Yet another Chinese contender makes bid for slice of UK market

Omoda launch by Steve Rogers

To get noticed and get ahead are the challenges facing the latest Chinese car brand to hit our shores.

Futuristic design and obscure names are the starting point so enter Omoda, another Chinese company you are unlikely to have heard of.

First the house keeping. The cars are produced by Chery, the country’s top car exporter and currently the world’s fastest growing car brand. As for the name, the O stands for life and vitality while Moda comes from fashion trends. That must have taken some thinking up.

For now the range is made up of the electric E5 and petrol Omoda 5 with a choice of Comfort or Noble variants. Hybrid and plug-in models will follow.

Like fellow Chinese brands MG and BYD the idea is to undercut just about everyone so typically you get a C segment SUV (e.g.Ford Kugar) for B segment SUV (e.g. Ford Puma) money with a lot of kit thrown in and a seven-year warranty to sweeten the pill.

They do not want the cars to be tagged as bargain basement so along with eye-catching design the interiors have a definite up market finish with lots of synthetic leather, a nod to the company’s eco ambitions.

With the 2030 electric deadline edging closer the main focus is on the E5. The starting price of £33,055 for a SUV the size of the Nissan Qashqai is competitive given the level of equipment, warranty and safety features.

Interestingly the company has turned to fellow Chinese car company BYD for the ultra thin ‘Blade’ battery. Its 61kWh output has a range of 257 miles which is down on the likes of Kia EV6, Skoda Enyak and Volkswagen ID.5 although they all have batteries with a greater output. I applaud the addition of a heat pump which reduces energy taken from the battery pack to heat the car. On a cold day turning on the heating can take 20 odd miles off the range.

Driving E5 is on a par with electric rivals. The extra weight of the battery pack can make them feel a little cumbersome on twisting B roads but it is not uncomfortable.

Omoda has gone to extraordinary lengths to satisfy UK drivers shipping the cars to a plant in Germany where everything from spring and damper rates, steering ratios, anti-roll bar stiffness and bush rates are tuned either for the UK or mainland European roads, shipped back to China for approval and brought back.

The ride is firm and a tad lively on those B roads but refined cruising the motorway. This is when you can relax and take in the classy ultra modern layout.

It has the now common ‘widescreen TV’ set up with twin 12.3in screens. There are graphics galore for the driver showing the position of surrounding vehicles while the adjoining touchscreen handles infotainment, and everything else barring heating, thank heavens. There is a lot to take in without having to work out how to adjust the heating when the windscreen is misting up so physical switches are welcome.

If electric is still a no-no then the petrol Omoda 5 is a tempting proposition with its starting price of £25,235 (Noble £27,035). This, too, feels like a more expensive car with a nice quality look to the fixtures and fittings. With the twin screens reduced to 10.25in it loses some of the dramatic effect but retains a futuristic layout.

The 184bhp 1.6 litre engine is punchy and carries the car to 62mph in a brisk 7,9 seconds through a seven speed dual clutch automatic gearbox. It also shows up the vagaries of electric versus petrol with a more settled ride and nimble handling.

It has the same seven year warranty along with a high level of equipment and safety features.

Next year will see the introduction of posher Jaecoo models, larger SUVs with sights set on the premium end of the market, think Lexus-Toyota and Genesis-Hyundai. To complete the name game Jae is a derivation of the German jager (hunter) and the coo our very own ‘cool’ so why not just call it Jaecool?

You can’t help thinking Omoda is using Kia as its guiding light. It would not mind mirroring the Korean company’s rise from bit part player to super star although its sales plan is even more ambitious with a target of 40,000 cars by 2026.

Oliver Lowe, the company’s product manager set out the company’s stall when he told me: “We want to be a significant player in the UK market.”

This looks like a story worth following.

Fast facts

Omoda E5 Noble

£34,555

Range: 257 miles

61KWh battery; 204bhp

0-62mph 7.2secs

30-80% top up: 28 minutes

Battery warranty 8 years

Boot: 380-1075 litres