We originally sampled the S05 in twin-motor, 4WD guise in snowy Austria. The basis for our subsequent UK test was the RWD variant, which is expected to be the bigger seller.
The latter sends 268bhp and 213lb ft of torque to its rear wheels; and is good for a 0-62mph time of 7.5sec, and a top speed of 112mph. The dual-motor car gets 429bhp and 370lb ft, hitting 0-62mph in 5.5sec.
Power is delivered smoothly and unremarkably, and it feels like there's plenty of it even in the RWD car. The stats are class-leading, but the reality is more than sufficient for easy motorway overtakes and assured performance on country roads.
Engaging Sport mode sharpens the throttle response, adding a noticeable sense of urgency. But the car is a little prescriptive about regen control. There are no physical controls for it. Each driving mode (Eco, Comfort, Sport, etc) comes with its own regen preferences; or, if you select Custom, there's a slider control on the touchscreen to select how much trailing-throttle regen you want - from zero to 100%.
This makes adjusting regen in a manual way, based on the road immediate ahead of you, near enough impossible; which some drivers may be disappointed by. The S05 does, at least, have decently progressive brake pedal control, so it isn't hard to deactivate trailing-throttle regen and scavenge energy that way.
Assisted driving
The S05 comes with an adaptive cruise control system with 'full stop and go' traffic jam assist-style functionality as standard; as well as autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist and lane departure warning systems, and the mandatory speed limit detection and speeding warning systems.
These systems can be accessed via a 'swipe-down' shortcut menu on the multimedia home screen. Alternatively, two shortcut buttons on the steering wheel can be mapped to deactivate the lane keeping and speeding warning systems, if these are the ones you most commonly turn off.
The shame is that, unlike on the larger Deepal S07 that we tested in 2025, the S05's systems reset with every ignition cycle and 'default to on'. Moreover, you can't select them as permanently displayed icons within the car's lower touchscreen nav bar, which would be the quickest and easiest route to switching them on and off.
The systems themselves aren't particular irksome or unsophisticated; and the fact that you can adjust the volume level of their 'alerts' is welcome, too. But having all of them reset (even things like the speed limit change bong) every time you restart the car is quite starkly unlike the S07, and a key disappointment.
