Omoda E5 review

If you stepped into the Omoda E5 blindfolded, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re in a Mercedes. Its plush materials and high-quality finish are well beyond what you’d expect from a £33,000 SUV from a brand you’ve (probably) never heard of. 

Driving position 

The driving position itself is quite adaptable, with plenty of adjustability in the seat and steering wheel.  

But, like with almost all EVs, we find the seat doesn’t quite go low enough if you’re of the taller variety. That’s only made more obvious by the old school, opening sunroof in the E5, compared to the static panoramic roofs in most modern cars. 

When you are on the move, the onboard safety systems can be a bit distracting and overwhelming if you’re not used to them. 

Tech and features 

There are two different trims on offer: Comfort and Noble. While there are some big differences between the two, both get dual curved 12.3-inch displays – one for the infotainment system in the centre and one for the driver. 

The driver’s display has a lot going on, it’s almost too much info while you’re trying to concentrate on driving. It’s handy to have a large screen but if it was simpler, it would be easier to follow. 

The E5’s central screen is really easy to use. It also shows a lot of information, but it’s not as distracting since you’re not likely to interact with it as much while driving. 

If this is too much for you, simply connect your smartphone via wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to use that software instead.  

Then, while you’re driving, simply pop your phone on the 50W wireless charger, which has a smart built-in air vent to keep your phone cool while charging. 

Step-up to the Noble trim and this unlocks a 360-degree parking camera, six-way adjustable driver's seat, powered sunroof (though the controls are still there on Comfort trim cars but as blank switches, which is a bit tacky), and powered tailgate. 

There’s also an air purification feature like you get in Teslas and Range Rovers. 

You also get an eight-speaker Sony sound system which sounds great in most scenarios, though lacks low-end bass. 

There’s simply no point comparing the Omoda E5 to cars in much higher price brackets because it just won’t perform anywhere near those.  

Instead, you need to take it for what it is: an affordable electric SUV that, for most people, drives just fine. 

Electric motors and power 

Its EV credentials won’t blow you away with a 61kWh battery offering a 257-mile range, and a slightly embarrassing 80kW maximum charging speed – behind almost every rival. 

Its 200hp electric motor is punchy enough and has the instant torque you’d expect from any electric car, helping you reach 62mph in 7.6 seconds.  

It certainly doesn’t feel sporty, but for a car at this price bracket, you couldn’t hope for too much more. 

It has a three-stage regenerative braking system that does a decent job at slowing the car down but is a faff to engage.  

In our experience, you have to menu dive quite a way to find any adjustments – something most other cars use a simple button or paddles for instead. 

Handling and ride comfort 

We tested the Omoda E5 around town, on twisty country roads, and on faster A roads and it performs okay, but no more than that. 

There’s a lot of road and wind noise at speed, not helped by the lack of an engine grumbling away, but very noticeable compared to rivals such as the BYD Seal U and MG ZS EV.  

Admittedly, this probably wasn’t helped by the eco Kumho tyres our test car hard. 

Around a twisty B-road we found the steering to be quite numb and didn’t give much in the way of feedback – not that we’d expected much from a car of its size and class. 

The ride itself was rather good, which you would expect from an SUV. It dealt with, potholes well while also being firm enough to not feel wallowy around tighter corners. 

Driving at slow speeds around town is really where the Omoda E5 comes into its own. We think most buyers would be more than happy manoeuvring it around their local streets without worrying about dinging it.  

It feels light on its toes and, with regen braking on, it’s a breeze in rush hour traffic. 

Boot space 

Boot space is something that should be really strong in a car wanting to compete with the Nissan Qashqai, but sadly this isn’t the case. 

With a 380-litre boot, the Omoda E5 falls quite short of the Nissan’s 504 litres. Even the Golf has a larger boot (just) than this SUV. 

To give it some credit, the loading bay is wide and makes putting suitcases in the back a doddle, but you just can’t get all that much in there. 

However, under the boot is where things get interesting. In the E5 there’s a full-size spare wheel, which is almost unheard of in an EV. Well done, Omoda. 

Rear seats 

There’s a surprising amount of space in the rear seats, meaning two adults can sit comfortably back there with enough headroom and legroom to spare. Anyone fully grown might struggle in the middle seat, though. 

As this will likely be used as a family car, three kids would fit comfortably back there and there are ISOFIX mounting points on the outer seats for the little ones, too. 

Storage solutions 

Storage in the front of the cabin, and in the rear is really impressive. 

You get decent-sized door pockets, a deep glovebox and a large central armrest that has plenty of storage space inside as well as a deep area underneath with USB-C and USB-A ports (more can be found in the back, too). 

Rear-seat passengers get ample storage options at the back. Not quite as much as in the front, but suitable for most journeys. 

Safety 

Omoda takes safety very seriously, almost too seriously. 

There’s an abundance of safety assistances running while you drive, which is good to keep you safe on the road but feels a bit like overkill at times.  

For example, it tells you, after an hour of driving, to take a break and has a persistent coffee symbol on the already crowded driver’s display. 

As we say, it’s useful stuff but does appear quite overwhelming. 

The electric E5 hasn’t been independently tested by Euro NCAP but its petrol Omoda 5 relative has and passed with a full five-star rating, so we’d expect the EV to follow suit. 

Onboard safety features in all models include adaptive cruise control, front and rear collision warning, lane departure warning and rear cross traffic alert. 

Range and charging times 

The car’s 61kWh battery offers up to 257 miles of all-electric range, which we found to be spot on in our testing of the car. 

It has a claimed 3.8mi/kWh efficiency and this was also accurate during our time driving it. For most people, 250 miles-ish is absolutely fine and if you do have a longer journey, you just need to plan. 

Unfortunately, the E5 tops out at 80kW charging speeds – far behind its rivals that sit at least 100kW speeds. 

This means a charge from 30-80% (because Omoda won’t quote it from 10%) will take 28 minutes, while a charge with a 7kW home charger will take around 10 hours. 

Reliability 

Ordinarily, you may be worried about a new brand's reliability and rightly so, but not in the case of the E5, or any Omoda for that matter. 

The brand is owned by the Chinese car conglomerate, Chery, which has been making cars for more than 20 years. And, for reference, has more than 12 million customers globally across its brand portfolio – serious numbers from a company you might not have heard of. 

This is why Omoda’s entrance to the European market is so important and, if it goes correctly, will be the final stone in Chery’s ‘Infinity Glove’ of worldwide car-making domination.