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
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