We joined Geely - Pronounced "G" and "Lee", thank me later, for a 2 day launch marking their official return to our Mzansi market.

More commonly known for owning some car brands and groups like Volvo, Renault group and Daimler just to name a few, the Chinese power has taken a chance to re-establish themselves in the car market with their very own products after leaving South Africa in early 2009, less than two years after first entering the market in June 2007. Its local importer entered liquidation, primarily due to "market forces and a downturn in the new vehicle market". 

Now though they are back with a reinvigorated lineup that gains from large parts, technology and engineering sharing that it has with the afore mentioned brands. The brand hosted a gala dinner for day one that looked to tackle all the technical aspects of the brand and its products being of which are two models in our shores for now, this being the all-electric E5 which is a mid-size SUV and the other variant which is the EM-I hybrid.

Geely expressed a major focus on safety and class-leading technology being the the driving factor and vision of the brand, this was highlighted when a 4 part video demonstration of just of safe their newest electric products are for use, for occupants and in everyday situations, boasting that the Geely lineup has been tested in all of the global rating including EuroNCAP, ChinaNCAP and AustraliaNCAP.

The first vehicle introduced to us was the E5 SUV, one of the brand's marvels in development. It is built on the brand's EA - GLOBAL INTELLIGENT ELECTRIC ARCHITECTURE platform, which has been extensively developed to provide features such as fast charging for minimal downtime and efficient battery recharge rates.

The E5 has just one EV engine to choose, which is a 60. 2 kWh battery with 320 Nm of torque, equating to a WLTP range of around 300 km. The Geely has a respectable 160 kW and 329 Nm, and the battery can go from 30% to 80% in 20 minutes. The EX5 is also capable of 3. 3 kW vehicle-to-load charging.

The cars both have a very minimalist exterior look that still manages to hold a unique fascia instead of a generic electric vehicle look, as the front consists of a closed-off face for both the EM-i and E5, flanked by two LED lights and some vent work at either side of the lower bumper, which I suspect aids aerodynamics to lower the drag coefficient .

The side profile is nothing too shouty; however, to differentiate the EV from the hybrid version, this E5 has pop-out door handles instead of the conventional handles.

The back is a mix of a Dodge Durango and a Porsche Cayenne in terms of design, as it features a full-LED light bar. The car measures 4,615 mm long and has a ground clearance of 1,670 mm, which means more space in the cabin, and it did have. 

Speaking of the inside, the vehicle has a very minimalist interior, as most electric cars nowadays do. This consists of a big 15.4-inch infotainment screen that has a very crisp resolution and hosts most of your controls, like climate. It impressively includes some buttons for shortcuts, allowing you to spend less time digging through menus and more time focusing on driving.

A very quirky and quite peculiar feature that my co-driver and I found out was that the comfy front seats can recline almost fully flat to allow the passenger to take a full nap. Some more niceties were the Flyme sound system that plays your jams and some EV noises while driving.

Some more standard equipment in the car consists of adjustable driving lights and taillights, roof rails, automatic flush door handles, rear privacy glass, and power-adjustable, heated door mirrors.

The E5 will be available in just two trims which are the Aspire and the Apex and these will be priced as follows :

E5 Aspire - R699 999

E5 Apex - R759 999

All Geely models will come with a 6 year / 120 000km and 6 year / 150 000km warranty plus come equipped with a 8 year / 200 000km battery warranty that covers all of the electric bits and bobs. The company also boasted that all models will come with an impressive roadside assistance that covers overnight accommodation in the case of a break down far from home, tyre repairs/replacement, car rental or courtesy if your car can't be fixed on site