Omoda C5

The Omoda C5 carries forward the sporty and bold vibe of its exterior in its cabin too, with it having a fine balance of sportiness and sophistication on the inside. The cabin of the Omoda C5 wears an all-black theme, with it also having leatherette upholstery for the seats and contrast bronze accents on the door panels and sides of the lower centre console.

The driver’s cockpit of the Omoda C5 has a flat-bottom, three-spoke, tilt and telescopic adjustable steering wheel and a wide trapezoidal full-TFT cockpit behind it, which houses the dual 10.25-inch screens for the instrument console and infotainment system. The middle layer of the dashboard has a straight, rectangular design, accommodating AC vents in the centre console and corners. 

The lower centre console of the cabin of the Omoda 5 accommodates touch-sensitive buttons for the automatic climate control and a wireless charging pad below it. The transmission lever has an electronic parking brake switch and drive mode controller on its sides. 

Pros and Cons:

Pro: Cabin feels modern and premium

Con: The automatic climate control panel is difficult to use while the vehicle is in motion

Features and Technology

With the Omoda C5, Chery Automobiles made a huge transition in offering a new-age SUV that comes packed with a host of modern-day features and essentials. The cabin of the Omoda C5 is equipped with state-of-the-art features like a 10.25-inch full-TFT instrument console and a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

This premium compact SUV from Chery also has dual-zone automatic climate control with rear AC vents, 64-colour ambient lighting, wireless charger, ventilated front seats, a 6-way powered driver’s seat, hands-free powered tailgate and a panoramic sunroof. More features like a front centre armrest with cooled storage, engine push start-stop button, remote engine start, intelligent voice assist, auto-dimming inside rearview mirror and USB charging ports in both rows further make the cabin feel more lavish and practical. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Comes packed with several new-generation comfort and convenience essentials

Con: No powered co-driver seat

Boot Space and Storage

While the Omoda C5 has an impressive size and cabin space for an SUV of its category, the same can’t be said about the boot space it has on offer. With the rear seats up, the Omoda C5 has a boot space of 380 litres, which is among the least in the category to which it belongs. However, after folding down the 60:40 split rear seats, the boot space can go up to a decent figure of 1,075 litres. 

Matching the standards of the segment, the Omoda C5 has a few usable storage spaces in its cabin, including a closed glovebox, bottle holders in all four door panels, a cooled storage box beneath the front centre armrest and cup holders in the lower front centre console and rear armrest. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Decent boot space after folding down the rear seats

Con: Boot space with rear seats up could have been more

The Omoda C5 appears to be a fresh breeze of air compared to the other compact SUVs from Chery we have seen in recent years. The crossover-inspired design has a lot of fresh design elements that are meant to grab your attention. 

The front profile of the Omoda C5 looks bold and aggressive with its wide trapezoidal grille, which looks unique with its body-coloured honeycomb-like inserts. This grille is flanked by sleek LED DRLs on its upper edges, with the C5 also having all-LED headlamps placed on the lower corners of the front bumper. These headlamps sit within arrowhead-shaped housings.

The Omoda C5 features a host of contrast-coloured red highlights on the air dam on the front bumper, alloy wheels, rearview mirrors, door side mouldings and rear diffuser. Towards the rear, the C5 also has a raked-down roofline, which along with the sharp kink on its shoulder line below the rear quarter glass panel and 18-inch machined alloy wheels, adds more visual drama to its side profile.

At the back, the Omoda C5 has a sharply raked rear windscreen with a sporty-looking spoiler above it, with the SUV also having sleek-looking LED tail lamps placed beside the lower edges of the rear windscreen, featuring boomerang-shaped outer corners. These tail lamps are connected by an LED light bar, thus going in sync with the modern trend seen in many SUV offerings. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Modern-looking LED headlamps and LED DRLs

Cons: Colour-coded front grille might not appeal to everyone

Chery Automobiles hasn’t stated the official fuel efficiency of the 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine of the Omoda C5, though buyers have reported 12-13 kmpl fuel efficiency in usual driving cycles. For the variants with the 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, Chery claims 14.5 kmpl fuel efficiency, which comes down to 8-9 kmpl in real-world driving conditions. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Impressive fuel efficiency on highways

Con: City efficiency could have been better

Being a monocoque crossover, the Omoda C5 has a comfort-oriented independent suspension at both ends – Macpherson struts at the front and twist beam at the rear. To deliver a plush driving experience, this suspension setup has a softer tune for its springs, and that is reflected in its comfortable ride quality.

Besides fitting the wheel wells nicely, the 18-inch wheels also contribute to this comfortable driving experience and ride quality. There are two driving modes – Eco and Sport – for a more engaging and involving driving experience, though we would have loved to have more precise steering, especially at higher speeds.  

Pros and Cons:

Pro: Comfortable ride quality

Con: Lacklustre steering feedback at higher speeds

The Omoda C5 lineup in the Philippines is being offered with two engine choices. The base-spec Lifestyle variant has a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine under its hood, which produces 114 bhp of maximum power and 143 Nm of maximum torque. This variant has a top speed of 170 kmph with this naturally aspirated petrol engine.

Meanwhile, the Comfort and Luxury variants of the Omoda C5 have a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, which churns out 154 bhp of maximum power and 230 Nm of maximum torque. These two variants have a top speed of 181 kmph. The standard transmission option in all three variants of Omoda C5 is a CVT.

Pros and cons:

Pro: Impressive performance of turbo-petrol engine at higher RPMs

Con: CVT feels lazy at times

Apart from the comfort and convenience features, the Omoda C5 has also hit the ball out of the park with its long list of safety features on offer.

The SUV has a host of advanced driving assistance functions like rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, front collision warning with vehicle identification, headlamp automatic control, lane departure prevention, autonomous emergency braking, emergency lane keeping, limit assist, speed control assist, traffic sign recognition, intelligent speed adaptation, a 360-degree HD parking camera, adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow, integrated cruise assist and traffic jam assist.

Other safety essentials available in the Omoda C5 are six airbags, hill start assist, hill descent control, ABS with EBD and brake assist, brake override system, electronic stability program, traction control and tyre pressure monitoring system. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Several safety features are offered as standard

Con: ADAS functions can be too intrusive at times

Competitor Comparison

One of the most affordable compact crossovers in its category, the Omoda C5 competes with a slew of other similarly-priced Chinese offerings like GAC GS3 Emzoom, MG One, BAIC X55 Verve, Geely Azkarra, Chery Tiggo 5X Pro, Haima S7, GWM Haval Jolion, Jetour Dashing, Changan X7 Plus, Mazxus D60, Dongfeng Aeolus Mage, JAC JS6 and Kaiyi X7. 

The Omoda C5 is also a relatively more affordable alternative to the other more popular global offerings like Nissan Kicks e-Power, Kia Seltos, Toyota Yaris Cross, Hyundai Creta, Peugeot 2008, Chevrolet Tracker, Ford Territory, Volkswagen T-Cross, Mitsubishi X-Force and Honda HR-V. 

Conclusion and Final Verdict

Compared to all the other previous-generation compact SUVs and crossovers from Chery, the Omoda C5 opens a new chapter with its modern styling inside-out, new-generation turbo-petrol engine and a host of new features never seen before in a compact offering from Chery. With the Omoda C5, Chery Automobiles wants to attract younger car buyers, which succeeds with its modern look and feel and affordable pricing.