How far can all-electric Omoda E5 SUV stretch a transport budget?

Omoda is batting smart with their C5 range of cars.

The Chery-owned Chinese brand has an entry-level model called the Street that retails for R329 900. The range goes all the way up to the Elegance S that retails for R509 900. With four models of different spec on offer between these two just mentioned, this means that as a customer, you should find an Omoda C5 that suits your needs and your pocket.

Now, what if I told you that there is chance that you might be able to add an E5 to this list? The Omoda E5 is the full battery electric version of the C5. I say might though, because the E5 is still under consideration for South Africa. As we all know, our government does absolutely nothing to help with any tax relief for the importers when it comes to electric cars, and then there is the straight up problem of electric cars simply being more expensive worldwide.

ALSO READ: First look: Omoda E5 lands in South Africa ahead of market debut

Instant electric power

But let’s get to the crux of what the Omoda E5 is about, and that is electric power and electric consumption. The car runs a 61-kWh battery that powers a single electric motor that in turn drives the front wheel through a single speed gearbox. This combo offers up 150kW of instant power and 340Nm of equally responsive torque. Trust me when I say this sweet innocent looking family car has some bite when you jump on the accelerator.

A 0-100km/h time of 6.88 seconds is brisk, and good enough to humble quite a few hot hatch type cars. The in-gear acceleration with a tested time of 8.97 seconds from 60-140km/h as one example is also good. Top speed is electronically limited to 175km/h and the Omoda E5 gets there in less than 800m of tar. What more do you honestly need for everyday driving? I think nothing.

ALSO READ: Omoda models confirmed for SA: C7, C9 and E5

Daily running costs, or battery consumption, will be right at the top of your list when considering an electric car, and here again the Omoda E5 did not disappoint. I got a real-world average of 400km on a full battery. And what that translates into, is that it cost me around R250 to “fill” the Omoda E5 at home, and with the cost of fuel being around R22-per litre now, this meant I was getting less than three litres per 100km in petrol terms, and that’s hard to beat.

Elephant in the room

The Citizen Motoring spent a few months in the Omoda E5, and despite some of the usual quirky, lost in translation Chinese stuff that comes up on the infotainment and instrument cluster screens, you could switch a lot of the annoying nanny functions off, and the ones like aircon, radio, and driving modes were easy to find and control. Living with the car became a simple process, and before long, every time I looked for it, somebody in my family had disappeared with it.

Is the Omoda E5 perfect? Of course not, but it did exactly what was expected of it. The elephant in the room though is going to be price if the car comes here. Having a look at some overseas websites, direct currency conversions put the Omoda E5 at anything up to R750 000, and that is going to be tough sell.

Omoda E5 road test results