Switched from Toyota, Skoda, and VW: Owners Share What Surprised Them About the Geely Monjaro After Familiar Brands

Over the past two years, the Geely Monjaro has transformed from one of the new entries in the market into a full-fledged bestseller: the model confidently holds its place among the best-selling crossovers in the country and became the main driver of the brand's popularity in 2025. Amid growing interest, Autonews explored how owners rate their cars after several tens of thousands of kilometers and what cars they switched from to the flagship Chinese SUV.

The first hero is Sergey, who purchased a Monjaro Exclusive back in 2023. Before that, he drove a Toyota RAV4 and was generally happy with the "Japanese car." But the moment of replacement was ripe, and there was no desire to deal with the secondary market or order cars through a parallel channel. Sergey also considered Exeed and Changan, but the Monjaro attracted with a combination of a classic hydraulic automatic transmission, Volvo's technical participation in the platform development, and appearance.

In two years, he drove a little over 50 thousand kilometers and formed a clear opinion about the car. The engine and gearbox work in harmony, without jerks or pauses, and the dynamics for such a crossover are more than decent. The driver also notes the successful geometry of the seats, which even on long trips allow you to arrive without fatigue, and convenient all-round cameras, which greatly help in the city. But disadvantages also appeared. The most unpleasant is the weak paintwork, which quickly collects scratches and chips. According to Sergey, the sound insulation noticeably falls short of the car's status, but this issue is resolved with additional processing.

Mikhail from Moscow had a completely different path to the Monjaro. He had been eyeing this model since the beginning of 2023, but the official price seemed too high compared to the previous Volkswagen Tiguan and Skoda Yeti that he owned. The situation changed with the parallel import option: the price became more realistic, and the man took the Exclusive configuration with the maximum set of options.

According to Mikhail, in terms of equipment, the Monjaro literally "goes ahead" of previous cars. Electronics, comfortable functions, a convenient "automatic" - all this looks convincing. The suspension turned out to be noticeably softer than the Tiguan, which some people like, while others are embarrassed. The mileage of almost 40 thousand kilometers passed without serious breakdowns. The only annoying moments are the capricious multimedia in winter and periodic failures when connecting smartphones to the standard system.

The most experienced owner is Vadim, who has already clocked almost 70 thousand kilometers. Before the Monjaro, he drove a Nissan Almera, Opel Astra, and Nissan X-Trail. The latter caused a lot of trouble: the "check" light came on periodically, the causes of the breakdown were never found, and by the hundredth mileage, the owner realized that it was time to change the car. He refused cars with mileage, and when he saw a video about the Monjaro, he decided to go to the car dealership and see the car live.

The design, the saturation with electronics, and the presence of a classic "automatic" convinced him completely. The first impressions were almost enthusiastic: the handling and smoothness of the ride are much better than the X-Trail. Now he admits that he has not mastered many of the multimedia system's functions - there are too many possibilities, and some of them are simply not needed in everyday driving.

But the operation did not go without the intervention of the service center. At a mileage of about 25 thousand, the camera failed, but it was quickly restored under warranty. Later, periodic multimedia failures began - Vadim had to visit the dealer several times. A separate minus is the hard and not the most durable plastic: he is afraid to drive on forest roads, although there were no such fears on the X-Trail.

Despite minor and not very minor remarks, all interlocutors agree on one thing: the Monjaro provides a level of comfort, equipment, and dynamics that until recently was associated only with models from Japan and Germany. For the same money, it is now extremely difficult to find an analogue with a classic "automatic" and a rich set of options. Yes, the car has its weaknesses - paintwork, capricious electronics, light plastic in the cabin. But most owners believe that these shortcomings do not outweigh the strengths of the model and do not interfere with enjoying everyday driving.