Road test Omoda E5. Is NZ’s cheapest electric SUV any good?
Matthew Hansen drives the new kid on the block, an EV crossover from China with surprising pricing.
Back when I started as a motoring writer in the mid-twenty-teens, the electric vehicle space was sort of rubbish. If you wanted anything other than a used import Nissan Leaf, you’d be paying 80 grand or more. And for your heaping sum, you’d get a paltry 250km of range. Maybe over 300 if you were lucky.
Of course, we all knew that electric vehicles were going to be a long game. Range would go up and prices down. What we maybe didn’t so readily acknowledge was that a heap of new options would enter the market – many from China. Today there are plenty of compelling 300km-400km electric offerings for less than $60,000. Some are from familiar household names, and some are new to the market; like this Omoda E5.
Omoda is a subsidiary of Cherry, a Chinese car manufacturing giant. Having launched here once before about a decade ago with little fanfare, Cherry’s return to our market looks a lot more promising this time. Over the next two years, it plans to launch eight new SUV products, split across its Omoda and Jaecoo brands. And, this E5 is its first EV.
Thinking of those EVs from 10 years ago, the E5 gives a great snapshot of how much the genre has transformed. Its 61kWh battery boasts a WLTP-rated range of 430km, supporting DC fast charging speeds of up to 80kWh. Pricing starts at $47,990 for the base BX, with this flagship EX priced from $54,990. Both get a 7-year mechanical warranty and 8-year battery warranty thrown in for good measure.
With that pricing and a generous spec sheet (which we’ll get to soon), the E5 is clearly a car gunning for the $59,990 BYD Atto 3. One of the big feathers in Omoda’s cap is that it uses BYD-sourced Blade LFP batteries. Renowned for their safety and performance, the Omoda effectively yoinks one of the BYD’s strongest selling points straight off the bat. And, crams in 10km of extra on-paper range to boot.
Stuff recently tested Omoda’s petrol-fed C5, commending its bold looks and build quality, while both celebrating and tuttutting its technology. The E5 comes on the same front-wheel drive platform, and sports an equally vast list of tech toys.
But it also has a very different-looking front end and, oddly, a different dashboard. Behind the more sculpted and sci-fi nose is the E5’s focus on range.
The coupe-adjacent silhouette and Audilike rear end are direct carryovers.
Inside, you get the same dual 10.25-inch screens fitted with the same exceptional camera system, wireless device charging, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This EX flagship has heated seats front and rear, as well as a heated steering wheel, heated windscreen, ambient lighting and a panoramic sunroof.
Beyond all the techie stuff, it’s worth acknowledging the E5 is surprisingly plush inside. The glossy grey faux wood inlays on the dash and doors look very premium.
The lack of a traditional transmission lever means it’s all change in the centre console region, too, with the gear selection stuff moving to a Mercedes-esque column shifter. There seems to be a fair bit of Mercedes influence in the E5, with the window switchgear also looking similarly Stuttgart inspired. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, since the E5’s cabin by and large pulls off its cheap-but-premium aspirations. It feels refined and well put together. The motors for the electric windows are silent, tyre roar is hushed. Kudos to Omoda.
Not that there isn’t room for improvement. We noted a lack of headroom up front, perhaps owing to the added battery unit underneath combined with the extra bracing for the panoramic roof.
The boot, accessed via a kick-to-open electric tailgate, offers 380L of space – 60L less than an Atto 3 (although admittedly with a wider and more practical opening). There’s also a ‘frunk’ under the bonnet, but it’s only large enough to hold the E5’s charging cables. Plenty of room in the back seat, though.
One plus of the E5 is its lane-keep system. We felt the system in the C5 we drove in January was hyperactive and jarring with its interventions. The E5’s system tones things down significantly. It’s not perfect but the rate of improvement is clear to see.
And, it’s not the only thing that represents an improvement over the C5.
At the risk of sounding like a bit of a Captain Obvious, the electric powertrain of the E5 is rather different to the 1.5-litre CVT petroleum jigger in the C5. It is, of course, very quiet and cheap to run. Its bucket loads quicker off the mark, too, thanks to the instant thwack of torque.
More to the point, what the E5’s electrification does – in particular its battery – is cure a good portion of the C5’s handling ailments. While we found the C5 to be a little flaky and wallowing in its handling abilities, the E5’s lower centre of gravity and hit of added power make for a considerably more entertaining drive.
Our tester showed a projected range of 390km to a battery, a somewhat respectable 40km shy of the brand’s claims, with probable room for growth for those who drive mostly in urban areas. That’s right; essentially 400km of range from a sub-$50,000 electric SUV. Range, going up. Price, coming down.