This is the new Chery Omoda 5, a trendy crossover SUV for China. The Omoda 5 will launch on the Chinese car market later this quarter. ‘Omoda’ (欧萌达) is the name of a new series of high-mid end cars. The Omoda series will be positioned above Chery’s Tiggo SUV series and the Arrizo sedan series. Design of the Omoda 5 is surprisingly progressive for Chery, it looks sporty and modern, even a bit aggressive. The grille with quadrilateral shapes looks great, with split headlights aside and atop.
The side profile is impressive too, with hidden B-pillar and C-pillars and a floating roof. The waistline gradually rises from front to back for a sporty stance. There are some sporty details too, like the wide wheel arches and the five-spoke black alloys with orange detailing. Chery calls the design language of the Omoda 5 “Art in motion”. Somewhat oddly, for a new Chinese car in 2022, the Omoda 5 has traditional door handles instead of the more fashionable pop-out door handles. The Chery Omoda 5 looks larger than it is: 4400x1830x1585, with a 2630 wheelbase.
Big spoilers and wings atop the rear window are a design trend in China at the moment and the Chery Omoda has one too. It is large with a complex race-car style shape. The light bar extends over the entire width of the car, and far over the rear fenders. The bumper section is relatively simple, with a small fog light at the lower end. The exhaust pipes look cool but they are totally fake. The real pipes are hidden under the bumper.
The interior with a pretty twin-screen setup and tiny air vents that are nicely integrated in the dashboard. The steering wheel is sporty, with a tick rim and a flat bottom. The faux-leather seats are classy but also very flat.
This is the instrument panel. It distracts me when I write these very words. There is so much going on there, so much to process. Imagine you are driving around town and all these little tiny graphics are actually moving and changing color and numbers going up and down and graphs going left and right and the 3D goes D. I would crash into a super market. But I am old. Like almost every new Chinese car, the Omoda 5 is aimed at youngsters. They had a phone at age 0. They can handle all that stuff. They’ll be safe. Hopefully.
The main infotainment screen is nice and quiet in comparison. Finally, a moment to calm down. The apps are neatly arranged with touch buttons for the basic functions on the left. Very good. It has Huawei HiCar, Baidu CarLife, and Apple CarPlay. Talking about playing. If you go and play with the infotainment settings, you can get this:
Aaaah!
Fortunately, the center tunnel is clean without clutter. A simple lever, toggles, six buttons, and a switch. The gear lever connects to a 7-speed DCT gearbox, in turn connected to a ‘Kunpeng’ 1.6 liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine with an output of 197 hp and 290 Nm, sending all horses to the front wheels. Later on, Chery will also add a 1.5 turbo mated to a CVT to the lineup.
The 1.6 turbo engine. Chery doesn’t do engine covers.
Enough space for the legs but not so much for the head. Sun roof is small for 2022.
Pricing of the Chery Omoda 5 will range from around 110.000 to 150.000 yuan, which seems a good deal for the amount of car you get. The next Omoda will be a larger SUV with a length of just under five meters, followed by a small crossover that will slot under the 5.
Further reading: Autohome.
Yes, the faux dual exhaust is a high back pressure Y pipe configuration. But with that rear muffler sporting two exit pipes, they may later intend to connect those matching fake outlets seen on the bumper.
How about the coming EVs…..will manufacturers be tempted to waste money on faux dual exhausts, just for the motorsport effect?