Chery’s funky Omoda line still stars on value
Omoda? What the hell is that you may ask? Well let’s start with the name. The O in Omoda is represents Oxygen. Life and vitality. The ‘Moda’ bit is Latin for Modern. And the fashionable lifestyle. That is how the giant Chinese carmaker wants us to look at its new global brand, which has already established itself pretty strongly in South Africa.
Chery’s no-holds-barred clean-slate take on a cutting edge motoring, Omoda is said to embrace youth, diversification, and globalisation through a powerful brand from the very outset. And all that starts with this sporty compact SUV Omoda C5. Which means this car has a tough job to do, but it certainly seems to be pulling it off, judging by the increasing number of them on the road already.
Chery calls its Omoda design language Art in Motion. It centres around that seamlessly multi-dimensional star diamond grille, ‘T-Sharp’ LED DRLs, and boomerang front headlamps. The sloping, ‘floating’ roof sits on darkened pillars atop flowing flanks with sharp creases and a side profile ‘mathematically calculated‘ to play with light. All offset by 18” black alloys in 215/55 rubber, and complex X-Wing taillights under a stylish double stacked roof spoiler.
OMODA EVOLVED OFF A CLEAN SLATE
Chery tells us that Omoda’s new man-machine interface was evolved off blank slate to take its own seamless and popular voice commanded digital interface next level. Boasting highly customisable touch-sensitive dual high resolution 10.25” driver’s and touch-sensitive central displays, the CarPlay and Auto-rich system even has a real cool a full 360-degree panoramic vehicle view camera trick.
That comes alive when negotiating tighter corners or situations and depicts the car from the rear three-quarter in alarmingly realistic display on the central screen. And it actually does help ease anxiety that may arise in such circumstances. The screen itself is not too big and does the job well enough. Although it still takes a bit of getting used to the general system logic. And the fonts are way too small, as they are in most Chinese cars.
That said, we mentioned that some of the language and logic of we originally met in the Chery Tiggo 8 we drove a while back, was a little wanting. So we’re pleased to report that the new Omoda system addresses a lot of that. Perhaps not yet quite enough, but a step in the right direction. This system is far easier to live with, but still uses odd language and logic that may take a little more local knowledge to properly get on with.
TOO MUCH TOUCHY-FEELY?
The central screen sits above a new a luminous new self-cleaning INS multi-touch multi-colour air conditioning control panel. This displays a degree of info, while also real time adapting the touch controls it displays to circumstance and usage. Among the better touch systems we’ve used so far, we’d still prefer real knobs or buttons for the main climate temp and fan functions. As Euro NCAP will also soon demand to earn those vital five safety stars.
The rest of the cabin is pretty cool. Dual 12V charging ports, USB and USB-C ports for both rows complete the tech offering, while cool 64-colour ambient lighting linked disco-like to Sony 3D sound 8 speaker sound. There’s climate control, cruise control, and intelligent voice control for everything from air temperature to sunroof operation. And there’s a power sunroof and tailgate too.
Comfy and smart leather upholstered six-way driver and four-way passenger power sport seats sit each side of a tall centre stack topped by an iffy compact shift-by-wire gear knob. It’s a little temperamental to use and had us cussing a few times as we shifted to reverse or back while manoeuvring. The centre console has a large, intelligent wireless charging pad with hidden storage below, and soft damped glove box grab handles.
115 KW 1.5 LITRE HAS A HEALTHY GROWL
Voice commands a wide variety of the functions, from sport seat settings to the power sunroof and much more. The Omoda C5 has a 3D start-stop button, but like several other functions including the high-grade filtered climate control, the car can also be started remotely via the key fob. Fire it up and the high-output 115 kW and 230 Nm minimal heat energy loss 1.5 litre turbo petrol engine comes to life with a healthy growl.
The nine-step continuously variable transmission feels very much like an automatic in normal driving conditions. But a good stab at the throttle or wring its neck and its true identity emerges. All the while it sounds good and pulls impressively too. Handling is a bit wayward and steering wooden in Eco mode. But it transforms quite nicely in Sport to deliver a rather unexpectedly athletic attitude and performance.
We found that 6.9 litres per 100 km fuel claim to be a bit brazen in everyday driving, especially when pushing on a bit. But it was impressive enough in gentler urban commuting, and while spotting those flowers. Ride is good. Even on serrated gravel. And the Omoda is quiet and comfortable on the open road and in town.
OMODA: COMING AT YOU!
Packing full five-star NCAP safety (it will lose one if they don’t add knobs to the dash by 2026) around its 78% very high strength steel shell, our Omoda also had an electronic stability program, six front, front side and full-length curtain airbags. Add ISOFIX child seat anchors and smart seatbelt pre-tensioning inside. And four disc ABS brakes, tyre-pressure monitoring and electronic stability control, high-low-beam switching front and rear parking sensors. LED emergency brake lights, and speed control optional speed limiting.
So, getting back to the crux. Is this funky new Chinese SUV going to make an impression on the South African market? Well, the easiest way to answer that is to mention how many Chinese cars are already selling like hotcakes in this market. They’re becoming epidemic on our roads. So too now the Omoda. And for damn good reason. These modern Chinamen bring a hell of a lot of car for a shockingly small amount of money.
Now Chery, one of SA’s biggest Chinese car players, has taken it next level to make this Omoda even more exciting, that much easier to live with and as sexy as anything else out there. And it will still cost you well under five hundred grand to drive this C5 out of the showroom, brand new. With everything we tell you about above, part of the deal. – Michele Lupini
Images: Michele Lupini, testing: Giordano Lupini
ROAD TESTED: Omoda C5 1.5T 230T Lux S
Engine: 115 kW 230 Nm 1.5-litre turbo petrol I4
Drive: 9-step CVT FWD
TESTED:
0-60 km/h: 4.57 sec
0-100 km/h: 9.46 sec
0-120 km/h: 12.99 sec
0-160 km/h: 27.25 sec
400m: 17.0 sec @ 1456 km/h
80-120 km/h: 6.24 sec
120-160 km/h: 14.36 sec
CLAIMED:
VMax: 190 km/h
Fuel: 6.9 l/100 km
CO2: 169 g/km
Range: 725 km
Warranty/Service: 5y 150K/5y 60K km
LIST PRICE: R479K
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