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For our Adventure Day yesterday, Majella and I set out to North Lakes (just up the road) to meet with the sales rep and test out the new Omoda E5 from Chery. It’s yet another Chinese SUV with all the bells and whistles. For those who like a little background, Wikipedia tells us that Chery was founded in 1997 and has been exporting cars around the world (80 countries presently) since 2001. It is China’s 5th largest auto group. Last year, Chery exported almost 2 million cars, mostly fossil fuelled. Not a small operation.

This will not be a technical review — all the stats and specs can be found here for those who want that. This is a review based on our experience with the car.

The Chery Omoda E5 is a forerunner of the rush of Chinese models to be launched in the final quarter of 2024 on the Australian market. As each new car arrives, most in an SUV body style and with similar pricing, tech, and specs, it is getting harder to differentiate between them. And harder to choose which one would make the best buy. Perhaps the deciding factor might be the buying experience. Certainly, our experience with the Chery rep was one of the best over the past few years. Although this might put more pressure on salespeople, it will pay dividends for those who rise to the occasion.

Our tour guide, trainee salesperson Daniel, really knew his way around the car. We have interacted with many sales people about new electric cars, and most of the time we know the vehicle better than they do. Daniel was a notable exception. He gave us a very thorough walkthrough of the interactive screens and the various modes offered. He was honest about what the car offered and what it did not. He had driven a Tesla Model 3 recently and so was able to understand our need for comparison. He found the Tesla frightening to drive — “It frightened the shit out of me,” he confessed.

This adventure with the Omoda E5 had a personal component, as our daughter needs to let her Hyundai Santa Fe go into a peaceful retirement and we are encouraging her to move to electric. Hopefully she will consider the Chery Omoda E5. The car compares well with the BYD Atto 3. I, for one, much preferred the Chery. I mean, why would you pick anything else? The car made the MG ZS EV look like a horse and cart. Seriously, MG, time to do an upgrade. Will there be another battle in the price war? You betcha!

The price for the petrol Omoda E5 is about half of the electric, and Daniel assured us that they were completely different cars. The E5 is powered by BYD’s Blade battery and built from the ground up to be an electric vehicle. Daniel currently drives a gas guzzling diesel LandCruiser and is planning to do a total rebuild. I suggested converting to electric with OZDIY, but he was hesitant to trust charging in the Outback, so I referred him to our electrekking story. Hopefully he will follow up on those suggestions.

I’ll hand over to Majella for her insightful comments about the interior of the car. The Omoda E5 BX has an excellent sound system (6 speakers), with the speaker on the door looking like a lotus flower. No guitar strings here, BYD. Scanning across the dashboard, there are two screens. The right screen directly behind the steering wheel displays speed and navigation, the left screen controls the infotainment. The passenger can easily change the music or adjust the air conditioning. Majella likes to keep her car clean and says “I love the steering wheel because it would be easy to clean, with minimal buttons.” Those buttons are built into the wheel. Above the steering wheel is the eye detection unit.

The centre console has built-in storage, with flat buttons replicating the left screen for driver choice of access. There is a charging pad for your phone. On the right and down from the steering wheel was the button for opening the charge port (situated conveniently at the top of the bonnet for easy access to the chargers). The screens were easy to understand with well known icons for maps, audio, phone, etc. — similar to app icons found on a phone or a tablet device. Once again, Majella commented on the ease of cleaning: “No big buttons or dials.”

Tour the car settings and you will find tow mode and battery temperature protection. There are no driver profiles (yet). The basic version had manual seat adjustment settings. The car needs to be returned to the dealership for updates — no over-the-air software updates.

Perhaps sales will come down to nifty and convenient accessories, like a cool box in the middle of the centre console between the seats? The air conditioning vent in this cavity will keep your chocolate and your drinks cool. But it’s not a fridge, let’s not get carried away here.

There is a frunk, but it is very small. This allows easy access to the 12-volt battery, windscreen washer bottle, etc.

After Daniel’s thorough introduction, we set off for a drive. The first thing we notice is that even with the regen set on high, the Omoda E5 still doesn’t do one-pedal driving. If you take your foot off the accelerator, it slows down, but you still need to use the brakes to stop. When sitting at the lights, you need to keep your foot on the brake. What about acceleration, you ask. Even in eco mode, the SUV is still faster on the takeoff than our old V6 Sonata. But when we shifted to sport mode — which we did while driving down the highway — the steering became tighter and the acceleration was more pronounced. Now we were smoking. Not Tesla quick, but plenty enough to blow away the competition on the highway.

The driver assistance system was a bit glitchy, particularly with lane keeping. There was plenty of room in the back seat for my two grandchildren and the proposed baby capsule. The boot would carry a lot of groceries and childcare accessories. I have a friend whose greatest laments about his Tesla are that it does not have a 360-degree camera or a spare tyre. Good news — the Chery Omoda E5 has both and it is much cheaper.

How do we compare? Price is the easiest way, except prices seem to keep changing. The BYD Atto 3 and the MG ZS EV are a similar price at present. The Omoda EV BX is AU$45,600. Martian Red (my favourite) is only an extra $500. You can compare this with the Tesla Model Y at AU$56,000. The stated range is similar for both. Is a $10,000 difference enough to sway the buyer? Or will it be down to the buyer experience at the dealership and a few extra gimmicks?