Omoda 9 Super Hybrid long term review

Since its Australian relaunch in 2023, with its humble and fumbled reentry with the Omoda 5, Chery has expanded rapidly Down Under.

The Omoda 5 was, frankly, a terrible car at launch, with poor calibration across the board, bad driving dynamics and the list goes on. However, it was feature-packed and, with a sub-$30,000 price point, Aussies responded positively.

First a sub-brand of Chery, Omoda is now considered its own thing, well, almost. Omoda is part of ‘Omoda-Jaecoo’ in Australia, with the former having a luxury focus and the latter being for more outdoorsy types. Confused yet? You should be.

All that leads us to the Omoda 9, one of three large SUVs – alongside the Chery Tiggo 9 and Jaecoo J8 – from the wider Chery group to sit on an all-new and more premium ‘M3X’ platform and accompanying plug-in hybrid system.

The Omoda 9 claims the ability to travel an impressive 145km on electric power alone (WLTP), with a total driving range stretching to 1100km.

Unlike its siblings, the Omoda 9 features five seats instead of seven, with the goal of increasing interior comfort, similar to the Lexus RX, though the Volkswagen Tayron PHEV and BYD Sealion 8 are a closer comparison in terms of price and specification.

Direct rivals are hard to pin down and that’s partly because the Omoda 9 SHS (Super Hybrid System) doesn’t have a clear mission. It’s visibly reserved inside and out, with a luxury focus to its feature set, but it also packs 395kW of brutal off-the-line performance.

Investigating this identity crisis and assessing its broad claims of luxury and performance, as well as its family-friendly practicality, will form the backbone of our long-term assessment process over the next three months.

Month 1: Plugging in

The Omoda 9 is a vehicle without a straightforward pitch but incredible performance claims and enticing features. Could it all be too good to be true?

What is it?

The Omoda 9 is one of three premium-tinged medium-to-large SUVs offered within the broader Chery range, as the spun-off Omoda brand seeks more upmarket customers and price points.

It differentiates itself from its Chery Tiggo 9 and Jaecoo J8 siblings by offering a five-seat layout. A plug-in hybrid powertrain, branded ‘Super Hybrid System’ or SHS, is the only option available for the Omoda.

How much is it?

For now, the well-equipped Virtue grade is the only option available. It starts at $61,990 before on-road costs, translating to around $66,000 on the road in NSW.

At that price point, it’s certainly not a typical ‘cheap’ Chinese car anymore, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be good value.

What’s the spec of our car?

The sole Virtue grade appears well-equipped for the money. Our test unit is dressed in the standard Silk White paint, with other shades of black and grey considered a $1500 extra.

In terms of standard equipment, it features 20-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and tail-lights, a panoramic sunroof and roof rails as notable items.

Inside the cabin, the Omoda 9 is fitted with dual 12.3-inch screens, a 14-speaker Sony sound system, a heads-up display and a 50-watt wireless phone charger, to name a few standouts.

For convenience and luxury, Omoda has fitted leather upholstery, a power-adjustable steering column, a heated steering wheel, heating and ventilation for the front seats and outboard rear seats; as well as more standard features such as a power tailgate.

It’s a healthy list, but it’s notable that the passenger seat features very limited adjustment (just four ways), there’s no V2L socket in the boot, and some pull-up sunshades in the second row would be appreciated.

How long is it sticking around for?

The Omoda 9 will be in the Chasing Cars garage for three months and during that time we aim to travel 10,000km, but 5000km is our absolute minimum.

What are we going to do with it?

Just about everything. Mostly, it will be tasked with the unglamorous task of daily commuting: dropping kids off at childcare, gridlock traffic and all the rest.

We will be conducting a few interstate road trips to see the gauge cabin comfort and real-world economy. Separate tests will be conducted for electric range and hybrid range with and without a full battery, with a breakdown of our running costs along the way.

Initial performance

When dealing with complicated cars, I’ve often found it’s best to not fuss over the details and just breathe in the general experience, before knuckling down on the details later to nut out the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of each element.

With long-term loans comes the benefit of time, so that’s exactly the route we’re taking. Time to hop in, put the Omoda 9 in drive via its handy column stalk and see what it’s got.

With spongy seats and a near-silent drivetrain, the Omoda 9 gives a solid first impression, and the sheer pickup underfoot as we pull onto the highway is immense.

We’ll give the drivetrain the deep dive it deserves at a later date, but the short form is that a 1.5L turbo engine plus three electric motors puts out a combined 395kW, and has a claim of 4.9 seconds for its 0-100km/h sprint.

With a full battery (34kWh) and fuel tank, the Omoda 9 should be able to travel 1100km according to the claim. We’ve managed 933km from our first effort before we needed to fill up the 70L tank with 66.2L of fuel to get it back to the brim.

That works out to roughly 7.0L/100km, so even if we ran the tank dry, it would not have hit the claim.

The interior is underwhelming at first glance. It’s very ‘Chery-like’, but this is a considerably more expensive vehicle than most Cherys and nothing really stands out in terms of unique design. Perhaps the build quality feels a bit more solid, but that’s about it.

Digging a little deeper, and it’s amazing to see the range of features on offer: power steering wheel column adjustment, headrest-mounted speakers, and even perfume. All very plush, but more impressive is the ample storage space in the front row, with deep storage pockets under the arm, glove box and the carved out centre tunnel.

The 12.3-inch multimedia screen is a bit dim and frustrating to use, but it’s at least paired with some physical dials for most climate control functions that flare out like the back end of a jet fighter’s afterburners.

Row two is where we see the true value of the 2800mm wheelbase, a space able to swallow a set of child seats without any intrusion for the front row – it’s a good sign so far. By the time I’ve thrown a pram into the 660L boot with room to spare, the Omoda 9 was starting to grow on me.

And as news channels rolled out footage of war heating up in the Middle East and skyrocketing petrol prices following suit, perhaps this Omoda 9 – with the ability to run on both fuel and electric power – is exactly the right car to be in.