- China’s Changan brand is a relative newcomer to the European EV market, with its first Europe-bound model, the Deepal S07, launched last year.
- Changan has now strengthened this lineup with the arrival of the Deepal S05, a sub-£40,000 C-segment electric SUV set to rival cars such as the Kia EV3 and Skoda Elroq.
- With a combination of Chinese manufacturing efficiency, UK-based R&D, and car design led by an Italy-based team, does the Deepal S05 have what it takes to compete in one of the most competitive EV segments?
How does the Changan Deepal S05 stack up on UK roads?
The Changan Deepal S05 is the latest addition to an increasingly competitive and crowded electric SUV market.
The first option, which is on test here, is the rear-wheel-drive variant, with a price of £37,990. This delivers 268 horsepower, delivering a respectable 0-62mph time of 7.5 seconds, and a claimed battery range of 303 miles.
Changan will also sell you a more performance-oriented all-wheel-drive variant, for a price of £39,990, bringing improved handling and more power – 429 horsepower, bringing that 0-62mph time down to only 5.5 seconds. Battery range does take a hit on this model, however, down to a claimed 278 miles.
No matter which model you go for, the choice is pretty seamless, with virtually every piece of equipment coming standard – including a 14-speaker sound system, heads-up display, keyless entry, wireless phone charging, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto support. The only options available to tick on the order form are a panoramic glass roof (£1,000) and detachable tow bar (£600).
Much like its larger brother, the Deepal S07, the S05’s exterior and interior design was led by Changan’s global design centre in Turin, and it certainly stands out as a sportier design, that some may prefer to softer-looking rivals such as the Skoda Elroq and BYD ATTO 3.
Five colour options are available, at zero-cost: silver, white, black, grey, and blue. The blue as tested here is the most eye-catching of the bunch. Interior wise, you can go for either black or orange.
The Interior
On-board refinement in the Deepal S05 is excellent, with some fairly high quality materials dotted around the cabin, as you’d expect at its £37,990 base price. Seats are vegan leather, with the fronts being heated and ventilated.
Double glazing on the front windscreen and front windows also help to bring very low levels of road noise. Combine that with the S05’s low 0.25Cd drag coefficient, and wind noise is also kept to a minimum, making this car a fairly relaxing place to spend time.
Seat comfort is excellent, whilst legroom in the back is also very impressive for a C-segment SUV. The front passenger is in for an extra surprise with the car’s so-called ‘Queen Seat’ function, which features a zero-gravity recline feature which also brings out an extendable leg rest for added comfort on long journeys.
The Deepal S05 also ticks the practicality boxes. Rear boot space stands at 492 litres or 1,250 with the seats down, along with a small 28 litre underfloor storage space. Of extra benefit is the front trunk, measuring in at 159 litres. By our measurements, you could easily fit a small set of golf clubs or a small suitcase in this front compartment. Much like the new Tesla Model Y, this frunk is fully rubberised along with a drain hole, allowing you to use it to separate muddy equipment such as walking shoes from your pristine interior.
Driving experience
As is also the case with the larger Deepal S07, Changan is keen to press on the fact that UK-bound Deepal S05s have suspension components which have been tuned “specifically for UK roads”, informed by input from its Birmingham R&D centre.
On the road, this translates to a slightly improved ride and assured handling, particularly compared to similar sized EVs from other Chinese brands. The Deepal S05 soaks up potholes well, and the suspension gives decent comfort in urban areas and at lower speeds. On faster country roads, however, and the Deepal S05 suffers from a slightly fidgety ride, though we’ve seen this from a number of other electric SUVs recently. In other countries with much smoother roads, we bet this characteristic will be much less apparent.
As part of the launch, we also tested the Deepal S05 on a private slalom course. Whilst you’re very unlikely to be driving like this in the real world, it does give an idea of how this car will handle in emergency manoeuvres such as sudden braking or swerving to avoid something. In that respect, the car handles well in these situations, although you’d never call it a sports car with the fair amount of body roll these manoeuvres entailed.
On-board technology
The infotainment system on the Deepal S05 is touchscreen-focused, with a 15.4 inch centrally mounted touchscreen that can swivel 15 degrees towards either the driver or passenger, depending on who is interacting with the screen.
A heads-up display is also included as standard, giving information such as speed, map navigation, and battery status directly in the eyeline of the driver.
Those who were hoping for physical buttons will be disappointed, however, the hotkey bar along the bottom of the touchscreen can be customised to keep key functions readily available rather than hidden in menus. The steering wheel retains proper physical buttons too, rather than the less responsive capacitive touch buttons we’ve seen on EVs such as the Ford Explorer.
The software on the infotainment screen itself is excellent, with no stuttering or lag visible. For anyone that’s been in a recent Tesla, it’ll feel like a pretty familiar experience. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are supported if you want to use apps such as Waze, but the EV charging discovery available on the built-in navigation is worth considering. If you plot a route further than the car’s battery range, the car will give you multiple options for stopping and charging on the way.
We tried plotting a 360 mile, 8 hour route, and the built-in navigation did a great job in suggesting multiple charging stops – the most intuitive being the option to stop three times over the trip for short 15 minute charging sessions on rapid chargers.
The Changan Deepal S05 also supports vehicle-to-load at up to 6kW, allowing you to power external mains devices – an increasingly popular feature on EVs, that could come in handy in situations such as a power cut or camping trip.
At present, the Deepal S05 doesn’t offer vehicle-to-home or vehicle-to-grid functionality – something we at ElectricDrives see as being a key pillar of the future energy ecosystem. That said, Changan confirmed that thanks to the car’s dual inverter setup, any potential future support for V2H or V2G could be enabled via an over-the-air update, rather than requiring changes to the vehicle itself – so buying a Deepal S05 still futureproofs you in that regard.
Conclusion
In an EV segment that’s filling up fast, the Deepal S05 makes a strong first impression. It blends comfort, clever practicality, and high levels of tech into an exterior that stands out amongst more bland looking rivals. The ride isn’t perfect at higher speeds, but there’s a lot here that just works – and works well.
Factor in the generous standard kit and fairly competitive pricing, and the S05 stands out as a quietly compelling all-rounder that should have established European players looking closely over their shoulder – particularly with Changan planning to bring an even wider portfolio of EVs to Europe over the next few years, at a much more rapid development pace.
