DEEPAL S05 Review: Cat A Money, Premium Cabin Feel

The DEEPAL S05. A Cat A electric SUV that looks and feels a price bracket higher. Photo: Cars&TechSG

We came away impressed by how comfort-first the DEEPAL S07 was. The S05 is the brand's answer for buyers who want that same premium feel without having to step up to Category B. It's a mid-sized electric SUV configured specifically for Singapore's Category A COE, and it's now sold here under the CHANGAN DEEPAL name by Premium Automobiles.

The obvious question is whether capping the power to fit into Cat A leaves you with a car that feels slow or cheap. Having lived with it, the short answer is no. It isn't quick, and it doesn't pretend to be. But it gets almost everything else you'd care about in a daily driver right.

Slim LED daytime running lights give the S05 a clean, modern face. Photo: Cars&TechSG

The first thing that surprised us is how premium and sporty the S05 looks, regardless of where it sits on the price list or which COE category it lives in. Park it next to rivals that cost more and few people would pick it out as the sensible Cat A option.

The stance does a lot of the work. It rolls on 20-inch wheels that fill the arches properly, and at 4,620mm long and 1,900mm wide on a 2,880mm wheelbase, it has genuine road presence. Frameless windows add a coupe-like touch you'd usually find on pricier cars, while the full-width star-wing taillight keeps the rear clean and distinctive. DEEPAL says the design came out of Italy and picked up an iF Design Award in 2025, and you can see why.

Side and rear three-quarter views. Frameless windows and 20-inch wheels give the S05 real presence. Photo: Cars&TechSG

Rear details. The full-width star-wing taillight and S05 badging keep the tail clean and distinctive. Photo: Cars&TechSG

Step inside and you're greeted by a black interior with orange stitching across the seats and trim. Somehow, DEEPAL really loves orange, and honestly, it works. That small splash of colour lifts what would otherwise be an all-dark cabin and gives it a far more premium feel than you'd expect at this price point.

Fit and finish is good. Panels line up, the materials feel solid where your hands naturally land, and the overall impression is of a car that costs more than it does. The cabin is also genuinely spacious, with that long wheelbase translating into generous legroom, and the panoramic glass roof keeps the dark interior from feeling closed in.

The rotating 15.4-inch Sunflower screen and DEEPAL's signature orange stitching. Photo: Cars&TechSG

One small practical miss: the cup holders are a bit small. A canned drink is fine, but your large kopi peng or bubble tea won't sit as securely as you'd like.

The radio works fine, but the station names on the display are only half correct. Some labels don't quite match what you're actually listening to. It's minor, and exactly the kind of thing a software update should tidy up, but it stands out in an otherwise polished cabin.

The door handles are the one place where the premium feel slips. Pull on them with any conviction and you get a slightly nervous feeling that you might rip one off. They work, but they don't match the solidity of the rest of the car.

To fit into Cat A, the Singapore-spec S05 uses a single rear-mounted motor capped at 99kW (133bhp), with 290Nm of torque going to the rear wheels. The official 0 to 100km/h time is 11.4 seconds, with a top speed of 180km/h.

Let's be honest, 11.4 seconds isn't thrilling. Acceleration is rather gradual and linear, with no real kick in the back when you floor it. But in daily driving, the S05 somehow always feels able to keep up with traffic, catch up with the flow, and overtake when you need it to. You never feel like you're holding anyone up on the expressway.

Gradual rather than punchy, but always able to keep pace with traffic. Photo: Cars&TechSG

Where the S05 really earns its keep is the chassis. Ride comfort is pretty comfortable and smooth, and nothing feels too harsh, even on 20-inch wheels, unless you go over a particularly harsh hump. Body control is well managed, and the car handles cornering well, staying composed without excessive lean. Rear wheel drive also gives it a natural, balanced feel when you turn in.

The 68.82kWh battery is rated for up to 485km on the WLTP combined cycle. DEEPAL also quotes 647km on the WLTP City cycle, but the combined figure is the more realistic one to plan around. It runs on a 400V architecture, and DC fast charging takes about 15 minutes from 30 to 80%, so a quick top-up over a coffee break is very doable.

Rear cabin. The 2,880mm wheelbase translates into generous legroom. Photo: Cars&TechSG

Boot space is a genuine highlight. You get 492L with the rear seats up, expanding to around 1,250L with them folded. That's very decent space for your NTUC hauls, a pram, or a weekend's worth of luggage for a drive up north.

And because the motor sits at the back, there's also a 159L front trunk. It's properly useful for charging cables, wet umbrellas, or takeaway you'd rather not have perfuming the cabin.

The 492L boot, expanding to around 1,250L with the rear seats folded. Plenty for your NTUC haul. Photo: Cars&TechSG

The DEEPAL S05 doesn't try to win you over with big power figures, and in Category A, it can't. Instead, it wins on the things that matter across a normal week. The design looks well above its price bracket, the black and orange cabin feels genuinely premium, the ride is comfortable, the handling stays composed, and between the boot and the frunk there's room for just about everything.

The gripes are all liveable, but worth knowing about. The door handles that feel a bit fragile, the auto re-lock that catches you out while you're waiting, the undersized cup holders and the half-correct radio labels. None of these is a dealbreaker, and most feel like the kind of polish a future update or facelift could sort out.

If you care more about comfort, space and style than 0 to 100 bragging rights, the S05 is one of the most convincing ways to get a premium-feeling electric SUV without paying Category B money. It deserves a spot on your test drive list.

Premium looks, Cat A running costs. Photo: Cars&TechSG

📋 Key Specifications

Specifications compiled from CHANGAN Singapore's official S05 product page and cross-referenced with launch materials. Driving impressions are from our own test drive. All specs correct at time of writing.