Omoda 9 SHS review — a cavernous hybrid SUV with a whopping range

Times

3 days ago

Alan Partridge, you may recall, referred to his blue Lexus IS300 as 'the Japanese Mercedes'. In the Omoda 9 SHS we have the Chinese Mercedes.
Who or what is Omoda? So saturated have we become with new Chinese car brands washing upon Britannia's shores, it's difficult to keep up. There's MG, BYD, GWM and its sub-brand Ora, Aiways, Maxus, Xpeng, Leapmotor, Skywell and now Jaecoo and its fancier sister Omoda. Both brands are owned by Chery, China's fourth largest car builder, which is also launching its eponymous mothership brand in the UK later this year. So will Nio, HiPhi, Avatr, Zeekr and Geely, all before the Christmas lights go up. Hongqi is set to follow in 2026.
The Chinese build cheap, reliable, efficient cars with impressive technology. The new world order of cars has seen these guys sweep in and undercut the competition thanks to cheap labour and their direct access to the raw materials that make batteries. China sells 60 per cent of the world's EVs and 80 per cent of the batteries that power them. Here in Britain there are 73 dealers for the Chery brands Jaecoo and Omoda alone, and that figure is expected to rise to 130 before the end of this year. This is startling growth.
The appeal of the Omoda 9 SHS (which stands for Super Hybrid System) is clear: a cavernous hybrid SUV that is well appointed and has legroom that'll embarrass a Mercedes GLE. And just savour the price. The Alabama-built Mercedes GLE 400 e 4MATIC Urban Edition, offering a combined 408bhp, costs £80,490. The Wuhu-built Omoda 9 is more powerful, with a combined 443bhp. It's faster to 62mph: 4.9 seconds versus the Merc's 6.1. And it costs just £44,990.
To cap it all, the Omoda 9 offers only one extra: paint. White is free, black or grey is £750 and satin grey is £1,000. There are no other extras because everything is included as standard. All the safety tech, self-parking function, 20in alloy wheels, 14-speaker Sony audio, a huge panoramic powered sunroof — you name it, it's got it. As for styling, it's no uglier than anything else in its class. Squint your eyes and it could even pass for a modern Mercedes.
The Omoda 9 boasts three headline figures that are seriously noteworthy. First, the price means you're paying just £100 per horsepower, a figure no other SUV gets near. The second is the Omoda's stated 700-mile overall range. On a lengthy drive I actually managed to extract 760 miles before I had to pull into a petrol station. If you set off from John O'Groats, you wouldn't quite get to Land's End on a single tank, but you'd get to Plymouth.
The third headline figure is its 34.48kWh battery, meaning this hybrid has more electric power than the all-electric Renault Zoe. With a claimed pure electric range of 93 miles, it's the longest-range PHEV on sale. You could easily do most daily commutes with this car and never have to pay for petrol — a huge plus point. The battery feeds a pair of electric motors, while the other half of the powertrain is made up of a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine that's good for 154bhp and 159lb ft on its own.
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Dynamically it's less involving than the Mercedes GLE and Range Rover Velar, but its handling is sharp and the power delivery is unruffled. Put it in sport mode and it tugs at the leash. It won't reward like a Porsche up the Stelvio Pass, but no one's going to buy it with that in mind. This is a car for getting from A to B cheaply, comfortably and reliably, and on that score it delivers better, probably, than any car under £60,000. It's arguably better value than a Range Rover or Mercedes, even if it lacks their heritage and verve.
On the other hand, if you can spend more and wish to support the workers in Solihull or Tuscaloosa, please do so. Chinese imports provide more bang for your buck, but potentially at the expense of western car industries.