Changan Deepal S05 review

One of China’s elder statesmen. So to speak. Unlike so many of these insurgent brands that were apparently set up five minutes ago and already sell cars in the millions, Changan has been in the manufacturing game for 45 years. Its first effort was a van in the 1980s, before it moved onto cars in the 90s. 30 million units later, it operates in 117 markets. Just not ours until six months ago.

That changed with the Deepal S07, a ponderous D-segment electric SUV with a massive screen and lush interior. This Deepal S05 is a C-segment electric SUV with a massive screen and lush interior. Only it’s vastly more efficient, going further on fewer cells.

Changan’s schtick is quality, but it also sees design (it has an outpost in Turin, just like, er, Pininfarina) and technology as its key pillars. Just like every other Chinese car brand then. But it can let its hair down too: its UK MD uses the phrase “fun should be easy”, hence why there’s a piano in the games menu.

A games menu? Another Tesla wannabe then…

The Model Y is one of the cars the Deepal S05 has been benchmarked against (despite being an order of magnitude bigger), but so too are the VW ID.5 and Hyundai Ioniq 5. It’s similar in size to the Peugeot e-3008, a little bigger than the Renault Scenic, and a little shy of the Skoda Enyaq.

A very crowded field, into which Changan has shimmied with a crowd-pleasing deal. £438 down and then the same again per month over three years for its £38k rear-wheel drive model, with the added benefit of a £1,700 deposit contribution and 0 per cent APR. You’ll know why cheap finance is such a rarity these days if you’ve recently watched a programme called ‘The News at Ten’.

Is that good value? I need context!

Here you go: the Deepal S05 runs a 68.6kWh battery for 303 miles of WLTP range. It uses LFP chemistry, so less energy dense than an NMC pack, but use of cell-to-body tech claws back some of the deficit by reducing weight and adding rigidity.

The rear motor is good for 268bhp and 214lb ft. That’s plenty – 0-62mph takes 7.5 seconds. There’s an AWD version with a second motor that trades punching power for stamina: 429bhp, 0-62mph in 5.5s and 278 miles.

DC charging peaks at 200kW, and Changan claims a 30-80 per cent top up in 15 minutes. AC charging tops out at 11kW, so plenty for overnight at home.

The interior is nothing you haven’t seen before – one or two buttons, and everything else shoved into the touchscreen – but the materials are top notch and space is palatial. You can have the cabin in black or orange (think terracotta leaves, not Netherlands football kit). The 15.4in touchscreen pivots electronically to face the driver or passenger, and there’s an HUD for speed, nav and charge info.

You also get vegan leather seats that are heated and vented, ambient lighting, an ‘anti-gravity’ front passenger seat that reclines like a dentist’s chair, plus a 14-speaker audio system, 50W wireless phone charger and more acronym-heavy ADAS systems than any sane person could ever get their head around. Changan understands that you don’t want to be bombarded with warnings, so it’s made it easy to dial that stuff back. Good.

So to answer my question…

It looks like a steal. You need to stump up seven-and-a-half grand to get the monthlies on an e-3008 down to anything like what Changan is offering; a base Scenic is five big ones, and that doesn’t go as far; an Ioniq 5 needs five (!) figures up front for comparable payments. That’s not a win for Changan, that’s an absolute drubbing.

And you only need to look as far as Jaecoo to see where this might go. Barely a mile goes by without a 7 passing in the other direction these days – that’s how happy droves of the population have been to forgive a lack of badge clout and a ropey driving experience.

And why? Because the styling works, the tech is powerful, and with so much pressure on the family purse now, the numbers make it worth the risk.

Ah, so that’s the catch. Not great to drive?

It’s fine – adequate for the types of people who’ll be interested in a mid-size family car, but no more. Acceleration, cornering, braking all just sort of happen without any discernible character, but nor does it handle like a wheelie bin full of rainwater.

It’s also acceptably comfortable. Changan has an R&D base in Birmingham so the dampers and bushes have been swapped out to firm up the ride as per UK tastes. Over to the Driving tab for the full assessment…

The Changan Deepal S05 has all the ingredients to be a big success: it’s inoffensively styled, the interior is spacious and superbly stitched together, the tech offering is comprehensive and range is good for the battery size. A seven-year warranty, five-star Euro NCAP rating and a promise to supply spare parts within 24 hours through Changan’s 60-strong UK dealer network are all good reasons for potential buyers to give the brand a chance.

The fact that it’s forgettable to drive is neither here nor there for this car’s likely audience – inflation, the cost of living, and an unending stream of global crises mean people are being pushed further and further down the market, and Changan is yet another entity waiting to sweep up that interest with a PCP that household names can’t get close to. If you’re struggling to make ends meet, are you cancelling Netflix or saving bucket loads on the box that gets the kids to school? It’s the car, no contest.