How I Chose the Geely EX2 After Ten Years of Thinking About EVs

My electric-car story started in March 2016, when Tesla announced the Model 3.

I reserved one that same day.

I paid the $1,000 deposit without knowing whether Tesla would ever open a dealership in Jordan, how I would import the car, whether anyone here could service it, or whether the whole thing made any practical sense.

Crazy, I know.

The Model 3 was supposed to make electric cars accessible to more people. I was apparently prepared to test just how accessible it would be from a country where Tesla had no presence at all.

Then came the delays.

By the end of 2018, I gave up, cancelled the reservation, and got my money back.

I bought an iPad Pro with the refund :D

Not exactly the future of transportation, but probably a much more useful way to spend the money at the time.

Since then, I have also had a fairly complete falling-out with being a fan of Elon Musk and almost anything he creates. So even when Model 3s eventually started appearing in Jordan, one was no longer really in the cards for me.

For a while, that was the end of my EV ambitions.

Thinking seriously about an EV again

Around two years ago, I started thinking about replacing my 2009 Mazda 2.

I had owned it for a long time. It was small, easy to park, inexpensive to run, and particularly well suited to the narrow streets and creative parking situations of Amman.

But I wanted something newer, more comfortable, and electric.

At first, I gravitated toward familiar brands. Local dealerships did not sell the electric models I was interested in, but cars such as the Fiat 500e, Volkswagen e-Golf, and Volkswagen ID.3 were available through dealers in the free zone, both new and used. I considered them because I already knew and trusted their manufacturers.

Each had something going for it.

The Fiat was genuinely small and city-friendly, but its original range was limited. The e-Golf felt familiar, but belonged to an earlier generation of EV technology. The ID.3 was more advanced and surprisingly compact.

By 2025, however, most of these models were available in Jordan only as used imports, usually already several years old. That did not automatically make them bad choices. But battery condition, accident history, previous repairs, software support, spare parts, and the quality of each individual import all became part of the decision.

I kept looking, but nothing felt quite right.

My next thought was to buy a new electric car from a familiar brand, ideally something small and easy to live with like my Mazda 2. Kia, Hyundai, Renault, and Citroën all made compact EVs that seemed promising.

The problem was that the models I was interested in were not officially sold new in Jordan.

So the cars I knew were either available mainly as older used imports, or not available here at all.

Then I started noticing the Chinese EV boom.

At first, I focused entirely on BYD. It was already a major global EV brand and the only Chinese manufacturer I knew much about. Its cars were also available new in Jordan through an official dealership.

Stuck between the Seagull and the Dolphin

The BYD Seagull made a lot of sense for me.

It was compact, efficient, relatively affordable, and ideal for city driving.

But I never really liked how it looked.

I tried.

It was sensible. It was practical. My brother’s wife eventually bought one. It was probably close to everything I actually needed.

But buying a new car is not an entirely rational decision, and I could never get excited about its design, especially with so many of them already on Amman’s streets.

The full-size BYD Dolphin looked better. It felt more mature and substantial, with good range, a larger battery, and a well-established electric platform.

But it was also more car than I really needed.

I mostly drive around Amman. I am usually alone. I do not regularly drive long highway distances. The Dolphin’s larger battery and extra size were useful, but difficult to justify paying more for.

So, for around a year, I was stuck between the two.

The Seagull made more sense for my actual use, but it was not a car I particularly wanted.

The Dolphin was the car I preferred, but it was larger and more expensive than I needed.

Apparently, I wanted something in between.

I just did not know what it was yet.

Then I noticed the Smart #1

I saw a Smart #1 on the street and suddenly knew exactly what I wanted.

It was compact but spacious, distinctive without looking strange, and much more interesting than the EVs I had been considering.

It had the compact footprint and hatchback-like shape I had been looking for, along with plenty of range and far more power than I would ever need.

It was priced close to the higher-spec Dolphin, which made the comparison particularly interesting. If I was going to spend that much, the Smart felt like the more exciting choice.

For the first time, I was not choosing between the small sensible car and the larger car I preferred.

The Smart felt compact enough for Amman while still being a car I genuinely wanted.

Emotionally, the decision had almost been made.

Then, about two months ago, I decided it was time to stop thinking and actually choose a car. I started the search again, this time looking at all the new EVs available in Jordan. 

That was when I discovered the Geely EX2.

The EX2 changed the calculation

The EX2 landed almost exactly in the gap I had been trying to fill.

It was more spacious and substantial than the Seagull. It was less expensive and better suited to my use than the full-size Dolphin. And it was surprisingly close to the Smart #1 in size, proportions, interior space, and overall character, despite costing considerably less.

The Max Plus was priced at JD 15,900.

That was when the value equation changed completely.

The decision was no longer between an affordable small car I did not particularly want and a more expensive car that was more than I needed.

The EX2 appeared to offer the middle I had been looking for.

The more I learned, the more interesting it became

At first, the EX2 seemed to appear out of nowhere.

But once I started researching it, I discovered that it had become China’s best-selling car in 2025, selling nearly half a million units.

That caught my attention.

Reviews from different markets praised the same things: interior space, practicality, ride comfort, and the quality of the engineering relative to the price. The main criticisms were modest performance and a few missing convenience features, neither of which concerned me much.

Then I looked more closely at Geely itself.

It owns Volvo Cars and Lotus, and operates Smart through a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz.

That does not make the EX2 a cheaper Volvo or Smart. But it gave me confidence that this was a mature automotive group, not a company learning how to build electric cars from scratch.

I also looked at the JAC E30X, Dongfeng Nammi, and MG4. All three were compelling alternatives, although the MG4 was larger than I needed.

But I kept returning to the EX2.

One thing I heard repeatedly in reviews was that Geely appeared to prioritise the fundamentals. The EX2 was not packed with every possible convenience feature, but it seemed to get the important things right: the platform, packaging, ride, and overall driving experience.

That philosophy appealed to me.

Was it really a hatchback?

Technically, the EX2 is usually described as a hatchback.

But in photographs, and especially in person, it looks closer to a small crossover.

At 4,135 mm long and 1,805 mm wide, it has a similar road presence to cars such as the Toyota Raize, Nissan Juke, Mazda CX-3, and Smart #1.

That explains why it feels so spacious without feeling like a large car.

My 2009 Mazda 2 remained the most personally useful comparison. The EX2 is around 25 cm longer and 11 cm wider, with a basic road footprint about 13% larger.

It is enough to feel noticeably more substantial, but not so much that it becomes difficult to live with in Amman.

I did not set out looking for a bigger car, but I welcomed the extra space. It felt like a sensible step up from the Mazda 2 without becoming more car than I wanted.

The Smart remained the emotional competitor

Even after the EX2 became the logical choice, the Smart #1 remained the emotional one.

The Smart objectively offered much more performance. Its 272 horsepower was in a completely different category from the EX2’s 114 horsepower. It also had a bigger battery and, in my opinion, more attractive exterior styling.

But seeing the Smart #1 Brabus interior at the dealership changed my perception.

I expected a major difference in cabin quality because of the price. Instead, the interior did not feel dramatically more premium than the EX2. There was still a considerable amount of plastic, and some materials felt surprisingly ordinary for such an expensive version.

The EX2 interior was at least comparable and, in some areas, felt more impressive relative to its price.

The Smart gave me much more performance, but I did not need 272 horsepower for city driving.

It offered more space, but the EX2 was already spacious.

It offered a stronger brand and better exterior design, but those advantages did not justify an additional JD 7,600 for me.

The Smart was objectively more car.

But it was not nearly 48% more useful for my life.

What ultimately mattered

By this point, my priorities were clear.

I wanted something compact, comfortable, modern, and as easy to live with in Amman as my Mazda 2 had been.

I also wanted a car whose design I genuinely liked. After trying to reason myself into the Seagull, I knew practicality alone was not enough.

I wanted a new car with a local warranty, maintenance support, spare parts, and enough range for everyday use.

I wanted good engineering and a price that made sense. I did not need extreme acceleration, the largest available battery, or every convenience feature.

The EX2 brought those priorities together at a price that made sense.

So I chose the Geely EX2 Max Plus with the black roof.

The black roof improves the exterior design, and although the light-grey interior may require occasional cleaning, it makes the cabin feel brighter and more spacious.

Ask me how I feel about the light-grey interior again in a year ;-)

After the test drive, the decision became much easier.

The EX2 was smooth, quiet, spacious, and simple to drive. It felt more substantial than I expected without becoming unnecessarily large.

Now that I own it, that impression has held up.

It is not perfect.

I would still like a rear wiper.

But its compromises are mostly in conveniences and add-ons rather than the engineering that determines how the car drives and functions.

After years of comparing EVs, the choice was not about finding the largest battery, the longest range, the highest horsepower, or the most prestigious badge.

It was about finding the point where price, technology, engineering, practicality, local support, and everyday use finally aligned.

For me, in Jordan in 2026, that point was the Geely EX2.

Ten years after reserving a Tesla Model 3 without knowing how I would even get it into Jordan, I finally bought my first electric car.

Apparently, I just had to wait for the Chinese EV boom.

Meanwhile, the 2018 iPad Pro turned out to be a pretty good purchase too.