► Omoda 9 is new flagship for the brand
► Only available in SHS
► Promises luxury for under £45,000
What happens when a budget brand goes for luxury? You get this, the Omoda 9, a D-segment SUV that promises ‘premium affordability.’ It’s the follow up to the Omoda 5 and electric E5 and comes after the Jaecoo 7 – though promises to be more luxurious than both.
Chery Automobile is bringing the cars thick and fast, but this is the something of a landmark: the 9 will be the flagship of the Omoda range, and the best example of the ‘Shoreditch young professional’ ethos it’s going for.
So, does it strike a balance between affordability and luxury, or does it get neither right? To find out, we drove the £44,990 SUV on UK roads around Portsmouth.
At a glance
Pros: good price, decent power, interior works in this segment
Cons: fidgety low speed ride, some parts lack premium feel
What’s new?
The Omoda 9 is all-new, though it shares an inoffensive design language with the already seen Omoda 5 and E5. Like some other Chinese products, the Omoda 9’s design is a hodge podge of the brands it’s aspiring to, so there’s a dollop of Lexus at the rear, a pinch of Land Rover at the front. That’s no bad thing though, because the Omoda 9 has an air of authority on the road.
Underneath the Omoda 9 is somewhat familiar to what we’ve already seen from the Chery group. Like the Jaecoo 5, there’s a SHS or Super Hybrid System under the bonnet – but unlike the Jaecoo that’s currently the only powertrain choice. At the launch of the Omoda 9, executive vice president Victor Zhang told us that the SHS powertrain was most suited to the Omoda 9. The argument is also helped by strong performance in sales of the Jaecoo 7.
Combine that powertrain with a punchy infotainment system and OTR price of under £45k, and Omoda thinks it’s onto a winner.
What are the specs?
The SHS system at the heart of the Omoda 9 is a 1.5-litre petrol engine combined with a couple of electric motors and a 34.46kWh lithium-ion battery. The engine itself boasts a thermal efficiency of 44.5%, but it’s all part of a confusing quartet that promises to work seamlessly in practice.
There are 9 driving modes, and what those three components are doing really depends on how you’re driving: in traffic jams you’ll get a single EV motor, while long distance driving will have the engine powering the wheels directly. Other times at lower speeds, the SHS system will drive and charge itself at low speed.
Even braking has two separate behaviours: low speed stopping uses just one motor for regeneration, while higher speed braking makes use of two.
The result is a 443bhp of power and 516lb ft of torque, good for a 0-62mph sprint of 4.9 seconds and top speed of 124mph. Fuel efficiency – along with smooth delivery – is the key focus though, with the SHS giving an EV-only range of 93 miles (WLTP) with a full battery. With the battery topped up you should get 201.8 mpg, though that scales to 43.6mpg over a full WLTP cycle.
How does it drive?
Put it all together and the Omoda 9 has a fair stab at being a luxury car. The most impressive part is the SHS powertrain, which is as smooth as you’d hope – and happily as frugal as Omoda promises. In Eco modes its delivery is stodgy, lazy but predictable and everything you’d expect from a petrol-sipping mode. Rotate the driving mode knob to Normal or Sport, and things get more linear and more responsive.
The most impressive thing here, though, is that despite having nine driving modes, the SHS system seems to seamlessly shift between each one. Like a duck in water, it appears to be busy under the surface, but relatively graceful above.
Braking behaviours is partly controlled by the SHS system too (using single motor regen to supplement braking at low speeds, and dual motor regen at higher ones) but it’s just as imperceptible in normal use.
Steering meanwhile, is on the light side but still accurate enough to manoeuvre through town and at high speed. Combine all the above with decent visibility over the never-ending bonnet and the Omoda 9 is confidence-inducing to drive, despite its size.
The fly in the ointment then? That’ll be the ride, which varies between fine and choppy depending on both the speed and the road conditions. It’s not too soft, and doesn’t dive under heavy breaking or hard acceleration, but it does let a little too much vibration into the cabin at low speed. Weirdly, at higher speeds this clears up, so the Omoda 9 is probably at its best on the motorway or on B-roads.
What about the interior?
Inside, the Omoda 9 starts to betray its affordable roots – but only if you’re looking closely. And in some ways its conservative price point actually helps. There are two large 24.6-inch screens which are sharp and as a large as you’d hope, but they’re underlined by physical switchgear that’s easier to use than some of the Omoda’s more expensive proposition.
The A/C and driving modes both have physical controls, and the steering wheel uses standard buttons rather than haptic ones. When tech is needed, the Omoda 9 just needs a simple swipe down to reveal shortcuts – great if you want to remove the speed limit warnings.
Elsewhere, you get other creature comforts like reclining rear seats, and front seats that are both heated and ventilated. There’s a panoramic roof above too. You have both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto if you need it, and there’s also a 14-speaker Sony system which sounds better than other cars at this price. Interestingly it comes with headset-mounted speakers too.
Fit and finish doesn’t feel premium at all points, with certain finishes (such as the door cards and lower dash) feeling a little cheap. Still, concentrate on the driving and you soon forget what you’re in.
That’s about it for tech, but the key thing here is that this is all standard – continuing the now customary ‘everything as standard’ approach we see from Chinese brands. The only thing you pay for is paint colours.
Before you buy?
With just one powertrain on offer and most equipment as standard, there’s very little to choose within the Omoda 9 range. Outside, however, Omoda is undercutting similar sized D-segment SUVs while also pulling customers up from C-segment SUVs. That’s the Chery Automobile way.
Verdict
The Omoda 9 isn’t the latest word in luxury, but it puts in a decent effort for the price. The interior’s drawbacks can be forgiven, and it’s fair to say the styling – while like a mystery meat of other premium models – isn’t bad-looking on the road. Tech is up to a good level too, and the controls are predictable – which is all you need at this price and segment.
Where the Omoda 9 falls short, though, is the ride, which lacks the constantly composed feel of more expensive competitors. It’s a little too busy at low speeds – and that alone seems to spoil the tight rope premium act the Omoda 9 is largely capable of doing at all other times. Put it on the motorway, for example, and it’s both quiet and smooth.
Chery has a history of fixing cars given customer feedback, so perhaps this will be the case for the Omoda 9.