At Stable HQ we were recently lucky enough to be given a brand new Omoda E5 for the day to play around with, experience how it drives and learn more about the company.
Who or what is Omoda you ask? Omoda is a Chinese EV (electric vehicle) brand that launched in 2022. It is a sub-brand of Chery Automobile, one of China's leading car manufacturers. Given that they're part of a leading manufacturer already, they have the know-how to build great-looking and high-quality feeling cars.
Omoda's focus is on building trendy, tech-forward EVs aimed at younger, global consumers. The brand emerged as part of Chery's strategy to expand internationally.
What is the Omoda E5?
It's a new all-electric SUV in the UK that features a futuristic and sporty look, bold styling, a spacious interior, and advanced safety technology. It's built to compete in the global SUV market with a focus on efficiency, safety, and connected driving features.
You probably haven't seen many if any at all on the roads. But this is because it's new to the UK and Omoda plans to build more dealerships across the UK in the coming years.
A similar brand would BYD. They already have some dealerships in the UK and are offering an EV lineup.
The particular model we had for the day was the Omoda E5 Noble in Jade Green Metallic.
As of writing this article, the Omoda 5 comes in two variants. The Omoda 5 offers a compact styling and is city-focused, while the E5 is a larger more spacious SUV styling.
Regardless of which you choose, both the E and E5 come with two specifications. The 'Comfort' and 'Noble'.
Both feature a 61.7kWh blade battery (BYD battery tech) size with a max charge rate of 80kW. This offers 204bhp of power and a 6-62 mph of 7.6 seconds. Both specifications are front-wheel drive only.
The 61.7kWh battery offers 257 miles of range and can do 10 to 80% in 45 minutes on your nearby ultra-fast charger. A standard home 7kW will take around 10 hours to do the same. And if you're lucky enough to have an 11kW then around 8 hours.
The Comfort spec is standard and features:
- Twin Curved displays - 10.25"
- Wireless mobile phone charging - 50w capacity, cooled.
- Wireless Android Auto & Apple Carplay
- Rearview camera with dynamic guidelines
- Driver seat 6-way power adjustment
- SONY 8 speaker audio system
- Twin Curved displays - 12.25"
- Wireless mobile phone charging - 50w capacity, cooled.
- Wireless Android Auto & Apple Carplay
- Rearview camera with dynamic guidelines
- 360 Degree Surround View Camera
- Driver seat 6-way power adjustment
- Passenger seat 4-way electric adjustment
- Power Sunroof
- SONY 8 speaker audio system
- Power tailgate
- PM2.5 Air Purification
There are several colours to choose from. The free one is Galena Silver. Then there are metallic options that cost £500 each and include:
- Tourmaline Grey
- Obsidian Black
- Jade Green (the one in the images in this article)
- Cobalt Blue
- Selenite White
- Garnet Red
There are also three two-tier colour paints that cost £500. These include:
- Obsidian Black roof with Jade Green body
- Obsidian Black roof with Selenite White body
- Obsidian Black roof with Galena Silver body
What did we think about it?
Putting it simply, we liked it. It was well-built and was extremely easy to drive. As with all EVs, it felt smooth to drive and had accurate mileage representation when using features. Using A/C would obviously lower the mileage but it gave you the amount you would lose if you were to leave it on for the duration of the journey.
Chinese build quality seems to be a big factor in discussions these days. With many of the EVs coming across from China having the reputation of having "poor quality". We can safely 100% say that is extremely far from the truth. The Omoda E5 we had was extremely well-built and we would even say bordering on premium.
It's no secret that Chinese manufacturers occasionally take ideas from the Western world and build upon them. We personally don't see any issue with that when they aim to make them better. It's not as if the European manufacturers aren't consistently stealing ideas from each other.
You can see the inspiration in the Omoda E5. The rear end reminds us of the Nissan Ariya. The designs of the doors inside give us Mercedes vibes. And that's not a bad thing. Everything feels strongly put together with no flexing or annoying creaking. The seats are extremely comfortable and made with the usual recyclable materials (if is an EV after all). What we don't know is whether these things will stand the test of time. That remains to be seen.
As mentioned earlier, the drive was extremely smooth and easy. There's just not a lot we can say when it comes to EV driving experiences. There's not exactly a lot that sets them apart. No gearing, no turbo lag, no noises. Just put your foot down and it moves. And with all the instant torque available it's obviously very quick off the line with its 7.6 0 to 62 mph figure for a hulking heavy SUV.
The 257-mile range is honestly a bit lower compared to the competition but nothing that invokes the so-called 'range anxiety' in us. If you're going to do 200+ mile journeys daily then perhaps it would be an issue. But even an 80-mile-a-day commute with it topped up on 7kW charger at home makes the Omoda E5 perfect.
Final thoughts
When you think about a brand new car name in the UK, they're going to struggle regardless of the quality of the product. The Omoda E5 is up against strong competition. The BYD Atto 3, Kia Niro EV, Hyundai Kona, MG4 and Volkswagen ID.3 &. ID.4.
Regardless, we liked the Omoda E5. I think perhaps at the current cost it will struggle because the Hyundai Kona, for example, is a similar price with around 319 miles range thanks to its 65kWh battery.
However, Omoda is proving to us that the Chinese manufacturers do indeed know how to build something that feels high quality.
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