot on top. The EX5's 302 litres is modest for a car this size, and there is no frunk to fall back on. Fold the seats and the gap narrows a lot, 2,138 litres against 1,877, so for flat-pack runs the two are comparable. For a family holiday with the seats up, they are not.

Rear seat room in the EX5 is good, which is where those 4.6 metres go. Reviewers consistently describe the back seat as genuinely family-friendly, and the Inspire adds massaging front seats and a panoramic roof that make it feel more expensive inside than it is. The Tesla has the longer wheelbase and the wider body, so it is still the roomier of the two for three across the back.

Towing is a real gap rather than a close call. The Model Y is rated to 1,600kg braked. We hold no towing rating for the EX5 at all, so if a trailer or a camper is part of your plan, confirm it with Geely directly before you sign anything.

This is the section where the EX5 does the most damage. Geely covers the car for seven years and unlimited kilometres for private buyers, and the high-voltage battery for eight years and unlimited kilometres down to 70 percent state of health. Tesla covers the Model Y for five years and unlimited kilometres, with the Rear-Wheel Drive battery warranted for eight years or 160,000km.

So the Geely gives you two extra years on the car and removes the kilometre cap from the battery entirely. If you do 25,000km a year, the Tesla battery warranty runs out at roughly six and a half years while the Geely's keeps going for the full eight. Commercial use drops both Geely terms to 150,000km, so rideshare and courier buyers should read the fine print.

Servicing is the other one-sided bit. Geely publishes capped Assured Service Pricing across seven years and 140,000km on 12-month or 20,000km intervals:

Under $2,000 for seven years is cheap by any standard, electric or otherwise, and you know the number before you buy. Tesla runs 20,000km intervals and does not publish a capped-price schedule in the same way, so the Model Y's running costs are harder to pin down up front even though they are unlikely to be high.

Resale is the one column where the Tesla still wins outright, and it is not a small column. The Model Y has among the strongest used demand of any electric car in Australia. Geely has been selling here since 2025, and no new brand has a resale record yet by definition. Over three years that gap will eat into the $16,910 saving. Over seven, with the warranty and servicing advantage compounding, it probably will not.