The Omoda C9 has serious potential to lure buyers away from premium brands. Picture: Jaco van der Merwe
Over the last few years, Chinese SUVs of all shapes and sizes have been rattling the cages of traditional volume sellers. The Omoda C9 is set to continue this trend at the upper end of the scale.
Omoda, a sub-brand of Chinse carmaker Chery that debuted the C5 last year, have made its ambitions clear with the impressive C9. This plush SUV was officially unveiled in Cape Town on Thursday evening as the poshest offering under the local Chery-umbrella. Apart from the mother brand and Omoda, the stable also include the Jaecoo and Jetour marques.
More attractive than the car itself is the price tag. As a launch special in October, the two-wheel drive Inspire derivative is offered at an almost too-good-to-be-true R760 000 and the all-wheel drive Explore at R860 000. From next month, both prices will go up by R25 000.
The Citizen Motoring was one of only three motoring titles to have the Omoda C9 as a house guest for a pre-launch road test last week. And we are happy to report that Omoda is on to something here..
You’ll be forgiven for detecting some Range Rover Velar in its exterior design. Omoda admitted it was inspired by the Range Rover Velar which is perfectly legit taking the links between Chery and JLR into consideration.
A coupe-like sloping rear roof with integrated spoiler, borderless front grille with diamond shape pattern flanked by vertical LED daytime running lights, four tailpipes, flush door handles and 20-inch 10 twin-spoke alloy wheels all combine to make quite a statement.
The Omoda C9’s cabin has four things in abundance; luxurious finishing, technology and safety.
Black leather on the seats and door panels featuring distinctive stitching blend in seamlessly with other soft-touch materials, piano black accents and brushed aluminium inserts. The level of plushness is seriously high. So high that we reckon if you let random people take a blindfolded test, their guesses as to which badge this car has based purely on what they feel will no doubt mostly include an impressive list of premium carmakers.
ALSO READ: Incoming Omoda C9 PHEV shaping-up to be a segment shocker
One of them will no doubt be Mercedes-Benz. The Omoda C9’s indicator-style gear lever on the right og the steering wheel is similar to Mercedes’ layouts. This arrangement allows for more storage space – along with access to a two-pin 220-volt plug and USB port – underneath the centre console where the “transmission tunnel” is usually housed.
The list of technology on offer is off the charts. Highlights include dual 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster and voice command and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android-ready infotainment system, 14-speaker Sony sound system, 50-watt wireless phone charger, fragrance dispenser, 256-colpour ambient lighting, head-up display and 360-degree camera system. The front seats are both heated and ventilated, while the rear seats are heated.
There is plenty of leg and headroom in the rear, with the lights let in by the panoramic sunroof adding to the sense of space.
Should you require more legroom in the rear, the Omoda C9 offers you the “boss seat”. This feature transforms extends the rear legroom by virtue of the front passenger seat moving all the way forward.
The Omoda C9 offers the go to match the show. It features the same 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine found in the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max. But an additional 5kW of power and 10Nm of torque make the total output 192kW and 400Nm. As is customary in the Chery stable, the 400T badge on the tailgate referring to the Omoda C9’s torque
While the generous torque on tap helps provide some serious oomph, we don’t think that the eight-speed torque converter gearbox Omoda opted for after “extensive buyer research” does this mill justice.
When going about your business in a calm and collected manner, the box behaves. But more sudden inputs on the accelerator make it a tad erratic. It then tends to downshift too fast resulting in a CVT-like whining audible from underneath the bonnet.
Not surprising is that the throttle calibration, a problem not only in the Chery stable but Chinese cars in general, is still a bit iffy.
In terms of suspension, the Omoda C9 offers a smooth ride optimises by the Continuous Damping Control system that adjusts to varying road surfaces that irons those uncomfortable bumps.
Out fuel consumption worked out to around 12L/100km, which does sound high. Mitigating factors are that the car had less than 1 000km on the clock than we got it and that it spent most of its time in bumper-to-bumper city traffic.
The Omoda C9 comes jam-packed with safety systems, in fact, 60 of them. This means all the usual irrirating Chinese bings and bongs. But you can at least prevail your sanity be switching them off until you might require them.
We believe the Omoda C9 not only has the potential to lure loyalist away from heritage brands, but also premium stables where seven-digit stickers with far less spec have become the norm.
The C9’s drivetrain niggles will likely take a backseat to its striking design, plushness, hordes of tech and space. It’s a package that is too good to ignore.
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