There’s good reason why Omoda’s C5 is now so popular
It’s been a bit since the we last happened on an Omoda C5 in our test fleet. So we were keen to find out what’s different. What was, you ask? Well, not much. But what is new, has made quite a difference. The most significant changes around this car where the O stands for Oxygen, life and vitality, and ‘Moda’ is Latin for Modern, is where the brand has jumped to on the local new car sales charts.
Omoda sold 784 C5s in September. Five less than Volkswagen sold Polos. Interestingly Omoda and sister brand Jaecoo sold 1201 units combined last month. One less than BMW, and well clear of Stellantis next up, with all its brands. Now consider parent Chery sold 2264 units and together its three brands moved 3465 cars in September. That would place them fourth overall. Just behind Volkswagen and ahead of Ford.
Not bad going for a brand that was only released here just two and a half years ago! But enough about that, what else is new? Fire it up and the high-output 115 kW and 230 Nm minimal heat energy loss 1.5 litre turbo petrol engine still comes to life with a healthy growl.
C5 throttle response is now far smoother
The nine-step continuously variable transmission as always 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. What we certainly did notice is that the throttle trace has been tuned to deliver a far smoother response, especially in Sport Mode.
The last time we drove it we suffered whiplash. No more. Now the car is far more diligent in response to your right foot. Not sure how much that had to do with the road test numbers, but this unit was also considerably quicker. Four tenths faster to 100 km/h and over half a second over the standing 400 metres.
We found that 6.9 litres per 100 km fuel claim still to be a bit brazen in everyday driving, especially when pushing on. But it was impressive enough in gentler urban commuting. Ride is good. Even on serrated gravel. And the Omoda is quiet and comfortable on the open road and in town. All the while it sounds good and pulls impressively. Handling is a bit wayward and the steering wooden, especially in Eco mode. Like all the Chinamen.
Omoda evolved the C5 off a clean slate
For the rest, not much has changed. Omoda’s Art in Motion C5 design language features that multi-dimensional seamless star diamond grille, boomerang LED DRL headlamps and a floating roof offset by a side profile ‘calculated to play with light’. We’d prefer if the 18” black alloys in 215/55 rubber sat better in the arches, while aspects may seem a tad gawky for some. But all in all its certainly pleasing and different enough.
Omoda tells us that C5’s man-machine interface evolved off blank slate to take its own seamless and popular voice command digital interface next level. The customisable touch-sensitive dual high resolution 10.25” driver’s and central displays are CarPlay and Auto-rich and it has real cool full 360-degree panoramic cameras.
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. The fonts are way too small, as they are in most Chinese cars. And the cordless charger pad refused to play with our iPhones, which was a pity.
A better recipe of English mashed Mandarin
We’ve been amused as much as we have been dismayed by some of the English mashed Mandarin in many Chinese car infotainment and interfaces. The Omoda system addresses a lot of that. Perhaps not yet quite enough, but a step in the right direction. This system is easy enough to live with but still uses odd language and logic that may take a little more local knowledge to properly get on with.
The central screen sits above a luminous self-cleaning multicolour climate 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.
C5 is comfortable and pretty smart too
Comfy and smart leather upholstered six-way driver and four-way passenger power sport seats sit each side of the 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 that iPhone unfriendly charging pad with hidden storage below, and a soft damped glove box grab handles.
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, C5 can also be started remotely via the key fob.
Packing full five-star NCAP safety around its 78% very high strength steel shell. Ass ESP, six front, front side and full-length curtain airbag, ISOFIX anchors and smart seatbelt pre-tensioning . And four disc ABS brakes and an alphabet soup of other safety and assistance bits and bobs.
Believe it or not, C5 is now fifty grand cheaper, too
So, getting back to the crux. We asked last time we drove it, if this funky Chinese SUV would make an impression on the South African market? Well, judging by its popularity since then as noted up top, it certainly has. Even better is that Omoda seems to be listening to our criticism and acting on it. Like with far much improved throttle map.
And even more significant. We thought it was cheap as chips last time around. Now its fifty grand cheaper still, when some ‘conventional’ rivals have gone that much the other way. So get used to the Omoda C5. You’re going to see even more of them on the road. How many, we will tell you next time we happen upon one. Somehow, we think it’ll be quite a bit further up that list again. – Michele Lupini
Images & 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: 3.97 sec
0-100 km/h: 9.15 sec
0-120 km/h: 12.73 sec
0-160 km/h: 26.83 sec
400m: 16.5 sec @ 136 km/h
80-120 km/h: 6.42 sec
120-160 km/h: 14.11 sec
CLAIMED:
VMax: 190 km/h
Fuel: 6.9 l/100 km
CO2: 166 g/km
Range: 740 km
Warranty/Service: 5y 150K/5y 70K km
LIST PRICE: R425K
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