CHINA C (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

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

Ten Second Reviewword count: 46

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.

Backgroundword count: 241

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 Experienceword count: 242

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.

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