Chery has introduced the new Omoda C5 small crossover in South Africa! Here are 5 things you should know about the newcomer!
Since Chery made its return to South Africa in 2021, the Chinese firm has left its mark on the market with buyers finding favour with its SUV range including the Tiggo 4 Pro, Tiggo 7 Pro and the Tiggo 8 Pro.
Now, with the launch of its upmarket Omoda brand, Chery welcomes the svelte Omoda C5 crossover to market to entice local buyers. The newcomer rivals similar coupe-like products such as the Volkswagen T-Roc, Opel Mokka and Mazda CX-30 and the Haval H6 GT (the H6 is a larger car though).
We drove the Omoda C5 at its launch, read all about it here!
5 Things to Know about the Omoda C5
1. It has head-turning and futuristic styling
The Omoda C5 looks quite different to its Chery siblings – and any other model in this segment, for that matter. That’s by design: Chery South Africa wants to position Omoda as a standalone brand that will appeal to style-conscious premium-car buyers in particular.
It showcases Chery’s new ‘Art in Motion’ design language; at the front, the C5 incorporates an integrated diamond matrix grille, which is flanked by split LED headlights and LED daytime running lights.
From the side, the crossover is distinguished by a sloping, coupe-like roofline, while sharp, angular tail-light clusters, faux exhaust ends and a diffuser-like rear bumper garnish add a dash of sporting appeal.
2. The small crossover’s bigger than it looks
The Omoda C5 is 4 400 mm long, 1 830 mm wide, and 1 585 mm high (with a wheelbase of 2 630 mm), which makes it slightly bigger than a Volkswagen T-Roc, but marginally smaller than a Toyota RAV4. In the Chery range, the Omoda C5 slots between the Tiggo 4 Pro and Tiggo 7 Pro.
Despite the sloping roofline, rear passengers are afforded surprisingly generous head- and legroom and, when you fold the 60:40 split rear seats flat, the Omoda provides a flat loading space with a capacity of about 1 075 litres. With the rear seats in the upright position, the luggage capacity is 378 litres (claimed).
3. Interior Jam-Packed with Tech
The C5 follows the current Chinese product trend of offering just about every luxury in-car feature that buyers may expect at this price point. For the consumer, this strategy essentially translates into “more car for your money”, which many cash-strapped buyers will appreciate in these tough economic times.
The luxuriously-finished interior impresses with 2 integrated and curved 10.25-inch high-definition screens in a single panel (an Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-compatible touchscreen flanked by a digital instrument cluster), all of which takes care of your infotainment, comfort and driving needs.
Ventilated sports seats are fitted at the front. Other nice-to-have features include wireless smartphone charging, a 360-degree camera, as well as a host of driver-assistance systems, such as adaptive cruise control, intelligent cruise assist, traffic assistant, blind spot monitoring, rear-cross traffic alert, lane departure suppression emergency lane-keeping assist, lane change assist and lane departure warning.
4. Punchy Powerplant
The Omoda C5’s sporty looks are backed up with a punchy 1.5-litre turbopetrol engine under the bonnet (with peak outputs of 115 kW and 230 Nm), paired with a continuously variable automatic transmission.
Those outputs are almost on par with the Mazda CX-30 (121 kW /213 Nm) and Opel Mokka (96 kW/230 Nm), but is pipped by the T-Roc 2.0TSI (140 kW/320 Nm). Fuel consumption is claimed at 6.9 L/100km.
5. Omoda C5 is Priced to Sell!
The new Omoda C5 comes to market with very competitive prices, especially in comparison with those of its premium-badged rivals. There are 3 derivatives to choose from: Tech, Elegance and Elegance S.
- Omoda C5 1.5T TECH – R447 900
- Omoda C5 1.5T Elegance – R507 900
- Omoda C5 1.5T Elegance S – R509 900
The Omoda C5 is sold with a 5-year/150 000 km warranty, a 5-year/70 000 km service plan and a (first-owner-only) 10-year/1 million km engine warranty.
Find a new or used Omoda for sale on Cars.co.za
