I had never driven an electric car before – and very few cars as fancy, safe and efficient as the Omoda C7. It’s not a fully electric car, but as close as it gets as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), reports The Citizen.

Driving it for the first time I’m overwhelmed initially with so many questions. Where do I charge? What’s the difference between a DC (direct current) and one AC (alternating current) chargers? And how does the car know when to kick into fuel?

But a fortnight with the Chery-owned Omoda C7, driving from Johannesburg to KZN’s South Coast and back again certainly hit the mark. With a family of four I needed a car with space and comfortability, and something that wouldn’t cost me an arm and a leg to get there and back. It ticked all these boxes and far more.

Omoda C7 very futuristic

It felt like the Omoda C7 was something from the future, as you can’t even hear the engine when it’s moving and turns many heads with its sleek design. It’s reliable, efficient and has all the bells and whistles to compete against mid-sized SUV rivals at a really good price. This model will set you back R689 900, which is a lot of money, but certainly a good price when it comes to what many rivals in the same range are offering.

It oozes power, tackling the busy N3, while also handling congested town driving during the holidays. It runs on a “super hybrid system“, meaning it combines the range and convenience of a petrol or diesel engine with the efficiency and high torque of an electric motor. The 1.5-litre engine hooked up electric motor and battery pack offers a system total of 255kW of power and gives you a combined range of 1 200km. The fuel consumption varied but it mostly worked on 7.5 litres per 100km during my time with the car.

There’s ample space in the five-seat Omoda C7, with a boot capacity of 590 litres, which expands to 1 371 litres with the second row folded flat. It includes a five-year/75 000km service plan and a five-year/150 000 km vehicle warranty and a 10-year/unlimited km warranty on the battery and electric drive unit.

All the bells and whistles

Technology has not been ignored, with an 8.88-inch digital display cluster providing all essential driving information at a glance and a 15.6-inch infotainment display integrating vehicle controls, climate settings, and media. A Sony 12-speaker setup makes it special.

There’s far more new energy vehicles on the road these days, so is South Africa ready for the next wave of electric vehicles? I’m no expert on the topic, but I’d say yes tentatively, but as more and more electric vehicles enter the market, more charging stations will have to come into effect.

Here’s my experience of driving the Omoda C7 down the N3, along the N2, and back on the N3. On a long trip your time is just as precious as saving on fuel. We did use the Live Map on GridCars to tell me where there are charging stations on the way (it even shows if the charging station is vacant or occupied as you get closer to it). I had some hits and misses and in hindsight realised that charging it often on a long trip is not worth it.

Charging can be hit-and-miss

We discovered at the first stop at Villiers that the charging station is at the petrol station across the road, which you’d have to drive to the next bridge and then back again – not something that we thought was worth it. Especially because as a PHEV the car still had a whole tank of fuel to reach the final destination.

The next stop before Harrismith the charging station was offline. The third stop at Harrismith’s busy Bergview petrol station only has two plug in points – one DC and one AC. The DC was occupied so the slow charge – which can take roughly two-and-a-half hours didn’t work for us. A full charge gives you an electric range of 105km. On the DC charger it can reach capacity in 50 minutes. We didn’t try charge again on the long trip down.

On the way back the DC charge at Bergview worked brilliantly while we ordered coffee and stretched the legs, while at Villiers (this time on the correct side of the road) wasn’t operational as they were having a power failure.

Omoda C7 embraces the future

While down on holiday we made a few trips up and down the N2. Unfortunately, we were positioned exactly in the middle of two charging stations in Amanzimtoti and Pennington, so even once charged you eat into your electric range. The Galleria Mall in Amanzimtoti was perfect for charging. I hate malls, but you could do your shopping in the time it took you to charge the car.

If you have a charging system at home, this vehicle will be perfect for daily commutes of 100km or less. If you have a reliable solar power system just think of the money you will save on fuel.

I suppose I’m slow to change so driving an electric car was not top of my pile of things to do. Who would have thought the Omoda C7 would make such a lasting impression on me?

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