Owned by Chery, OMODA is a new Chinese car name that’s landed in the UK. They’re big too, employing 80,000 people & have over 12 million customers. They’ve launched two models. The OMODA E5 & the OMODA 5, an electric & a petrol SUV. We put the OMODA 5 through its paces recently & here’s what you need to know.
Model choice & priceAlongside its electric stablemate, the 5 will be offered in the UK in two different trim levels: the Comfort variant, which costs from £25,235 & the Noble priced from £27,000.
Engine & performance
Driving modes
Fuel economy & CO2’s
Exterior
InsideUp front, the driver gets a nice high driving position, so all around visibility is good. You can’t adjust the seats down though so if you’re tall you may find your head touches the headlining. The rear window is quite shallow & the C pillars are large, so the rear view is slightly compromised.
Infotainment OMODA have done a good job here as 5 E5 is kitted out with twin 10.3″ screens which flow across the top of the dashboard. The one in front of the driver displays speed, range & all the usual car information. In the centre sits the touchscreen, where you can access the cars own SatNav, DAB radio, telephone, car settings & connect wirelessly in our case to CarPlay. It looks good & the icons & set-up are logical.
This isn’t surprising when you realise that it uses the Qualcomm 8155 ‘Snapdragon’ chip, which offers rapid responsiveness to user inputs & supports 4G connectivity, a Wi-Fi hotspot & over-the-air software updates. Furthermore OMODA have included a natural voice control using a virtual assistant which comes with an animal avatar.
Controls
Thankfully the 5 features some virtual & physical controls. A row of buttons for commonly-used features, such as climate control are integrated into the centre console. In front of the driver is a handy 7″ head-up display, so you can keep an eye on your speed.
Wireless Apple CarPlay & Android Auto feature with a 50W fan-cooled wireless charging pad for two phones, conveniently located in the centre binnacle for smartphone integration.
Safety
A raft of 17 ADAS aids come as standard. These include, Adaptive Cruise Control, Traffic Jam Assist, Lane Change Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Detection, Forward Collision Warning, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Rear Cross Traffic Brake & Door Open Warning.
Enhancing the body structure is a complement of 11 airbags, including a centre airbag to mitigate the effect of any collision between the driver & front seat passenger.
Practicality
The cabin offers some decent storage & usability. Good news is that there’s a line of short cut buttons behind the twin cup holders in the centre binnacle for air-con, the de-misters, hazards, driving modes & to turn the infotainment screen on & off. So no fussing with the touchscreen which we like.
Behind the buttons is a small cover cubby & you get an armrest with storage beneath, plus twin USB’s, twin cup holders, a rear fold down armrest, decent sized door pockets & a mid-sized glove box.
The boot comes with a 380-litre luggage compartment, which extends to 1,075 litres with the rear seats folded, both competitive. Front seat passengers get good space, but in the rear if you’re 6 foot or above, head height isn’t fantastic, perhaps as result of the sloping roofline on the OMODA 5.
Chassis & suspension
From the outset, the OMODA 5 has been engineered to accommodate both electric powertrains & internal combustion engines. Everything from spring & damper rates, steering ratios, anti-roll bar stiffness, bush rates, summer & winter tyres, & brake pad materials have been developed to deliver the expected European ride, handling & agility.
WarrantyDriving
Driving between Wilmslow & Knutsford we discovered that the E5 rides well hiding the battery bulk, although there is some body lean in & out of tight corners. Progress is quiet enough & the dashboard layout, steering wheel controls become familiar quickly.The gear lever has a tendency to accidentally slide into the manual setting by mistake & there’s an awful lot of power from the off so it takes a while to work out how softly to depress the accelerator pedal to avoid jerky progress.
We were following the cars on board SatNav via our iPhone, which was easy to do. The voice activation was on, so instructed us not only which way to go, but aided us in Google Maps by giving us the location of speed cameras & school zones, as well as informing us if we were breaking the speed limit.
A motorway section allowed the OMODA 5 to demonstrate its best qualities, namely as a comfortable motorway cruiser. With standard adaptive cruise control you can sit back & let the car do the work. Compared to many more expensive & smaller UK rivals the 5 really does offer a lot of bang for your buck. The on-board safety features including the car visualisation, which shows the vehicles around you works really well, definitely an impressive addition to this low-priced car.
The multi-adjustable driver seat enabled me to get comfortable with a reach & rake steering wheel also featuring. I found the front passenger seat a little high & although it adjusts it doesn’t go down as low as I’d have liked. The mirror too is little odd offering a slightly skewed view that includes the edge of the front seats, but we are being picky, especially when you consider the cost of the Noble model we were driving. And it’s the price coupled to the goodies that you get with the 5 that will really sell the OMODA 5 rather than how it drives or handles.
Pros
Incredibly well specified with excellent on-board tech & safety. Good looking from all angles. Drives well & handles our terrible roads with aplomb. It’s also very, very good value for money.
Cons
Fuel economy is distinctly average. The high driving position won’t suit all. It’s not as refined as most European petrol cars. And of course it’s a new name in the market.
Verdict
In the company car sector it’s the electric E5 that’s going to appeal & you’d be forgiven for writing the petrol 5 off as having high CO2 emissions & therefore costly company car tax to appeal. However, as salary sacrifice & opting out amongst company car drivers increases, we think that the 5 could hit the sweet spot for many of these customers who want a C sector SUV, & can get it at a B sector price.
And compared to most of the competition, it’s incredibly well specified & comes fitted with a suite of safety features that will also add appeal. Inside it’s a little vanilla & some may need a bit of time to buy into a new brand, but with pioneering Chinese marques such as MG & BYD already doing well, we see no reason that the OMODA 5 won’t succeed.
3/5
