Chery Omoda E5: That’s more like it

What is it?

E5 is the fully-electric version of the Chery Omoda that we drove 12 months ago.

It doesn’t look radically different from the rear or in profile, but the front has been extensively redesigned to accommodate the missing radiator grille.

Any air still required for cooling is drawn in through a smaller, blacked out ribbed opening below the front bumper.

Looks aside, the E5 is considerably more powerful than the petrol-model, which it is sold alongside, with significantly more torque available almost instantly when the accelerator is pressed.

So it is with EVs, but expect to pay extra for one — a lot extra in most cases.

What’s it cost?

Looking a touch more futuristic than its flashy petrol sibling, the redesigned front is still visor-like in execution.

It also hides the charging port, a la MG, located in the centre of the bumper, a location that we prefer, enabling the car to be nosed in rather than having to continually reverse.

A fastback silhouette and two-tier rear wing not only serve to set the vehicle apart, but also improve the aerodynamics.

T-shaped running lights and piano-style tail lights make it stand out at night.

The wheels are also different, alloys but with plastic fill-ins to make them more aerodynamic, with 215/55 profile Kumho PS71 EV tyres.

E5 is offered in two grades, BX priced from $42,990 and EX from $45,990.

Premium paint is an extra $500.

Both BX and EX are powered by a single electric motor, producing 150kW of power and 340Nm of torque, that powers the front wheels.

Five colours are offered: Titan Green (base colour), Lunar White, Saturn Silver, Space Black and Martian Red.

EX model Titan Green and Lunar White models can be paired with a black roof for $600.

Standard kit includes two-zone climate control with rear vents, cloth trim with synthetic leather bolsters, and a tilt and reach adjust plastic steering wheel.

There’s also 18-inch alloys, LED lights, auto high beam, speed limit recognition, adaptive cruise control, walk-away locking, auto lights and wipers and power-fold mirrors, front and rear park sensors, but the rear vision mirror is not auto-dimming. 

Stepping up to the EX adds full synthetic leather, ambient interior lighting, power-adjust front seats, heated synthetic leather steering wheel, heated front and rear seats (outboard), puddle lights, sequential rear indicators, a sunroof and power-operated tailgate.

Infotainment consists of a 12.3-inch touchscreen, plus another 12.3-inch screen for the driver, an increase on the 10.25-inch screens in the petrol- model — all housed in a single sweeping console.

The system boasts built-in navigation, AM/FM and DAB+ digital radio, Bluetooth with voice control, wired CarPlay and wireless Android Auto and six-speaker sound. 

EX adds eight speaker Sony sound.

Chery’s voice command system enables drivers to change radio stations, open windows and make changes to the air conditioning without taking their hands off the steering wheel.

There’s USB-A and USB-C ports front and back, another USB-A port near the rear vision mirror, plus 12 volt outlets in the front and cargo area.

Wireless phone charging is also standard.

Although it is yet to be rated for safety, E5 features a comprehensive list of active and passive safety features, including a reverse camera and seven airbags including a centre bag.

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) integrating 18 kinds of intelligent driving assist functions, including adaptive cruise control (ACC), autonomous emergency braking (AEB), Blind Spot Detection (BSD), lane keeping assistance (LKA), and rear cross traffic braking (RCTB) — to mention a few.

There’s also rear child safety locks, two ISOFix child seat anchors and three top tethers.

EX adds a 360-degree camera.

There is also a full-size spare wheel which is rarity in an electric vehicle.

E5 is covered by a 7-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, 7-year capped price servicing and up to 7 years of roadside assistance.

With an eight-year battery warranty, service is due every 12 months or 20,000km.

What’s it go like?

Getting into the vehicle and driving off for the first time is a different experience.

The car unlocks on approach and relocks itself again as you walk away from the vehicle.

There’s no start button as such. Simply move the column selector to D and press the accelerator. 

And although you put it in Park when you pull up, you don’t actually turn it off — which is a bit unnerving.

The bulky key fob makes no provision for attachment to a key ring, but in the context of the walk-away locking it will probably spend all of its time in your pocket or purse.

Otherwise you can purchase an optional key case with a strap for $29.99.

At 4.4 metres Omoda sits towards the larger end of the small SUV segment.

Rear legroom is pretty good with plenty of storage space thanks to a double-decker centre console.

A storage bin under the front bonnet is perfect for stashing the charge cable.

The driver seat is form-fitting, with generous padding for the thighs, but lacks padding for your butt where the squab joins the seat back.

Unfortunately, the longer you spend in the car the harder the seat becomes.

The rear view mirror in this version is better, but over the shoulder vision is still hindered by large rear pillars.

Given that the E5 is a cutting-edge EV, the instrument display lacks for much in the way of configuration and the lack of a physical volume control for the audio stops the front passenger from intervening.

The boot is small but hides a full size spare which is a rare commodity in an EV.

Omoda E5 is powered by a single electric motor that drives the front wheels through a single, reduction gear.

It produces 150kW of power and 340Nm of torque, with the dash from 0-100km/h taking 7.6 seconds.

With a 61.1 kWh battery, energy consumption is a claimed 15.5 kWh/100km and driving range is up to 430km (WLTP).

Charging from a 10A household powerpoint takes 31 hours. Installing a home charger reduces this figure to 9.25 hours.

A DC fast charger will deliver a 50 per cent charge at a rate of up to 80kW in 28 minutes.

Note that E5 does NOT come with a portable charger or cable of any kind which means you need to buy one separately (not cheap).

Driving the E5 is far from a relaxing experience.

One is continually fighting the steering wheel and lane centering assistance.

Best practice is to use a light touch and let the system do its stuff, otherwise your arms will quickly tire.

Lift off the accelerator and instead of free-wheeling, the car slows because of the regenerative braking, which of course can be modulated.

Finding a happy medium is difficult, while an endless stream of warning beeps and system corrections quickly becomes annoying.

There’s just the two gears, forward and reverse, with Eco, Normal and Sport drive modes.

But changing quickly between them can sometimes yield unexpected results as we discovered on more than one occasion.

Expecting the car to move forward, it started to move backwards again — that could be embarrassing.

Being a column shift, it is easy to confuse the gear selector for the indicator stalk.

Make the mistake of moving the selector up to turn left, thinking it is the indicator and the car goes into neutral.

You can’t get it back into drive again without applying the foot brake.

This almost led to my wife being rear-ended.

This happened twice, but I could not replicate the problem.

Ride quality is pretty good around town but quickly deteriorates on secondary roads. 

So does the expected range if you start to get up it.

Unfortunately, the trip computer shows only average consumption for the current trip.

To find the long-term average required a calculator and a little maths.

By our reckoning we were getting 16.4 kWh after around 300km of mixed driving.

That’s more than the claimed 15.5 kWh/100k and gives the E5 a real world range of about 373km.

What we like?

• Eye-catching
• Walk-away locking
• Drive mode memory

What we don’t like?

• Steering tiring
• Jerky throttle
• Fiddly gear selector

The bottom line?

E5 is Chery’s first EV and a pretty good effort, especially at the price.

The styling is contemporary and the cabin has an upmarket feel, with soft-touch surfaces.

But it could be even better with a little tweaking. More range would be nice, while the driving experience is overly busy and the fiddly gear selector needs some work.

 

CHECKOUT: Chery adds its first fully-electric model

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