What is it?

2024 has been the year of new, almost entirely Chinese manufacturers arriving in the UK – Omoda is another and one we should be taking note of. Omoda’s parent is Chery, China’s largest automotive exporter for the past 21 years, with revenue of 41.7 billion Euros in 2023 and 80,000 global employees. This is no minor, fly-by-night player.

This is reflected in the UK expansion plans for Omoda and its soon-to-arrive more off-road focused sister brand, Jaecoo. By the time both brands were launched at a glitzy event in the shadow of London’s O2 at the end of August (story here), the dealer network already stood at 60 outlets – as these words are written only six weeks later it’s breached 75 with a target of 100 by the end of 2024.

Omoda sees fleet sales as very important to its UK growth – the brand’s fleet manager was presenting at the AFP Conference in May when virtually no-one had heard of the name, a deal has since been signed with major leasing specialist Arval and product manager Ollie Lowe predicts that 60% of sales for the brand’s first model, the Omoda 5, will be to fleet.

What Omoda isn’t, Lowe was keen to emphasise, is a Chinese EV brand. Electric is a vital part of its plans, but the Omoda 5 is also available as an ICE model with a petrol engine – a hybrid version is scheduled to join the range later.

The Omoda 5 is a C-SUV, so Nissan Qashqai-sized. But according to Lowe, its price, starting at £25,235 for the ICE variant and £33,055 for the E5 EV, is what one might expect to pay for a smaller, B-segment vehicle.

The 5 also comes with a seven-year warranty and RAC breakdown cover which automatically renews with each service, while Omoda has set up a major parts hub in Rugby with overnight DHL delivery, ensuring cars are never off the road for long and insurance costs kept down as a result. All this stokes up the Omoda’s value-for-money and practicality credentials for a harass fleet manager.

The ICE Omoda 5 is powered by a 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine developed by Chery with Austrian engineering specialist AVL. Matched to a seven-speed auto gearbox it puts out 186hp with 270Nm of torque, which is good for 62mph from rest in 7.9 seconds.

However the economy and emissions figures take the gloss off somewhat. Combined cycle fuel economy is quoted at 31.4mpg with CO2 emissions of 170g/km, so the petrol model is unlikely to be a favourite with those paying BIK tax. The electric version is clearly a much better bet in this respect.

The E5 is powered by a motor rated at 204hp with 340Nm of torque – apparently it uses flat-pressed wiring which is more efficient and makes everything even quieter than one expects from an EV. It also sends the Omoda 5 through 62mph in 7.8 seconds – not that rapid for an EV but swift enough.

Said motor is fed by a 61kWh Blade-type battery – most often associated with rival maker BYD, Blades are recognised as a much safer battery format while with its 80kW charging capability the Omoda 5’s battery can be charged from 30 to 80% in 28 minutes.

While basically the same vehicle the two versions of the Omoda 5 differ in their driver’s environment. The ICE version has two flat screens, each of 10.25 inches with the central one slightly angled towards the driver, while on the E5 they are combined into one curving layout with a pair of integrated 12.25-inch screens.

Both variants of the Omoda 5 are offered in two trim levels dubbed Comfort and Noble. Standard equipment is generous – both versions get LED headlights, wireless smartphone charging big enough for two devices and with a cooling element, synthetic leather on the seats, electric driver’s seat adjustment and parking sensors.

The Noble adds such niceties as a powered tailgate, dual-zone climate control, electric front passenger seat adjustment and a 360-degree surround-view camera which automatically activates at junctions. Note too that the E5 gets a different upholstery design to the ICE version.

The safety specification is well up to the mark, with some 17 ADAS driver-assistance systems as standard. The Omoda 5 has already earned a Euro NCAP five-star rating and Omoda proudly states that the car has clocked up top ratings wherever in the world it’s been crash-tested.

Dash difference between petrol Omoda 5 (above) and the E5. 

What do we think of it?

Visually the Omoda 5 strikes a reasonably distinctive pose with sharp creases on the body lines and a strong X format on the front end, more noticeable on the E5 as it is dulled somewhat by the strong mesh design of the petrol car’s grille.

Inside the design looks initially rather premium, if with some odd ‘material’ combinations. Look closer and the trim is very much veneer and metallic-like than the actual wood and metal.  The big screens atop the dash are impressive but making use of what’s on them could be a little more user-friendly.

The car is reasonably comfortable to travel in, though the back seats are somewhat cosy, headroom on the short side with at 380 litres a boot that is not exactly the most cavernous in the segment. This extends to 1075 litres with the rear seats folded.

At the launch event Business Motoring got to try out both versions of the Omoda 5 and again the on-the-road impression is that rapidly becoming over-used phrase, adequate.

At normal speeds both cars manage their dynamics without being particularly dynamic, and it’s not a vehicle you’d particularly want to push through twisty roads – not that the typical buyer of such machines would be likely to.

The seven-speed auto transmission of the petrol model can be less than confidence-inducing too, being not that decisive at slow speeds. Once on the move, however, the combination becomes quite powerful – the 5 does motorway cruising particularly well.

The E5 provides all the smooth, refined and quiet progress one expects of electric power, but without particularly impressing in the ways that EVs generally do.

Overall the Omoda 5, in both petrol and electric formats, is a perfectly, we’ll say it again, adequate first effort from this new brand, without writing any particular headlines. It’s not a very exciting car, but its combination of equipment, warranty and price could well persuade fleet buyers to consider the E5 at least.