Deepal S05 vs Geely Starray EM-R: Compare Range, Features & Performance

Two range-extender SUVs, two very different positions. The Deepal S05 is on sale in Pakistan now. The Geely Starray EM-R launched in Thailand as a world first and is not sold here at all.

So treat this as a measuring stick rather than a shopping list. It shows what the Deepal will be judged against if a rival of this kind reaches us.

It also contains one thing worth knowing before you read any other comparison of these cars. Their spec sheets make the Geely look fractionally more powerful. It is not. The two use an identical motor, and the difference is a unit, not an engine.

Quick Comparison

Deepal figures from the manufacturer's Pakistan page. Starray figures as reported from its Thai launch; we could not reach an official Geely source, so treat them as reported rather than confirmed.

The Motors Are Identical, and the Numbers Hide It

This is the trap, and it catches almost everyone who compares cars across markets.

Deepal's Pakistan page quotes 215 HP. The Starray EM-R is quoted at 160 kW, or 218 PS. A reader comparing 215 with 218 concludes the Geely is a shade stronger.

One kilowatt is 1.341 mechanical horsepower but 1.360 metric horsepower, so the same motor reads about 3 units higher in PS.

215 hp and 218 PS are the same 160 kW motor. There is no power advantage either way, and anyone telling you otherwise has compared two different units.

It is worth carrying that habit into any comparison of Chinese-market cars. Chinese and Thai material usually quotes PS; Pakistani and British material often quotes hp. Convert both to kilowatts before you believe a gap.

Electric Range: the One Clean Comparison

Most cross-market comparisons collapse because the two cars were measured on different cycles. Here, unusually, they were not. Both electric range figures are NEDC, so they can be set side by side.

The Deepal manages 170 km against the Starray's 104.8 km — 65 km more, or 62 per cent further on the same test.

Some of that is simply a bigger battery: 27.28 kWh against 18.4, which is 48 per cent more. But look at the two percentages. The range advantage is bigger than the battery advantage, and that can only happen if the Deepal is also using its energy better.

Our calculation, battery capacity divided by NEDC range. The Starray uses about 9 per cent more energy per kilometre.

An independent figure backs that up. The Deepal's drag coefficient is 0.25 against the Starray's 0.278, roughly 10 per cent slicker. Two unrelated data sets pointing the same way is what makes the conclusion trustworthy.

One caution on both numbers. NEDC is the most generous test cycle still quoted. Expect meaningfully less in Pakistani heat with the air conditioning working, from either car.

A Shorter Car With a Longer Wheelbase

Put the two sets of dimensions together and something appears that neither spec sheet shows on its own.

The Deepal is 120 mm shorter overall than the Starray, yet its wheelbase is 125 mm longer.

Wheelbase as a share of total length comes to 62.3 per cent for the Deepal and 58.1 for the Starray. In plain terms, the Deepal puts more of its length between the wheels and less of it in the overhangs.

That combination is unusual and genuinely useful. More cabin for passengers, and a smaller car to park — normally you choose one.

Charging, and Why 20 Minutes Is Not What It Looks Like

Deepal quotes 30 to 80 per cent in about 20 minutes. That reads impressively until you divide it out.

Half of a 27.28 kWh battery is roughly 13.6 kWh, so 20 minutes needs an average of about 41 kW. For context, a mid-size electric SUV we checked this week needed 63 kW to do the same 30 to 80 in 28 minutes, because its battery is more than twice the size.

So the Deepal finishes sooner because there is less to fill, not because it charges hard. That is not a criticism — a small battery topping up quickly is exactly what a range-extender wants — but the minutes flatter it.

The Starray's charging rates are not published in the material available, so no comparison can be drawn there. We are not going to guess at them.

The Feature That Matters Most in Pakistan

Here is the point that almost no coverage of either car makes, and for readers here it may outweigh everything above.

The Deepal S05 offers 6.6 kW of vehicle-to-load output — mains power drawn from the car. On a battery-only electric vehicle that is a fixed allowance: once the pack is low, it stops.

But this is a range-extender. It can start its own engine and keep generating. So the limit is not the battery at all; it is the fuel tank, behind a stated combined range of over 1,000 km.

Put that in local terms. 6.6 kW is more than most domestic generators here deliver, which typically sit between 2 and 5 kVA. And it arrives without a separate machine, separate servicing or a separate fuel can.

The Starray's V2L capability is not stated in the available material, which is not the same as it having none. If you are weighing these cars, that is a question to put to a dealer rather than an assumption to make.

Boot Space: Why We Will Not Compare Them

The published figures are 492 litres for the Deepal with the seats up, and up to 2,065 litres for the Starray with the seats folded.

Those describe different situations, so putting them next to each other would suggest the Geely has four times the luggage space. It does not, and no honest comparison can be made from them.

If you are shopping on boot space, ask for both cars' seats-up figures and ignore any article that prints these two numbers side by side.

EM-R Is Not EM-i, and the Difference Is Real

A warning for anyone researching the Geely, because the same car name covers two unrelated powertrains.

The Starray EM-i is a plug-in hybrid, where the engine can drive the wheels directly. The Starray EM-R is a range-extender, where the wheels are driven only by the electric motor and the engine is purely a generator.

One launch report described the EM-R as the plug-in hybrid with the clutch taken out, which captures it exactly. Remove the mechanical path from engine to wheels and a PHEV becomes a REEV.

Do not read EM-i specifications as EM-R specifications. If you want the wider picture on this powertrain type, our guide to the best REEV cars in 2026 explains where range-extenders fit.

Price, and the One Thing Missing

The Deepal S05 REEV Max is listed by the manufacturer at PKR 9,999,000, described as including freight and as a limited-time offer. The Starray EM-R starts at 699,900 baht in Thailand, rising to 799,900 for the Max.

We have deliberately not converted the baht figure. It reflects Thai duty on a car imported from China, and translating it into rupees would produce a number that describes nothing about Pakistan.

One gap is worth pressing on, and it runs against the car you can actually buy. The Starray's launch material publishes its warranties: six years or 160,000 km on the vehicle, and eight years or 180,000 km on the high-voltage battery.

The Deepal's Pakistan page does not state a warranty at all, pointing to a brochure instead. On any new-brand electric vehicle the battery warranty is the most important commitment you can be given, so get it in writing before you sign.

Accessories for the Deepal S05

If you already run one, our Deepal S05 accessories in Pakistan are cut for this car rather than adapted to it, and we fit in-house in Multan.

The 492-litre boot and the rear-drive layout both affect what sits properly, so tell us your variant and we will confirm before dispatch. More about us if you have not dealt with us before.

Final Verdict

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