I liked the Changan Deepal S05 but I’ll remember it for all the wrong reasons

Introduction

Changan is by no means a brand that’s new to Europe; it has even had a development facility in Birmingham for years. But for many, the name is going to be another to file next to Chery, Lepas and Jaecoo as fresh arrivals with Chinese origins. The Deepal S05 is like a more condensed version of Changan’s bulky seven-seat S07 SUV and it’s decidedly more manageable for UK roads. I drove the S07 a while back now the brand’s keenness to deliver a premium feel really stood out.

Months later and sitting behind the wheel of the Changan Deepal S05, the premium approach was also very apparent. There’s value too, with oodles of kit as standard in a one-size-fits-all trim strategy that is to be praised for its simplicity. This, I thought, was a car that is made for people with simple expectations and who don’t want surprises. The Changan Deepal S05 is no-nonsense. However, it’s up against plenty of competition with the Kia EV3, Skoda Elroq and Tesla Model Y my own picks from the rival pack.

The styling

Changan is attempting to inject its growing range of EVs with some European-favoured appeal; having an Italian design office clearly helps with the intention. However, from the outside, the Deepal S05, like the Deepal S07 before it, does tend to look rather like other Chinese arrivals. Sure, it is sleek and stylish to look at and, with a drag coefficient of 0.26, the emphasis is on efficiency too. I just didn’t think it had any truly memorable styling flourishes that would allow easy identification alongside myriad other BYD’s, Xpeng’s, Chery’s, et al.

Weirdly, the most memorable aspect was the badge on the pointy nose of the Changan, which kept reminding me of the Pontiac logo. Still, as a member of the design team pointed out, there were styling flourishes that did raise the game a little, like the neat little aircraft design flavoured edges of the front bumper and the sleek headlights that sit snugly right under the lip of the bonnet. Around at the back, the width-wise taillight bar was okay but elsewhere the look might be a tad too generic for some.

Changan has done a better job with the interior. There’s lots of space, thanks to the size of the car with its 4.59 metre length, 1.9 metre height and 1.6-metre-wide body allowing for plenty of room to move on the inside. The look and feel was reasonably premium too. Again, the designers have integrated some subtle aircraft industry-style touches to the layout, with armrests in the door that were particularly accommodating. Seat coverings felt plush while the surfaces, despite being largely plastic, were quite nice to the touch.

The drive

The Changan Deepal S05 comes in two variants, with the rear-wheel drive model being perfectly fine over the four-wheel drive alternative. Both cars are fitted with a 68.8kWh battery pack, which can deliver a range of up to 303 miles for the RWD model and 278 miles for the AWD.

Having an R&D office in Birmingham should’ve been useful for ensuring the Changan Deepal S05 was tailored to suit UK roads, but they still proved a little too much for it to handle. There’s enough power here, but I felt like it was struggling to navigate our pulverised road surfaces. Having encountered seemingly endless 20mph zones on my test route, the Changan did feel great at low speeds even though, like most EVs, it also felt ridiculously easy to creep over the limit. Overall, though, I think the sort of people who will probably buy the Changan Deepal S05 will find it ticks all the right boxes on the performance front.

I cycled through the drive modes and, while Sport had a vague touch of cheekiness about it, the car’s handling setup isn’t going to provide much for thrill seekers. This was a car that felt happiest in Comfort mode and I was perfectly fine about that too. There was more than enough power on tap for any overtaking and for getting away at the lights. Meanwhile, stopping power felt dependable enough. I always like a column-mounted drive mode selector too.

The technology

What Chinese car would be complete without one or two tech tricks? The Changan Deepal S05 is no exception. The key thing here, which might not appeal to everyone, is the absence of a driver instrument panel. Everything was located in the 15.4in central infotainment screen and, unsurprisingly, it felt a little too busy for its own good. I have had this issue with Chinese cars before, where the information is extensive, but often too small or chaotically laid out to be of much use.

In the case of the Deepal S05, the saving grace was its head-up display, which delivered some crisp graphics and satellite navigation instructions that worked very well indeed using a bespoke system. Some of the graphics were a little reminiscent of something you’d see on a home PC, but they got the job done well enough and I, for one, liked them a lot.

Changan has also made using the large screen relatively easy when it came to tackling everyday adjustments, such as door mirrors, by incorporating quick access buttons. Supplementing that were buttons on the steering wheel, so the arrangement is basically good but did require a revisit when I next stopped just to get my head around the various control procedures.

Pick of the tech tricks would have had to have been the ability to make announcements from inside the car to passers-by outside, via an external speaker. A daft feature that was likely to be used exclusively by pranksters, I thought. Rather pointlessly, the infotainment screen could also be pivoted from one side to the other.

More useful was the built-in dash cam feature that underlined just how brilliant the Chinese brands are at thinking of everything and, somehow, offering it all at an affordable price point. Everything else was present too, including Apple CarPlay and Android Audio, plus a 50 watt wireless phone charger and a meat-and-potatoes 14-speaker audio system, which was acceptable.

Changan Deepal S05 verdict

The Changan Deepal S05 feels a bit by-numbers in the design department and lacks personality, but it’s a success in other areas. Most notable of all is the plush interior, which feels like a quality place to be. Compounding the appeal of the cockpit is the level of tech, which is as good, if not better, than that found in any of the numerous Chinese rivals out there. And, for a C-SUV, the space levels make it a perfect option for anyone with a family to lug around.

I wouldn’t bother going for the all-wheel-drive car as the rear-wheel-drive does the trick perfectly well and costs less to boot.

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