Omoda E5 review: An all-electric SUV at an eye-catching price

Omoda is the first brand from Chinese car maker Chery to arrive in the UK – soon to be followed by Jaecoo. Chery know a thing or two about building premium cars from its tie-up in China with JaguarLandRover, so it’s no surprise that the Omoda 5 is nicely put together and features premium-feeling materials inside.

The E5 is an all-electric SUV that’s the same size, spirit and looks very similar to a Nissan Qashqai, with a cut-price petrol Omoda from just £25,235. As has been promised by so many Chinese car makers, value is Omoda’s strongest suit; not only is the E5 well priced to begin with, it comes loaded with tech, plus luxury and safety kit.

It’s far from the most exciting car to drive and we found our car on 18-inch wheels with Kumho tyres produced a fair amount of road noise. The ride can feel mildly bumpy over road ruts and ridges, but it’s not too bad and the cabin is generally comfortable with decent space, although the boot is smaller than a Qashqai’s.

A maximum claimed range of 257 miles isn’t anything to boast about, until you take the price into account that’s more on par with electric superminis than a well-equipped family SUV.

My exclusive first UK drive in an Omoda E5 started at the company’s HQ in West London and I drove on streets I know well including the M4 motorway, faster A roads and through clogged London traffic

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Independent rating: 7/10

Everything with the Omoda E5 has to be taken in the context of the price, which starts at £33,000 – pretty sensational value for this class and quality of car.

The EV stats won’t wow you – the 61kWh battery is good for a claimed maximum range of 257 miles, while the fastest charging speed is just 80kW on a rapid charger. That’s still enough for a 28-minute top-up from 30 to 80 per cent charge, while a standard 7kW home charger will give a full charge in under 10 hours. And if you want to take advantage of a smart energy tariff like E.On Next Drive, the Omoda smartphone app allows you to set start and stop times for charging, as well as heat or cool the car before the start of your journey.

The car’s dynamics won’t exactly wow you, either, but it’s reasonably comfortable, although you’re constantly aware of the bumps and potholes on the road surface, and there’s quite a bit of road noise that makes its way into the cabin – although better tyres than the Kumhos on our test car might improve that.

There are three levels of brake regeneration, although no one-pedal driving, and the highest level wasn’t especially smooth. But as with all EVs, acceleration is swift with a zero to 62mph time of 7.6 seconds.

Swing open the doors of the Omoda E5 and you’ll be impressed by the quality of the interior; there are nice soft-touch materials where you’d want them most, with metallic effects on the window switches and stalks. For the money, this is a really impressive interior, while big side mirrors are appreciated, especially as the view through the rear window is a bit narrow. There’s a clever 360-degree camera, though, on top-spec Noble models, though.

Space in the back is good enough for two adults to sit comfortably – I’m close to six feet tall and managed to sit behind the driver’s seat I’d just got out of with kneeroom and headroom to spare, despite the car having an old-style opening sunroof rather than a more modern panoramic arrangement. Three children should fit comfortably, although the rear doors don’t open as wide as some rivals and there aren’t the clever storage features you’ll find in a new Renault Scenic.

There’s good news and bad news in the boot. The standard 380-litres is a little on the small side compared to the Qashqai, but many buyers will be delighted to lift up the boot floor to find something of a rarity these days: a full-size spare wheel.

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Whether you go for the Comfort or Noble version of the Omoda E5, you get two 12.3-inch screens – one for infotainment and one for driver information. The latter is rather too crowded for my liking with lots of information and the speedometer set to the left – I’d rather have the option of putting it in the centre, but you can only adjust the display on the right hand third of the screen.

The infotainment screen is similarly crowded, but most owners will just let their Apple or Android smartphone connect wirelessly, while there’s a high-powered 50W wireless smartphone charger, with an integrated cooler so your phone doesn’t overheat when it’s charging.

Noble models get a Sony stereo, while there’s even Vehicle to Load capability to plug your own gadgets into the car. A full suite of driver assistance features helps towards a top five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, while over-the-air updates will refresh the infotainment systems from time to time, too.

The star attraction of the Omoda E5 is the price, with this medium-size family SUV available from just £33,055 in Comfort trim – what you could pay for a much smaller supermini with a lower EV range. Another £1,500 will get you the top-spec Noble trim with more bells and whistles and better quality than you’ll get anywhere else at the price.

Against more expensive SUVs, the 257-mile range is no more than adequate. But Omoda – unlike other Chinese brands – has worked hard with the car insurance industry to make sure insurance costs are competitive, while a strong dealer network and seven-year warranty will make sure you’re looked after.

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Find a rapid charger and the Omoda E5 will charge at 80kW, meaning a 30 to 80 per cent charge in 28 minutes, while the battery can be completely filled at home on a 7kW charger in 10 hours.

Value is the Omoda E5’s strongest selling point with prices starting at just £33,055 for a well-equipped, high-quality family SUV

The batteries are covered by an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty, with a strong dealer network and supply of spare parts should anything go wrong.

EV buyers tend to be more accepting of new brands, so Omoda’s timing could be perfect. It’ll sell on value alone for many buyers, but the compromises are few – the ride isn’t the smoothest and the boot is smaller than rivals, but it’s worthy of consideration.