DiPal 05: A large crossover at NIS 150,000 already changing the market

DiPal's first attempt to enter Israel, the electric vehicle brand of China's Changan, ended with over 1,000 cars unsold for a year, forcing the importer to register them as used. They are now offered for sale with a NIS 21,000 discount before negotiation. The 07 is a large, well-equipped crossover, but it arrived with a NIS 200,000 price tag at the end of the first wave of electric hype and missed the market. Now, the smaller 05 could create a new wave.

After months of stagnation in the EV market, the 05 was announced last October at a market-breaking price of NIS 150,000. We've already seen cheaper Chinese models, but those were the Ora 03 or BYD Dolphin—smaller and with a shorter range. The 05 is larger in size than the BYD Atto 3 and is about NIS 25,000 cheaper than the Hyundai Kona or Toyota Corolla Cross hybrids. The importer, Misrei Tnuah, better known for importing Suzuki, is not a market maker, but here the following competitors simply adjusted with the price drop in the market. The BYD Atto 2, which arrived after it, starts at NIS 149,000 for the electric version and NIS 155,000 for the plug-in, which the 05 will also have in a few months.

Once the importers sell the unsold electric vehicles, an electric comeback seems likely, and the 05 could be one of the models leading it. Large and spacious, well-equipped and agile, with a real-world range of 400 km, and still NIS 10,000 cheaper than the much smaller Toyota Yaris Cross—a direct demonstration of the increasing challenge Western manufacturers face against the Chinese surge. Yes, Toyota's value retention and reliability are qualities the Chinese cannot replicate, but how long will they remain relevant as the technology and price gap increasingly favor the Chinese?

But some issues remain: There is still no glove compartment, replaced by a multi-level compartment between the driver and passenger. Even though there is a fixed control strip for climate control at the bottom of the screen when switching to Android Auto and CarPlay, you can still only use the screen to open the panoramic roof shade, adjust side mirrors, control regeneration levels, and more. It would have been better to invest in fixing this instead of preserving the 07 gimmick that allows the screen to rotate toward the driver, rear passengers, or front passenger—a change that can, of course, only be done from the screen itself.

In the fully equipped model, there is no instrument cluster screen like Tesla, but at least there is an effective head-up display. We would have preferred a screen as well. There is also a voice control function in Hebrew, but it does not always understand commands, switches to English, and is not particularly helpful.

The seats are comfortable with electric adjustment, but rear visibility is very limited due to the angle and size of the rear window. While front space is good, the rear is huge, with a wheelbase of almost 2.9 meters. You can almost stretch your legs fully, and with the glass roof above, the sense of space is comparable to an executive car. There is also an air vent with standard and C-type USB ports.

The rear trunk has a volume of 492 liters and the front 159 liters—a relief from the era of cramped Chinese trunks. It is just a shame that placing a spare wheel underneath is still something they haven't learned, but the importer sells it to those interested for about NIS 700.

The base PRO model (from NIS 150,000) comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, a 15.4-inch multimedia and control screen, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, rear air vent, synthetic leather upholstery, and a control and info app. A basic model, but nothing essential is missing.

The MAX model (from NIS 160,000) we drove upgrades to 20-inch wheels and adds a panoramic glass roof with electric shade, heated and ventilated front seats, wireless phone charging, head-up display, electric trunk door, Sony audio system with 12 speakers, and more.

The tested 05 reaches 0-100 km/h in 7.3 seconds, which may seem slow only by EV standards. You can stay in eco mode without switching to sport and still overtake quickly anywhere and maneuver in traffic effortlessly, drawing curses from other drivers.

The day the Chinese learn to pause the technology race and build a car with proper ergonomics and good suspension, there will be very little justification left to buy from competitors.

The rule that an EV is worth buying only if you have a dedicated charging point at home or work still applies here, but here the fault lies with the state and local authorities, not the Chinese. DiPal has a solution with a plug-in version arriving in July. If it maintains a similar price, this manufacturer will become much more recognizable on our roads.