Omoda 9 SHS Virtue AWD: Fast and frugal

What is it?

Another week, another Super Hybrid to drive — this time the Omoda 9 plug-in hybrid.

Omoda, which is now a separate brand, is part of the Chinese Chery group which includes Jaecoo.

In fact, Omoda and Jaecoo share the same dealerships. Some dealers also offer Chery-branded vehicles.

The Omoda name represents sporty crossovers while Jaecoo is associated with more rugged SUVs.

The Omoda 9 is also sold as the Exeed Yaoguang (or RX for export markets).

It’s all a bit confusing.

What’s it cost?

The five-seat SUV is offered in one generously equipped variant Omoda 9 SHS Virtue AWD, priced from $61,990 plus on-roads.

A full width light bar links projector LED headlights with narrow vertical LED daytime running lights.

The rear also features a full-width light bar.

Standard equipment includes leather-appointed seats, two-zone climate air with rear vents and controls, heated and cooled power-adjust front seats, heated outer rear seats and heated, power-adjust steering wheel and coloured interior lighting.

There’s also head-up display, adaptive cruise control, LED lights front and back, auto high beam, speed sign recognition, built-in dash cam, cooled console box, auto lights and wipers, auto-dimming interior mirror, front and rear parking sensors and automatic parking and a powered tailgate.

A panoramic sunroof tilts and slides, with a powered sunshade and can be opened and closed with voice commands.

Infotainment consists of an integrated panel with dual 12.3-inch screens, eschewing the trend towards free-standing screens. It feels dated.

The system features Bluetooth with voice control, built-in navigation, AM/FM and DAB+ digital radio, wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while sound comes from a 14-speaker Sony-branded audio system, including two in the driver headrest.

There’s USB A and C ports front and back as well as a 12-volt power socket in the front (but none for the luggage area).

Wireless phone charging is also provided.

Omoda 9 is yet to be rated for safety by ANCAP, but gets a five-star rating from Euro NCAP.

Occupants are protected by reverse and 360-degree cameras, eight airbags including a front centre bag and a full suite of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems which includes Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Blind Spot Detection (BSD), Emergency Lane Keeping (ELK), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Forward Collision Warning (FCW).

Two ISOFix and three top tether childseat anchor points are fitted.

Omoda 9 comes with an 8-year unlimited kilometre warranty, 8-year unlimited kilometre warranty for the batteries, 8-year capped-priced servicing, and 8-year roadside assistance.

What’s it go like?

Omoda bills the 9 as premium, a luxury model even and the flagship of the Omoda-Jaecoo range.

But we’re not buying it because there’s plenty of generic, hard black plastic on show.

Apart from some fancy stitching on the door panels, it’s all a bit meh (not counting the deep pile floor mats).

At 4775mm the 9 is exactly the same length as the BYD Sealion 6 PHEV that we tested previously, but a little wider.

Even so it feels significantly smaller inside.

However, the 9 offers a greater load capacity at 660 litres with the rear seats in place and 1783 litres folded.

While handy for storing items, the large, two-tier centre console consumes much of the cabin space.

The door-mounted seat controls are a lift from Benz, but fore and aft control is for show only in the rear.

Oddly, the doors have both physical and push-button latch releases.

The seats are narrow and pressed into our thighs and buttocks, with limited legroom in front.

Rear legroom seated behind my own 183cm frame is comfortable.

In terms of performance, one thing we can say about the Omoda 9 is that it gets out of the gates pretty quickly for an SUV.

And it should, with a hybrid system that consists of a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine and three electric motors — two at the front and another one at the rear.

Quad tailpipes, a pair at each corner of the rear bumper, promise something special from this car and it delivers in spades.

The petrol engine produces 105kW of power and 215Nm of torque, while the electric motors produce 75kW/170Nm, 90kW/220Nm and 175kW/310Nm (front to back).

Combined output is a prodigious 395kW and 700Nm with the dash from 0-100km/h taking a rapid 4.9 seconds.

That’s better than Ford or Holden’s much-lamented V8 heroes in case you’re wondering.

Getting power to the ground is all-wheel drive, with the more powerful electric motor turning the rear wheels, via a three-speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission (DHT).

The main thing that separates this car from the other super hybrids that we’ve tested is the larger battery which at 34 kWh and is sufficient to provide a pure electric range of about 145km (WLTP).

With an equally large 70-litre tank, energy consumption is a claimed 19.3 kWh/100km and fuel use is 1.4L/100km using premium 95 unleaded, with a combined range of up to 1100km.

AC charging (6.6kW) takes 5.5 hours for 30-80 per cent. DC fast charging (70kW), again from 30-80 per cent takes a claimed 25 minutes.

The trip computer in the Omoda 9 is a little confusing, but the maths is quite simple.

With a fully charged battery and the car in hybrid or a blend of petrol and electric power, we used 11.8 litres of fuel over a distance of 288km which in our book equates to 4.1L/100km (or very low fuel consumption).

For those intending to make frequent use of the car’s significant electric range, it could be enough to get it across the line in front of a dedicated EV.

Otherwise it can simply be driven as a self-charging hybrid, with three levels of regenerative braking to top up the battery.

A round control knob in the centre console lets you switch between EV (electric) and HEV (hybrid) modes.

There are six drive modes: Eco, Normal, Sport, Snow, Sand, and Off-Road.

There are plenty of other options contained in the menu system, but no physical volume or temperature controls.

Hyundai Ioniq 9: Steady as she goes

You may however inadvertently bring up the aircon page with a vertical swipe, but you’ll need to wait two or three minutes for it to disappear during which time the screen remains locked. It wears thin.

At the fair left of the screen resides a large virtual volume dial.

For a branded system, the Sony audio lacks depth, with frequent radio signal dropouts.

With continuous damper control the ride quality with the low friction 20-inch 245/50 series Michelin E Primacy tyres is fine on smooth bitumen and surprisingly good on secondary roads, with judicious use of the throttle sorting out any sideways movement at speed.

Throttle response is excellent in the mid-range for overtaking, but lags from a standstill, taking 2-3 seconds to hook up occasionally.

Backing off is sufficient to control corner speed and if things start to get out of shape, it’s simply a matter of giving it some more juice, but be careful not to give it too much.

The four-wheel ventilated disc brakes are great, but can sometimes be abrupt.

A tyre repair kit is provided in the event of a puncture.