OMODA Omoda 9 Review & Prices

You could be forgiven for getting a bit confused by the proliferation of new Chinese brands arriving in the UK — is it time for a BYD, or is this an Xpeng? — but Omoda is one of the bigger fishes in the Chinese car industry. It’s one of the export brands (Jaecoo is the other) of the huge Chery Automotive Group, which made some 2.6-million new cars last year.

So while the Omoda 5, which launched here in the UK in 2024, might have had mixed reviews, this Omoda 9 is another step on from that model, and aims to take on the serious premium badge players at a much more affordable price.

While you can accuse the Omoda 9 of looking a bit generic, it’s a bigger car than the 5, and so some of the same styling touches — the big grille, the slim LED lights — work a little better on the bigger canvas The 9 ends up looking rather more handsome - the way the grille at the front blends in with the bodywork is actually quite Peugeot-esque.

There are also flush door handles, smart alloy wheels, and at the back a sort of Skoda-meets-Audi kind of look. It’s not bad, actually.

Inside, if anything, the Omoda 9 is even more generic. You could be sitting in anything from a KGM to a Cadillac, and without the badges it might be kind of difficult to tell the difference.

Omoda claims that the 9 comes with a vast 24.6-inch display for the dashboard, but that’s not quite right. There is a 24.6-inch display area, but it’s actually two conjoined 12-inch screens, one for the instruments and one for the infotainment, so that’s basically pretty conventional.

Beneath the screen are three large physical dials (hurrah!) for the climate control system, set into a rather gaudy chrome trim. The seats, big and comfy, get a nice quilted leather effect that’s probably supposed to look a bit Bentley-ish, but ends up being a bit closer to the DFS sale.

On the tech front, the stereo is supplied by Sony, and those seats are heated and ventilated. Omoda doesn’t do different specs — you just get everything as standard in one model.

Power comes from the same 1.5-litre petrol engine that you’ll find in the smaller Omoda 5, which might sound like a disappointment but it’s tied into an impressive plug-in hybrid system, which uses a massive 34.4kWh battery — that’s a bigger battery than some small electric-only cars use. Total power is a whopping 446hp, so no wonder Omoda calls this the ‘Super Hybrid System’ or SHS. It’ll haul this big SUV to 62mph in just 4.9 seconds.

More importantly, for most people, the big battery means that you can go for a claimed 93 miles on one charge, without ever needing to wake the 1.5 petrol engine up. The Omoda 9 can fast-charge from a DC public charging point at up to 70kW, which is handy if you want to top up on a long journey. Speaking of which, Omoda reckons that on a full tank and a full charge, the 9 will go for 700 miles before it needs a top up. However, some buyers won’t be fond of the 40g/km official CO2 figure, which is higher than some other PHEVs and so makes the Omoda 9 a little less tax-friendly.

If you’re interested, you can check out our best Omoda 9 deals here, or find a great Omoda 9 leasing deal here. You can find a used Omoda 9 for sale, or browse other used Omodas for sale too. And remember that Carwow can help out if you need to sell your old car, with our network of trusted dealers helping to get you the best price.

The Omoda 9 has a price tag set just below £45,000 which is impressive when you consider its enormous roster of standard equipment, and its sheer size, but there’s a bit of nuance to be played out here. Yes, compared to true premium-badge rivals from BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus, and Volvo, there’s a clear price advantage, and an equipment advantage too. However, is Omoda being too ambitious pitching a brand that few have heard of against Europe and Japan’s premium big boys? The problem is that the likes of Volkswagen, Kia, Skoda, and Hyundai can all offer extremely good plug-in hybrid SUVs for a similar, or lower price. Omoda might have a hard time putting itself in front of those competitors.