Changan Deepal S05 review

Changan impressed with its first UK model. Now the smaller version is shaping up to be a worthy contender, too

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You’ll be forgiven for not being hugely au fait with Changan’s work. The Chinese brand launched in the UK at the tail end of 2025 with the impressively competent Deepal S07 electric family SUV. Now there’s a smaller one, the Deepal S05.

It promises tech, performance, and the sort of stuff that ‘lifestyle’ people go all giddy over. We went to Austria for some cold weather driving and low-grip fun to get a hint of what it’ll be like when it hits the UK properly later this year.

The Deepal S05 has an external speaker you can use to announce your arrival, or even send your own messages. Mischief this way comes.
Alex Goy

Changan itself is one of China’s big manufacturers, and has had an R&D base in the UK for years, as well as a design house in Italy. So it should be able to make good on its promise that its cars are 'tailored to European needs'.

The Deepal S05 is the sort of 4.6m-long electric crossover that we're seeing a lot of. See also: Skoda Elroq, Kia EV5, MG S5 EV. Deepal is definitely playing the value card, because for £39,995 – the price of a well-specced single-motor Elroq – it will give you a dual-motor, all-wheel drive S05 with all the kit you could wish for. There's a single-motor, rear-wheel drive version as well, for £37,990.

We used the AWD one for winter slithering duties, and it’s a punchy package. There’s 429bhp and 370lb ft to play with and 0-62mph is a brisk 5.5 seconds. Under the floor is a 68.8kWh battery, which is on the small side for the class, but it's an LFP one, so won't mind being fully charged on a regular basis. It promises 4.0mpkWh and 278 miles of range. On a 200kW DC charger, you’ll get the battery from 30% to 80% in 15 minutes.

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When it comes to the look and feel of the car, the firm’s Italian team has done a fine job. It’s aerodynamically efficient, yet doesn’t look like an egg, which is pleasing.

The interior is slick, though everything’s run via a 15.4-inch touch screen. No buttons here, just a hit ‘n miss infotainment system that requires you to tap through various menus for simple things like wing mirror adjustments, drive mode changes, climate control, music, and, well, everything else. Spend too much time tapping while you’re driving, and the car will gently nag you for not paying attention. It’s best to use it when you’re stationary and leave it well alone after.

There are more than 30 cubby holes dotted around for all your assorted oddments - those that you don't want to throw in the competitively capacious 492-litre boot or 159-litre frunk, anyway.

The winter testing element of the Deepal S05 experience saw various exercises on low-grip surfaces - an attempt at kicking the tail out on a skid pad led to much understeer, though on a slippery slalom the body was nicely balanced at sensible speeds.

More involved turns (to avoid a deer, or jets of water being shot out of the ground) were handled well - though, again, it could get a touch understeery if pushed too hard. When the going got tough, it was easy to brake and keep in shape from high speed. Giving it a kicking around a little test track showed it was composed, and pleasingly quick.

In the real world, the Deepal S05 felt just fine. It rode quietly over uneven surfaces - although driving through puddles made some concerning noises. It’s not the sort of car you’ll buy to blow your socks off, but you’ll happily do day to day things without issue. 

With the option of four-wheel drive, fast charging and a keen price, the S05 definitely stands a chance among its many rivals, but will need some further refining to really cut it. 

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Alex Goy

Alex Goy

Alex has, for his sins, been making things about cars for longer than he was in full time education. Print, online, words, pictures, or video, he’s happiest when there’s something to shown to the wider world. 

A freelancer, he has written for titles all over the world, written for telly shows, and hosted more than a few YouTube films. You’ll find him (when not hard at work) on various social networks talking about hand made British sports cars, tea, and cats. Mostly cats, to be honest. 

Over his career he’s delved into the murky world of DeLorean, driven the fearsome Mille Miglia in a Jaguar C-Type, put his mother in a Ford Focus RS to see if she could drift it (she could… just), and driven Crazy Carts around a closed Toys ‘R Us all in the name of work. The freelance life is a varied one, which is probably what makes it so exciting. 

While he’s not spent his whole career on the pages of Autocar, he did spend a good chunk of the summer of 2007 as the work experience kid here, so when he does pop in he at least knows where the kettle is. 

Alex is an expert in:

- Car reviews

- Classics

- Restomods

- Things that make you laugh like Zippy

Q&A

What was your biggest news story?

Something involving a supercar manufacturer that directly quoted something someone wasn’t supposed to say. There were phone calls. 

What’s the best car you’ve ever driven?

It’s a toss up for me. The Bugatti Veyron was a landmark moment in engineering, and a privilege to experience. That said, for sheer silliness the Morgan Aero Coupé left a mark so deep I fell hard for the brand. Perhaps surprisingly, I maintain that the Dacia Duster is the best car in the world right now because it’s so honest - give me a Mk II post facelift in lurid orange any day and I’ll be happy. 

What will the car industry look like in 20 years? 

If you’d have asked me that ten years ago I’d have said ‘all electric all the time,’ but now..? I’m not so sure. While sustainable fuels aren’t going to be the answer for everything (the maths doesn’t maths on that one), there’ll still be a place for ICE. But will we be all EV all the time? Maybe… maybe not.