25 OMODA 5 1.6 TGDI Noble 5dr 7DCT

Chinese brand Omoda enters the SUV C-segment with this car, the Omoda 5. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Review

The Omoda 5 aims to offer something just a little different for customers seeking a compact family hatch or smaller crossover SUV. There's a choice of combustion or EV powertrains, striking design and a strong value proposition. If you like the looks, it might be tempting.

Background

So. Yet another Chinese brand for you to consider. Omoda is part of the Chery group, probably the biggest Chinese automotive player you've never heard of. And this aspiring brand launched in the UK back in 2024 with this compact family hatch / crossover model, the Omoda 5. Chery is China's biggest car exporter, which is quite an achievement when you consider the other heavyweight manufacturers based there - names you might be more familiar with like BYD, the SAIC corporation's MG marque, GWM Ora and Nio. Unlike in other global markets, 'Chery' branding won't be used in Europe. Instead, we in the West get Chery products with two branding flavours. There's Jaecoo for SUVs. Or, as here, Omoda for more conventionally-shaped family models. Omoda is a name derived from two sources; 'O' is for 'oxygen' (supposed to give an enviro-vibe) and 'moda' denotes fashion, apparently keynote for a marque that aims to focus on trendiness. We're going to get a whole series of Omoda models over the next few years and most of them will only be EVs. To start with though with this Omoda 5, the Chinese brand has decided to give us a choice of either a straightforward combustion petrol powerplant or the all-electric E5 variant. Either way, this is a car sized and pitched to appeal to customers of both family hatchbacks and light compact crossovers. So is it worth taking a chance on this Oriental newcomer?

Driving Experience

The Chery Group clearly hasn't wasted much of its development time on the combustion option, which is covered off by an old-tech 1.6-litre four cylinder petrol turbo unit that the Chinese conglomerate buys in from Austrian supplier AVL. As we'll see later in this Review, that front-driven engine creates a notably inefficient confection, as you'd expect it might given that it's unelectrified and has to propel nearly one and a half tonnes of Oriental metalwork. A four-wheel-drive version is offered in other markets but there's no sign yet of that being available here. On the plus side, that petrol powerplant develops quite a lot more power than you'd expect from a car at this price point - 183bhp with 275Nm of torque - so 62mph is dispatched quite a bit more quickly than with obvious rivals; 7.8s en route to 128mph - the kind of top speed a family hatch EV driver can these days only dream about. Another potential plus is that this unit comes as standard paired with a Getrag-sourced 7-speed dual clutch auto gearbox, though on the road, you'll find that this transmission's indecisiveness sometimes hurts the drivetrain's general driveability and it tends to hunt around its ratios. If you'd prefer to look at the EV version, you'll find it powered by single front-mounted 201bhp motor. That's energised by a 61.4kWh battery that when fully charged is claimed to be able to take the car up to 257 miles.

Design and Build

Omoda is determined that fashionable design should be a major selling point of its models, which is why you'd be unlikely to mistake the Omoda 5 for anything else. Certainly not the two cars this 4-metre-long compact family crossover is primarily pitched against in Europe, the Nissan Qashqai (which is slightly longer) and the Hyundai Kona (which is a little shorter). The 5 certainly visually stands apart from rivals like those, with its rakish profile and blanked-out C-pillar. The silhouette's quite slippery too, with a drag factor of 0.281Cd. With the combustion version of this car, the main visual talking point is its huge, strikingly intricate grille, which disappointingly gets replaced by a rather boring bluff front end in the EV version incorporating a wide flap that rises to reveal the charging point. Inside, where everything is of surprisingly high quality for a mainstream brand, there's a high-mounted 10.25-inch infotainment screen. And a digital instrument cluster of the same size built into a single wide panel mounted on top of the dashboard. You're going to need to like smudge-worthy gloss black-trimmed panelling, but everything is decently screwed together and the things you interact with regularly are soft to the touch. Plus there's adjustable ambient lighting that varies itself with the selected drive mode. Despite the gently sloping rear roofline, there's plenty of headroom in the back, even with a sunroof fitted. And decent leg room for six-footers too. Out back, there's a 380-litre boot with both versions. The trunk area lacks bag hooks but gets a low loading lip, so it's easier to slide heavy items in.

Market and Model

Unlike its Chinese counterpart BYD, Omoda isn't immediately trying to match prices against the established players in this segment. The Omoda 5 petrol model in base 'Comfort' form costs from just over £25,000, with a further £1,800 required for the plusher 'Noble' version. Expect the E5 EV variant to start at around £33,000, with 'Noble' trim another £1,500. You might expect a new largely-EV brand to be selling online, with agency models and subscription services. But no: Omoda will be selling its cars here via traditional dealerships, with 72 open at the time of this test. They cover most major UK centres and you can find your nearest one by going to omodauk.com. The brand has lent heavily on advice from its partner Jaguar Land Rover for its launch into the UK; Omoda parent company Chery handles local Chinese production of the Evoque, the Discovery Sport and Jaguar's XF and XE models for that Far Eastern market. As you'd hope, there's lots of equipment included as standard. Like powerful LED headlights with T-shaped daytime running lights. And matrix taillights with 3D-effect illumination. Inside, the sporty front seats can be heated and ventilated and feature a variety of electrical adjustments. As you'd want, there's a full suite of intelligent ADAS systems for driver assistance. The portfolio includes adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane keeping and automatic low/high beam switching. Stretching to plusher 'Noble' trim also gets you a powered sunroof, a 360-degree Surround View Camera system, passenger seat 4-way electrical adjustment and an air purifier.

Cost of Ownership

You shouldn't have particularly high expectations for efficiency when it comes to the base 1.6-litre petrol turbo Omoda 5. This four-cylinder engine is something of a stop gap (and will probably be eventually replaced by a Hybrid). It manages very unremarkable figures; 31.4mpg on the combined cycle and 170g/km CO2. Which might encourage you to find the extra the brand wants for the EV version. This uses a 61.4kWh battery with a claimed range of 257 miles. It only charges at up to 80kW but will replenish itself from a DC public charger from 10 to 80% in 40 minutes. If you're AC charging from home using a conventional 7.4kW garage wallbox, a full charge from empty will require around 11 hours. The car will charge at up to 11kW and if you're able to do that via an 11kW wallbox from a three-phase supply, the charging time will improve to around 8 hours. Most new brands offer comprehensive warranties and this one is no different. Omoda includes a 7 year/100,000 mile warranty with all its cars. Servicing needs are quite frequent; for both powertrains, garage visits are needed every year or 10,000 miles, whichever comes first. Affordable servicing plans are available though, at point of purchase and servicing turnround times will be aided by a UK parts warehouse established in cooperation with DHL. There's 24/7 RAC roadside assistance too, which renews with each service up to the end of the warranty.

Summary

This is a Chinese idea of what an aspirational compact family hatch should be, rather than a European one. Nevertheless, if you're up for trying an unknown manufacturer and don't mind the slightly chintzy interior finishing, there's quite an interesting proposition on offer here. And it certainly looks like the brand will look after you. Chinese owners are often referred to as 'Omoders' and get access to a special 'O-Club', a social platform for 'brand experiences' that will be replicated in Europe. Perhaps for potential customers, this kind of ownership tinsel and this car's rather striking looks will compensate for the largely unremarkable underpinnings and powerplants it's based around. Apparently, over a third of Omoda's Chery Group parent company's 80,000-strong workforce is devoted to research and development, but there's not too much sign of that when you get down to the basic engineering here. Still, if you're after something that's just a little bit different from the Qashqai or Kona-class compact family SUV that everyone else in your street has; and all you really want is a fully equipped, well-warrantied, decently built and metronomically reliable little family second car, we can see why you might consider one of these, were you to be acquainted with the fact that it existed in the first place. The E5 version's clearly a better product than its petrol-powered counterpart, but the much greater affordability of the combustion version might sway you back to green pump motoring. Either way, there are clearly more polished products out there in this segment. But arguably, not too many more interesting ones.