One car manufacturer can hold their hands up as the fastest growing brand in 2025 & that’s Chery. It’s just 12 months since they launched the Omoda 5 & E5, not much more for the Jaecoo 7 & earlier this Summer the Omoda 9 emerged & we haven’t even mentioned Chery’s own branded Tiggo 7 & 8 ! All of these models have fleet legs, so a week in the Omoda 9 SHS- a plug-in hybrid- gave us more time to assess a car that’s set to shake up the large SUV sector. Here’s what we found out.
Model range
Simple, one model in one spec with one engine, which is a 1.5-litre TGDI petrol unit, paired with an advanced hybrid transmission 34.46 kWh lithium-iron battery pack.
Performance, range & CO2’s
Producing a combined 449 PS & 700 Nm of torque, the Omoda 9 accelerates from 0-62 mph in 4.9 seconds with a top speed of 124mph. Total driving range is over 700 miles (WLTP), including 93 miles of electric-only driving from the battery. CO2 emissions are 38 g/km.
Price
The Omoda 9 SHS is available from £44,990 OTR.
Warranty
7-year/100,000-miles alongside an 8-year battery warranty.
Charging
DC fast charging with speeds of up to 70kW can top up the battery from 30 to 80% cent in 25 minutes. At home on a 7.4kW charger you’ll fully charge the battery up in under 5 hours, perfect if you’re on a discounted overnight charging rate.
Outside
Chery’s designers have done a very good job here with the exterior reminiscent of a Jaguar F-Pace crossed with a Lexus RX. In effect it’s a tried & tested shape that sells well in the UK especially.
The front end features slim LED headlights with a large Omoda logo which sits above a diamond zig-zag grille. The daytime running lights are X-shaped & the headlights cleverly feature an intelligent headlamp module that recognises vehicle & pedestrians, automatically dimming to avoid glow.
At the rear there’s a full width LED light bar, a narrow rear window, quad exhaust tips & an aerodynamic rear splitter & diffuser. The door handles pop out when you approach the car too.
Inside
Again Chery’s designers have stuck to the plan with a very familiar Euro-influenced interior.
There’s a twin 12.3-inch screen display, that acts as a single panel, twin wireless charging pads, three chrome rotary controls as short cuts to the drive modes, temperature & fan speed. The large centre binnacle houses twin cup holders, a split opening armrest, space for your keys with a sliding cover.
Like Mercedes-Benz cars, the electric seat adjustment switches are located on the doors, the wing mirror switches are lower down on the right side of the steering wheel. There’s the usual steering wheel buttons for media & cruise control, with the gear stick located on the right side of the steering wheel, lights & wipers on the left.
Quality is very good, with plenty of soft touch finishes, notably on the dash top & front, centre binnacle & doors. The slim air-vents add a touch of class as does the panoramic sunroof. You also get cabin Air Purification, welcome entry lighting & seat configuration, as well as ground light logo projection & follow me home lighting.
Infotainment & touchscreen
The majority of functions are controlled via the touch screen with a tile layout for the icons. If desired, the driver safety warnings can be turned off relatively easily via the on-screen menu, although you need to remember to re-do this before every journey. Wireless Apple CarPlay connects easily & the Sony stereo sounds great & includes clever speakers built into the headrests, especially as we discovered, useful for hands-free phone calls, whilst everyone else in the cabin listens to the music being played.
Cabin practicality & comfort
Aside from the storage underneath the armrest there are four large door pockets, a mid-sized glove box & a rear pull-out armrest. The electric steering wheel adjustment is good, but as with other Omoda’s we’ve driven the seat feels a touch high. Still this gives you a great forward command of the road. The rear side windows though are narrow as is the rear window, so the onboard reversing camera all 360 degrees of it, is worth it’s weight in gold.
The cabin itself is lovely & quiet thanks in part to the all-around acoustic glass & Michelin silent tyres. The sunroof adds much needed light which is great as the rear of the car is quite dark.
Boot
The 9 has a 660-litre boot space, with space for the charging cable underneath the flat floor. The rear seats also fold 60/40 & if you fold these down you gain a maximum luggage capacity of 1,783 litres.
Driving aids & modes
All of the usual ADAS safety is fitted so we’ll talk more about the driving modes which are offered. Eco, Normal & Sport are there, plus some off-road options of Sand & Snow as this an AWD model.
Of more interest are the modes affecting the powertrain. These are Initial, which prioritises electric, Smart where the car chooses the best combination of petrol & electric & Force, where the petrol engine uses fuel to top-up the battery for use later. A bit gimmicky perhaps but the system seemed to work well in whichever setting we chose, especially Force. We’d suggest Smart as the de-facto option.
Driving
This is a car built for comfort. Locally & in town it’s quiet & refined at low speeds, with the cabin insulation shining through. The engines only noticeable when you come to a standstill. The Sony stereo system is very good, although the headrest speaker is a little tinny & takes some getting used to.
The cabins large enough for five with excellent head & legroom, although the sloping panoramic roof may affect taller rear passengers.
The steering feels light & the 9 doesn’t feel too heavy on the road, an affliction of many large plug-in SUV’s. In our test week the weather was dry & warm so on a series of winding bends around the Sandstone Trail in Cheshire the 9 performed admirably with little body roll or over steer. Road imperfections can be felt, probably more because of the large 20” alloys fitted to our 9, rather than the cars softish-suspension.
With 20 ADAS functions on board, including Adaptive Cruise Control, Integrated Cruise Assist, Driver Attention Warning & Emergency Lane Keeping, the Omoda 9 has been set-up for European drivers & roads & very much like the XPeng G6, these aren’t as intrusive as the ADAS set-up’s you’ll find in many other Chinese models we’ve driven.
Neither is the cars regenerative braking, of which there are three levels, controlled via a sub-menu on the central touchscreen. We tried out all three & it’s actually difficult to tell the difference between them. We ended up sticking with the highest setting as we did see this adding to the cars electric range, so it plainly works well.
Economy
Omoda are claiming a combined economy as high as 201.8 mpg & whilst we saw an average of 46.2 mpg in our week on board. Despite this, we genuinely believe that the 90 mile + electric driving range would mean that for many you’d easily get a week of local driving in before using any petrol . If you plug-in overnight you could charge the battery up to full for as little as £3.50 allowing another week of petrol-free driving. Food for thought & we haven’t even mentioned the overall driving range of 70 miles
Pros
5% BIK tax band. One model & it’s incredibly well equipped & specced. Undercuts similar offerings by ££’s when it comes to price. Looks the part both inside & out. Amazing electric & fun driving range.
Cons
A little bland to drive. Drivers seat is bit high. Smaller boot than some competitors.
Verdict
If the Omoda E5 & Jaecoo 7 can be viewed as the proving ground for the Omoda 9, then Chery really does learn fast. This is their best vehicle by some way offering both desirability & practicality in what is a very competitive sector. Furthermore, it comes incredibly well kitted out, looks & feels well made & as a bonus drives & handles like a large European SUV should. Customers will love it !
As for company car drivers & salary sacrificers it could be the biggest no brainer out there. Just 5% BIK & a 700 mile driving range is incredibly tempting, especially if you’re not yet EV ready.
There are some negative though. It’s a touch bland to drive, the infotainments a little fussy to use & the drivers seats a touch high for our liking. These though are criticisms we could make about pretty much all of the competition, so dont let this put you off.
A James Bond 009 4.25/5
