LAUNCHED in 2022, Omoda is a sister brand to Chery, one of China’s biggest car manufacturers.
The name is supposed to consist of a mash-up of ‘Oxygen’ and ‘Moda’, meaning modern, reflecting Chery’s hopes that its new brand will appeal to fashion-conscious Western drivers looking for good looks as well as good value.
The company entered the European market in 2024 and its progress has been meteoric.
Just two years after its inception the company has already notched up 600,000 global sales. It took Henry Ford five years to do the same (albeit 100 years earlier).
In its first year on sale here, Omoda (and its ‘value’ sister brand Jaecoo) found 3,629 buyers. Since then progress in the UK has been swift and Omoda is now selling more than twice that number of cars every month.
By September 2025, it had more than three percent of the UK market - more than established ‘big names’ like Fiat, Renault and even Honda.
The Omoda 9 reflects the company’s confidence: an all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid SUV that’s fully loaded for the highly competitive price of £44,990. That puts it up against mainstream SUVs such as the top spec Qashqai, but makes it seem like a bit of a bargain compared to similar-size vehicles from Volvo and Range Rover.
The Omoda 9 adopts what Omoda bosses call a ‘Super Hybrid System’ which combines a 1.5-litre turbo petrol with twin electric motors and a three-speed hybrid transmission. This complex powertrain is said to be good for 449 bhp and a pure EV range of 93 miles making it a PHEV class leader. Most of its Western rivals are all done after 60 miles of EV range.
What’s more this isn’t just bluster. Our real-world testing confirmed Omoda’s claims.
The engine sounds a bit strained if you really press on but you’ll not find it wanting for performance at motorway speeds. Around town, the Omodoa’s sheer bulk mitigates the lusty performance but it’s smooth and refined at all legal speeds.
Comfort is good. The Omoda rides nicely over Britain’s pock-marked roads and feels planted at speed. The acoustic glass makes fast cruising very refined with none of the wind noise to be found on cheaper Chinese SUVs (and plenty of Western ones too). In fact, comfort is very good for such a large vehicle with wind, road and tyre noise very well suppressed. The brakes can be a bit tricky to modulate - they have a tendency to grab at the last moment if you’re not careful - but you’ll get used to that.
My only bugbear was the size of the windscreen A-pillars which restricted my view when trying to exit busy junctions. Depending on how you like your driving position and your height, this might not be a problem, but it’s something to be aware of if you take one for a test ride (as you surely must before signing on the dotted line).
The Omoda 9 is notable for including fast charging hardware whereas most of its PHEV rivals limit you to slower domestic AC rates. That means you can top up the battery to 80% in about half an hour and be on your way again. Company car drivers, in particular, will find this a tempting feature if they spend any length of time in busy towns and cities.
Omoda has taken a leaf out of the Lexus playbook in the cabin.
When Lexus launched in Europe, to make its mark and get one over established rivals like BMW and Mercedes it did so with just one specification: fully-loaded. Omoda has adopted a similar ‘everything, including the kitchen sink’ strategy here.
You get heated and ventilated seats (front and back), recliners for rear occupants, a panoramic sunroof, Sony audio with headrest speakers, massive twin screens, acoustic glazing and all-round camera monitoring. It’ll even park itself. Just about the only choice you have to make is deciding what colour you want.
The materials quality is up to scratch, too, with liberal use of premium materials like alloy and convincing synthetic leather. You won’t get better for the price.
The Omoda offers plenty of room as well. Rear passengers can recline and stretch out in comfort while the boot can swallow 600 litres (1,783-litres with the seats down). If you have a growing family the Omoda ticks a lot of boxes and the five-star NCAP crash test rating offers families extra peace of mind should the worst happen.
Drawbacks? Well the user interface on the touch screen needs work - it’s confusing and requires too many finger stabs to access frequently-used features like the heating and air distribution controls.
And, in common with many Chinese cars, there are too many annoying warning sounds and messages (although many of them can be switched off if you have the patience to navigate deeper into the digital settings).
Those gripes aside, the Omoda 9 is a deeply impressive vehicle.
I can’t think of a more accomplished newcomer from such a young marque since the Lexus LS400 put the cat among the pigeons nearly four decades ago.
No wonder Western car manufacturers are looking nervously over their shoulders. The Omoda 9 offers class-leading electric-only range, strong performance, excellent refinement, a massive boot and roomy cabin for a price that - in some cases - is tens of thousands cheaper than other premium brands. The generous seven year warranty is the icing on a very tempting cake.
If this is what Omoda can achieve after just a couple of years just think of what it might be capable of in the future.
Right now, if your priorities are value for money, loads of kit, low running costs and a roomy interior that’s big enough for all the family, then the Omoda 9 simply has to be on your shortlist.
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