Omoda E5 Review: sub-£35k Chinese electric SUV has cavernous cabin and impressive interior

Scotsman contributor Jim McGill poses with the Omoda E5Scotsman contributor Jim McGill poses with the Omoda E5
Scotsman contributor Jim McGill poses with the Omoda E5 | Jim McGill
Appealing price, strong equipment and Qashqai-like looks position new entrant well for mid-market buyers

Another electric car, another Chinese automotive maker. The E5 is the first model to arrive in the UK from Omoda, which in turn is the first brand to arrive from the giant Chery company. A second, Jaecoo, is hovering in the wings about to also arrive in the UK.

While Omoda might well be a new name for you, parent company Chery might well already be on your radar, thanks to its tie-up in China with JaguarLandRover. The Chery Group itself was established in 1997, and Chery Automobile was the first brand to exceed one million domestic sales. Today the parent company employs in excess of 100,000 people across more than 100 countries, and globally more than 15 million people use its products. So Omoda arrives with significant support behind it.

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Ok, so what exactly is the Omoda E5?

It’s an all-electric family SUV which, if you half close your eyes, very closely — both in size and external shape – resembles a Nissan Qashqai. Given the Qashqai’s global success, that first assessment of the E5 then isn’t a bad one.

We’re reviewing the all-electric version here, which starts at £33,055 and uses blade battery technology. It’s also available in two trim levels, Comfort or Noble. The entry price is competitive, especially when you consider the rival Nissan Ariya starts at £39,645. But there’s also a petrol version of the Omoda 5 which is priced from just £25,235. Today though we’ll stick to the EV version.

Value for money has always been one of the numerous Chinese manufacturers’ strong points, and it’s no difference for Omoda. That, plus the fact both the petrol and electric versions come packed with luxury, tech and safety kit.

Already there’s an established UK dealer network, which is poised to grow significantly over the next 12 months, plus a seven-year warranty and a five-star Euro NCAP rating.

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Battery, range, charging and performance

First, for perspective, let’s remember the E5 starts at £33,000. For a car in this class, and given its quality and standard kit, is pretty impressive value for money.

Powered by a 61kWh battery, Omoda says you’ll get 257-miles on a single charge. That’s not bad. Slightly frustrating is the fact the fastest charging speed is just 80kW on a rapid charger. That equates to 30%-80% taking 28-minutes. And while that doesn’t sound too bad, remember most EV manufacturers quote times for a 10%-80% recharge. Using a standard 7kW home charger will give a full charge in under 10 hours.

The batteries are covered by an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

Use the Omoda smartphone app and you can take advantage of your preferred smart energy tariff. The app not only allows you to set start and stop times for charging, but you can also heat or cool the car before the start of your journey.

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Omoda has given the E5 three levels of brake regeneration, but again frustratingly, there’s no one-pedal driving available. Performance, as with most electric cars, is swift, with 62mph from standstill coming up in 7.6-seconds.

Rear view of the Omoda E5Rear view of the Omoda E5
Rear view of the Omoda E5 | Omoda

How does it drive?

Pretty well. Let’s be clear, this isn’t car you’ll buy if you’re an ‘enthusiastic’ driver. That’s to miss the point. It’s an electric family SUV. The 204bhp electric motor powers the front wheels (there’s no four-wheel drive version).

Once you adapt to the rather sharp brakes — something you’ll do very quickly, within minutes — and modulate your use of the sensitive throttle (at first it’s easy to spin the wheels when pulling out of a junction, but again you quickly adapt to the power delivery), you’ll find the E5 compares very favourably to many of its principal rivals.

Ok, some might find the suspension a bit on the firm side — personally, I always prefer that set-up — but the E5 comfortably does the job it’s intended for.

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And what’s it like inside?

Open the doors and the first thing which’ll strike you is the impressive quality of the interior. Where you expect soft-touch materials, there are good quality soft-touch materials, while in contrast the window switches and stalks benefit from metallic effects. It really is an impressive interior.

And it’s comfortable too. Naturally there’s plenty of space for front occupants, but there’s also bags of room in the rear. My 6ft-plus co-driver could comfortably sit in the rear behind his driver’s position and still have plenty of kneeroom and headroom – despite the old-style opening sunroof — to spare. So it was pretty cavernous for my 5ft 8in frame.

The rear seat will easily accommodate three children. That said, the rear doors don’t open quite as wide as some rivals, meaning fixing child seats and securing the children could be a bit of a challenge.

Bootspace is down on that of the Quashqai at 380-litres. But, tucked under the boot floor is something of a rarity these days: a full-size spare wheel.

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The Omoda E5 interior impressedThe Omoda E5 interior impressed
The Omoda E5 interior impressed | Omoda

Infotainment, tech and stereo

Both the Comfort and Noble versions of the Omoda E5 get two 12.3-inch screens, one for infotainment and one for driver information. I have to admit the driver info screen was a tad too busy for me. There’s lots of information on it. Plus the speedometer is set to the left. Personally I would rather it was located in the centre. Much more logical.

Most of us now will use our smartphones to link with the infotainment wirelessly, so it’s helpful the E5 comes not only with a high-powered 50W wireless smartphone charger, but it has an integrated cooler so your phone doesn’t overheat when it’s charging.

There’s a Sony stereo in the Noble spec, plus a Vehicle-to-Load capability to plug your own gadgets into the car.

As mentioned previously, the E5 has a top five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, so it comes complete with a full suite of driver assistance features as standard.

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Facts and Figures

Omoda E5

Price: From £33,055

Engine: 61kWh battery pack

Power: 201bhp

Transmission: Single speed transmission, front-wheel drive

Top speed / 0-62mph: 107mph / 7.2sec

Range: 257-miles

Charging: 80kW max charging speed (30%-80% 28mins)

CO2: 0g/km

Dimensions (length/width/height in mm): 4424 / 1830 / 1588

On sale: Now

Prices and trims

There’s no getting away from the fact the price of the Omoda E5 is one of its strongest and most appealing points. Remember it’s a medium-size family SUV, and it starts at £33,055 in Comfort trim. Consider other manufacturers and that budget will only get you a much smaller supermini with a lower EV range.

Standard kit on the Comfort includes front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, keyless entry, blindspot monitoring, 50W wireless phone charging, adaptive cruise control, LED headlights and a full complement of ADAS equipment.

Splash out another £1500 and you can get the better-equipped, top-spec Noble trim, which adds a 360 degree surround-view camera system, electric front seat adjustment (both sides), powered sunroof, powered tailgate and air purification system, plus that Sony sound system.

At the price, you’ll struggle to get anywhere close to the level of standard kit, and quality, if you opt for another manufacturer.

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Verdict

The march of the Chinese electric vehicles into the UK market continues, and again, as with the likes of BYD, Omoda has delivered a strong alternative and a very appealing — many would say, budget — price.

EV buyers are often more keen to consider new brands — and certainly when it comes to operating within a specific, realistic family budget — so in the current economic climate the Omoda’s arrival could be timely. There’s no denying it’s certainly worth considering.

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