Futuristic Omoda C5 an impressive talent still aiming for stardom

While worn down to the canvas and probably prone to observers and manufacturers cupping their hands over their ears, the reality is that the latest crop of Chinese cars are nowhere the embarrassing heaps they once were two decades ago.

In particular, the offerings from Great Wall Motors (GWM), its upmarket subsidiary Haval, and Chery have continued to set the sales charts alight by offering levels of technology seemingly unmatched by the Western brands on price.

Changing of perception

The route that have taken both brands to where they are today are, however, completely different.

Whereas GWM and later Haval remained steadfast in South Africa since launching in the late 2000s, Chery quietly left in 2018 after a decent but still contrived presence characterised by the lacklustre J1, J2 and J5, the Toyota RAV4-aping Tiggo and the most successful but still controversial Chevrolet Spark/Daewoo Matiz clone that was the QQ3.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Omoda C5 is the new Chery on top in South Africa

As much as its exit, arguably, didn’t shed much of a tear, its unexpected return in 2021 with the radically different Tiggo 4 Pro, Tiggo 7 Pro and Tiggo 8 Pro sent shockwaves through the automotive industry in a fashion not seen for a while.

About as far removed from its early models, the brand’s incredible ability to change the perception of the notoriously brand loyal South African buyer speaks volume as a total of 6 600 vehicles have been sold in 2023 so far.

Starting afresh once again

Although it’s relaunching seemingly presents little in the way of troubles for its new upscale Omoda marque, matters are less clear cut.

As the first Omoda in South Africa with more to follow, the pressure on the new C5 couldn’t be greater as apart from the brand itself, it will act as surrogate for another Chery marque, Jaecoo, arrives later this year.

For now, focus is squarely on the spaceship-like C5 that has already been billed as a rival to the Volkswagen Taigo.

Priced at R509 900, which includes the ground-breaking 10-year/1 000 000 km engine warranty, the mid-range C5 Elegance tested here is up R5 300 on the comparative Taigo Style, but makes up for this by offering features either not available as standard, or in need of ticking a few boxes on the Volkswagen’s options list.

That being said, the C5 is still a largely unknown product and while the usual seven-day stay promised a lot, the final delivery was anything but a win in favour of Wuhu over Wolfsburg.

First impression impresses

On the face of it, the Omoda C5 is off to an impressive start at it looks nothing like any current Chery product on-sale today.

Finished in Dark Blue and mounted on black 18-inch alloy wheels, the C5 looks refreshingly different with its thin LED headlights, 3D grille and Omoda script on the bonnet.

While the rear facia draws parallels with the Audi Q8 and the Jaguar F-Pace from some angles, it is hardly a cut-and-paste job like past Chinese products and unlikely to be confused for anything but an Omoda in the long run.

The same goes for the interior that has little in common with any Tiggo models, besides the Chery script on the steering wheel the first batch of models all feature as a result of initial plans to market it as the Chery Omoda C5.

Chery has, however, assured that this will be rectified once the second allocation are shipped to South Africa.

The observation deck

Seated behind the wheel, the spaceship feel is unrelenting, most likely as a result of the minimalist design and relocation of most of the major functions to the infotainment system.

Although physical switchgear is still present in the shape of buttons and dials on the centre console and the gears selected by a stubby mouse-like lever, the design is clean and simple, however, the use of piano-key black accents for the touch-sensitive dual-zone climate control switches makes the former description somewhat ironic.

As per China’s technology push, the C5’s cabin is awash with features ranging from the dual 10.25-inch infotainment system and instrument cluster, to the wireless smartphone charger on the centre console and a button marked “AVM” we will get to later.

Collision course?

Despite not being spaceship-style uhm, spacious, rear headroom makes the cut even with the standard panoramic sunroof, while the boot is equally capacious at 378-litres, or at 1 075-litres with the rear seats folded down.

It is, however, also here where things start to go wrong as the rear seats are mounted too upright and unable to recline far enough.

Sadly, the drawbacks don’t stop there as some of the materials felt cheap in places and in complete contrast to the more upmarket plastics used predominantly throughout.

In fact, a series of creaks and cracks cropped-up during the weeklong stay when on the move. It can only be hoped that this was an isolated occurrence limited to the press unit and not present on other examples.

Despite being the tech marvel it is, fathoming the Omoda C5’s infotainment system is not easy and while guaranteed to become second nature over time, making initial sense of all the various sub-menus becomes frustrating and anything but pleasant.

The fortunate upshot, again ironically, comes in the form of technology and specifically the voice recognition system that adheres to the command “Hello Chery” or Hello Omoda” and would change the radio station and media item, or indeed open the sunroof and all four windows when asked – the latter only when on the move.

Unfortunately, the voice recognition presence doesn’t offset the C5’s ergonomic challenges, namely the passenger’s seat that cannot be dropped down low enough, or the steering wheel that partially obscures the driver’s view of the instrument cluster regardless of the seating position or the wheel itself.

That being said, the biggest annoyance is the cluster itself that lacks a memory function for the trip computer and average fuel consumption readouts.

This means an automatic reset each time the ignition is turned off to the detriment of buyers interested in calculating the latter over a specific time and distance.

The very essence of the C5’s and therefore its main drawing card is somewhat of an own goal as the level of specification is, without a doubt, unmatched by anything at the same price point.

Besides the items already mentioned, the Elegance comes as standard with an electric tailgate, ambient lighting, a decent eight-speaker Sony sound system, folding electric mirrors and the undoubted standouts, Remote Engine Start that works an absolute treat and a resolution impressive, even at night, AVM or 360-degree around-view monitoring camera system.

The latter forms part of a comprehensive safety and driver assistance suite of systems comprising Autonomous Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, front and rear parking sensors, Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Departure Warning and Prevention, Traffic Jam Assist and Lane Keep Assist to name but a few.

Fire it up

Despite its eventual pairing-up with Jaecoo, the Omoda C5 is still Chery underneath and up front as it rides on the T1X platform that underpins every Tiggo model, and uses the same 1.5 T-GDI engine.

As evident by the nomenclature on the tailgate, the powerunit has been re-tuned from 108kW/210Nm, to 115kW/230Nm, which still goes to the front wheels via a CVT.

While far from the worst ever experienced, the reputation of the ‘box remains as the smoothness and unobtrusive shifting at slow speeds falls to pieces when you push the accelerator a bit deeper into the carpet.

With the exception of the typical CVT drone that becomes resoundingly annoying, the characteristic elastic feel prevails that made the absence of gear shift paddles even more disappointing as the manual override using the lever feels awkward due to its shape.

Normal? Nope

Bizarrely, the drive mode selector lacks a “Normal” setting and as such, only offers Eco as the default and Sport as the option.

The downside is that the former results in an overly light steering and somewhat lethargic response – undeniably not many are likely to complain about while the latter cures this with aplomb, albeit at the cost of fuel consumption.

That being said, while heavy around town as a best of 7.5 L/100 km was noticed, out on the open road, the indicated consumption dipped to as low as 6.5 L/100 km at one point.

Away from suburbia, the Omoda C5 is smooth going as apart from the seats, the ride irons out imperfections without drama while refinement leaves little to be complained about.

The opposite applies to the brakes though, which felt devoid of feel and installed very little confidence as the middle pedal required more than normal input to scrub off speed.

Conclusion

As much as the Omoda C5 can be described as a commendable effort, which it indeed is with some substance, it isn’t all it could have been while no a doubt a tech marvel, requires finessing in order to be accomplished on the level it should have been from the onset dynamically and quality-wise.

The upshot though, as mentioned, is the value factor and when combined with its space-age looks, cabin and features, makes for a package that in true Chinese fashion, is unbeatable and one interested and targeted buyers won’t easily ignore or dismiss.

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