The Changan Deepal S05 has landed – an EV with tech that could really take off

Changan is probably the biggest Chinese car manufacturer you’ve never heard of. Based in Chongqing, the company has made production cars in China since 1984 and has had a base in Europe since 2003, when it opened its design studio in Turin, Italy.

Today, the firm has a network of R&D facilities across the globe, including Detroit, Munich and Birmingham in the UK. Its first UK car, the Deepal S07, launched in September 2025 to impressive reviews, thanks to its high-level spec and competitive price. Now, its second model looks to do the same.

The Deepal S05 is a smaller, compact SUV, and starts from just £37,990 in the UK. This was designed in Changan’s European design centre, and takes design cues from aeroplanes – from the front bumper to the V-shaped spoiler on the rear.

Coming in a choice of four main colours, including a special andromeda blue and Mercury silver, it’s a good-looking car both inside and out. The thin, elongated daylight running LEDs create a sporty look that reminds me of Lotus models, while the rear has something Mazda-like about it.

Interior style

Inside though is where the car really impresses. The trim can be finished in a classy black, with orange stitching, or for the bold, in full orange, which actually looks far nicer than it sounds. Both use vegan leather and soft touch materials, without a hint of piano black plastic, and highlighted with LED lighting to set the mood.

There’s no driver display, as such here, though the augmented reality heads-up display comes as standard and provides all the relevant information in the line of sight – this is apparently an equivalent of a 50-inch display, and is certainly bright and clear enough for easy use.

The central display is a 15.4-inch 2.5k resolution touch screen, which provides all of the information, as well as access to most of the features – including climate control, wing mirror adjustment and even opening the sunblind on the giant panoramic glass roof. There is of course a voice assistant, accessed by saying, “hey Deepal” should you wish to avoid the menus.

The clever part about this screen though is that it can adjust the angle of the display – not by rotating between portrait and landscape, like the BYD models, but tilting horizontally by 15 degrees, either towards the driver or to the passenger. With this angled in, it does make more of a cockpit fit to the cabin and puts you in control. Equally, if the passenger is controlling the sat nav or the playlist, they can tilt it towards them and not distract the driver.

The operating system is fast and well-designed, allowing easy access to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto should you require it. I found the mapping a little basic, so using Google Maps or Waze is probably preferred. There’s also a wireless charging pad, giving you up to 50W charging for your phone.

The system includes a range of games for when you’re stationary or charging, which are pretty fun. There’s also a rest mode, which, when selected, reclines your seat, closes the blind and dims the lights, and a pet mode to keep the air con running and alert that the animal in the car is safe, should you need to leave them for a few minutes.

The really clever stuff, though, is tucked away in the camera menu, under a setting called external speaker. As you might guess from the name, these modes control an external speaker that sits in the wheel arch. Preset buttons can be used to alert pedestrians to your presence – helpful when travelling at low speed in a relatively silent EV – or even more specifically to look up from their phone. Another button alerts to your arrival – handy when picking up friends.

My favourite, though, is that you can press and hold the button to use the microphone and have your voice instantly projected outside the car, like some kind of police megaphone. Now obviously, you would only want to use this for good, but the potential for misuse is huge.

Driving the Deepal S05

Back to the specs of the Deepal S05, it comes in both rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive versions. The AWD version is faster, giving you a 0-62mph of 5.5 seconds compared to 7.5 seconds, while the RWD model offers a longer range of 303 miles, compared to 278 miles.

Both models share the same 68.8 kWh battery, with a maximum DC charging rate of 200kW and an AC charging rate of 11kW. Vehicle-to-load (V2L) charging is possible from the car, to power external devices with up to 6kW, but not vehicle to home or to grid.

I drove the RWD version, and it seemed to have more than enough power. It also handled well around a salom circuit that had been set up for me on a private airfield, to really test the handling and compare the driving modes – of which it offers eco, comfort and sport, as well as the ability to turn off the traction control.

Several adjustments have been made to the Deepal S05 to make it suit European drivers, rather than the home Chinese audience, including an overhaul of the suspension system to make it firmer. Over 50mph, though, the car still becomes quite bouncy and light, even in Sports mode.

The compact SUV is perhaps one of the toughest sectors for electric cars right now, as there are a lot of strong, affordable options available. The Changan Deepal S05 will be up against models like the Kia EV3, Volvo EX30 and Skoda Elroq – all of which offer impressive specs for similarly affordable prices. When it comes down to style and tech, though, the Deepal S05 holds its own and is definitely one to consider.