Chery Omoda 5 2023 review: EX

The Omoda 5 is here as a rival to cars like the Haval Jolion or Toyota Corolla Cross, and it’s coming in hot with a much more ‘premium’ feel than its price suggests.

You can get into the Omoda 5 from $29,900, before on-road costs, which is very good given it takes aim at the larger end of the small SUV segment, but here, for just $3000 more, is the top-spec EX variant – that’s $32,900 if your quick maths is as bad as mine.

It’s more expensive than the base models of its rivals, but the Chery doesn’t come with a base model features list. Plus, a Toyota Corolla Cross with all of the goodies costs upwards of $40,000.

As standard, the Omoda 5 comes with LED headlights and daytime running lights, a set of 18-inch wheels on the outside, but the list really gets going inside.

The Omoda 5 has an electrically adjustable driver’s seat as standard, but the EX grade makes both seats electrically adjustable and heated. They’re also trimmed in synthetic leather.

Both variants also have a pair of 10.25-inch displays, one for multimedia and one for driving instruments, plus dual-zone climate control, wireless phone charging and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Omoda 5 EX grade features a sunroof. (Image: Chris Thompson)

The Omoda 5 seats are clad in a synthetic leather. (Image: Chris Thompson)

Both the base and top-spec Omoda 5 receive wireless phone charging. (Image: Chris Thompson)

Upfront is a pair of 10.25-inch displays. (Image: Chris Thompson)

Standard on the Omoda 5 are 18-inch wheels. (Image: Chris Thompson)

A few more bonuses for the EX: there’s a heated steering wheel, a power tailgate, and a sunroof.

The Omoda 5 also comes with a neat feature – once you’re used to it – which unlocks the car on approach and locks as you walk away. If you try to lock the car again with the button however, it’ll beep embarrassingly loudly at you.

Another useful little feature, if it’s your cup of tea, is the car’s virtual assistant which can be used with a ‘Hey Chery’ trigger phrase, much like premium Euro car brands or your smartphone have been using.

As well as its extensive features list, the Omoda 5 is set apart from rivals through its styling. Some visual elements may be divisive, but you can’t call it boring.

A large front grille, sleek LED headlights and red accents are all visible from the front, while down the side there’s more red on its standard 18-inch wheels if you opt for this EX variant.

From the back, there are a couple of aspects that look a bit more awkward, with the gap between the body and tyres looking like it’s been lifted up just a bit too high.

Inside though is where there’s a solid initial impression to be made. The Omoda 5 has an expensive-looking list of features, but it also has an expensive-looking interior.

The two large screens connect quite nicely across a low dash, while touch sensitive climate control buttons keep things looking sleek – even if they are a little harder to use and see.

There are a lot of nice-looking surfaces inside, from synthetic leather on the seats to faux wood grain in some of the accents around the doors and centre console. It’s spacious and well-lit because of the sunroof, too, which gives this quite affordable car a luxury feeling.

In terms of the little practicalities, the Omoda 5 has plenty.

There are two types of USB ports upfront, USB-A and C, and a USB-C port in the second row.

Its wireless Android Auto runs smoothly and is intuitive with connection and function.

It also has two cupholders each in the front and in the rear, plus a storage space down under the large wireless charger pad.

In fact, there’s heaps of storage space, including a deep space in the central bin as well as properly sized door storage.

The front seat, too, is a spacious and comfortable space to be in.

Similarly for a car in the small SUV class, the second row has plenty of room for your knees and your head as well – I’m 180cm (5’ 11”), and I can fit just fine behind my own seating position.

The doors also open nice and widely,  so getting in and out is quite easy.

The Omoda 5 has a boot space capacity of 360 litres, which doesn’t match up to rivals like the Toyota Corolla Cross with 436L, but it does have plenty more space than other small SUVs like the Honda HR-V with 304 litres.

It’s loading height is fairly high and the sweeping boot shape means the cargo area isn’t exactly squared-off, so big bulky items might be a bit of a challenge.

There is, however, a very important and increasingly rare space-saver spare wheel under there.

The Omoda 5 has a boot space capacity of 360 litres. (Image: Chris Thompson)

The boot's loading height is fairly high. (Image: Chris Thompson)

Both variants of the Chery Omoda 5 come with the same 1.5-litre, inline four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, and it’s not a bad thing.

Both also make the same outputs of 108kW and 210Nm, powering the front wheels via a continuously variable auto transmission, or CVT.

To anyone who enjoys driving, a 108kW car with a CVT doesn’t sound incredible, but the drivetrain is another positive point for the Omoda 5.

The engine and turbocharger work together to be quite responsive, if almost too eager from a standstill, and the transmission is smooth and unintrusive. It does also have a manual mode that it doesn’t really need, but the option is there.

Despite Chery’s claim that the Omoda 5 should use 6.9 litres for every hundred kilometres it covers, we actually ended up with a much higher figure both times we reviewed the car.

The first time it was 12.3L/100km. This time? At the pump, we measured 10.4L/100km.

Both times, long distances over varied driving conditions were used for testing, and little in the way of ‘racy’ driving.

Chery claims you should be able to get about 725km from its 50-litre tank before it empties, but it’ll be less than 500km if our testing is any indication of longer-term efficiency.

This is the part when we get to the disappointing thing about the Chery Omoda 5.

This car is pretty excellent while it’s parked, but it lacks a lot of finesse once it gets moving.

The engine and transmission are fine, if a little touchy on the accelerator from a standstill, but there’s one major red flag in particular.

The first time we reviewed the Omoda 5, we were concerned about the way it’s lane-keep assist aggressively tugged the steering wheel – even when you’re not moving out of your lane.

Since then, Chery says it has fixed the way that system operates, and thankfully, none of those examples ended up in customer driveways. But after I got onto the highway when I picked this car up for testing, I found myself wanting to turn lane-keep off almost straight away.

The steering wheel’s not trying to yank itself out of my hands, so it’s an improvement, but the system is still quite irritating, particularly with a chime to let you know it’s active every five seconds.

There are still some small nudges of the steering wheel – not enough to affect the car – but it is frustrating.

It’s able to be switched off via the settings menu, but each time you start the car, it defaults to on.

That’s a shame because, without that, I would happily recommend this car to anyone who I knew didn’t prioritise driving dynamics.

Aside from that, even though it’s not the most exciting car to drive, it’s safe and reasonably predictable – which is the best thing a car can be. For example, its tendency towards understeer during cornering makes it more safe than loosey-goosey.

There are times when the suspension feels a little on the floaty side, through repeat bumps especially, and there’s not a lot of feeling in the steering, but it’s light and does the job.

The only thing about the way it drives most people would probably notice if they’re used to new cars, is that the brakes need more of a press than you’d initially expect, to come to a stop. It’s something that’s quite easy to get used to, though.

Its lack of tech finesse is frustrating, because on paper the Omoda 5 is pretty safe.

The European equivalent to our ANCAP – Euro NCAP – awarded the Omoda 5 the maximum five-star rating for crash and crash prevention safety.

It’s got AEB, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert and even a little 3D surround view of the car when you have the indicator on to show you the car’s surroundings.

There’s some good stuff in there, but it’s just that active lane-keep that is letting the Omoda 5 down.

In the second row there are three top-tether anchor points and two ISOFIX mounts for car seats.

It’s also got seven airbags, and they cover heads for both rows, and sides for the front.

For the ownership benefits of the Omoda 5, it’s three lucky sevens.

Chery gives you a seven year, unlimited kilometre warranty, seven years of capped-price servicing, and even seven years of roadside assist.

That’s all pretty good!