Chery Omoda 5 GT Review
This all wheel drive version of the Chery Omoda 5 GT cracks the 40k barrier with a drive away price just under $41,000.
And at that money, it’s pushing towards the upper end of the category, where a solid standard features list is more or less cost of entry.
And aside from the performance and safety tech we’ll look at shortly, the Omoda 5 GT does well.
Features
Highlights include dual zone climate control, heated and power adjustable sports front seats, adaptive cruise control, dual digital multimedia and instrument screens, eight-speaker Sony audio with digital radio, plus Android auto and Apple carPlay, synthetic leather trim, a power sunroof, power tailgate, led head and tail lights, 18 inch alloy wheels and lots more.
This Omoda 5 GT delivers a generous basket of fruit for the money.
Design
The Omoda 5 GT is a retuned version of the standard car, mechanically and visually from a design point of view, it shares the same overall intersection of surfaces and angular details with The standard car.
On three of eight available colors the GT wears red accents on its gloss black 18 inch alloys, exterior mirrors, the lower part of the doors and underneath the roof spoiler.
They are also available on the Omoda 5 EX, but somehow seem more appropriate here.
A car’s appearance is always a subjective call, but I think the Omoda 5 looks contemporary in a sharply defined Lexus kind of way, especially at the rear. The red highlights aren’t my cup of tea, but you might love them.
Interior
The tone of the interior is set by these dual 10.25 inch digital screens, the central one touch sensitive for multimedia and other functions, this one in front of the driver for instrumentation and other vehicle information.
The other thing worth noting is that the GT has a gloss black finish on the console , rather than a brushed metallic style finish in the base models.
It all flows together nicely. The materials used look and feel good, while the dash and front console layout look sleek and works well from an ergonomic point of view With the exception of USB ports located low down on the passenger’s side of the console.
Handy for the front passenger, but likely a hangover from left hand drive production that’s uneconomic to change.
Under the bonnet
The Omoda 5 GT swaps out the standard car’s 1.5 liter turbo petrol four connected to a CVT auto driving the front wheels for a 1.6 liter turbo four.
Driving, in this case, all four wheels through a seven speed dual clutch auto. Power is up 27% compared to the standard car and torque is boosted no less than 31%.
The all alloy engine is an in house design produced by Cherry’s Acteco powertrain subsidiary, and features direct injection and dual variable valve timing, while the dual clutch auto comes from a collaboration with german transmission specialist Catrag.
Practicality
At a fraction under 4.4 meters long, just over 1.8 meters wide and close to 1.6 meters tall, with a roughly 2.6 meter wheelbase, the Omoda 5 GT fits within the typical small suv footprint.
At 183 centimeters tall. I’ve got plenty of breathing room up front here, and the away slope of these dual screens helps open up the Front part of the cabin.
For storage there’s lots, including a decent sized cooled lidded box between the seats, which doubles as a center armrest, two cup holders, a generous glovebox, a large area underneath the center console and big bins in the doors with enough room for large Bottles.
Sitting behind the driver’s seat, you got adequate foot room, plenty of legroom and in fact, lots of headroom.
You can stretch up and touch the roof, but can’t quite manage it.
Storage
And in terms of storage, there’s plenty of that too. Mat pockets in the front seat backs, bins in the doors with enough room for bottles.
Then you’ve got fold down center arm rest with a couple of cup holders, which is pretty good, and in the center, dual adjustable ventilation control.
Power and connectivity runs to a 50 watt wireless charging pad, as well as two USB A sockets, one in the interior mirror housing, ready for a dash cam, a USB C and twelve volt socket in the front, a USB A in the rear and another twelve volt in the boot.
Speaking of which, with all seats up, the Omoda 5 GT offers 300 liters of storage space, which is relatively modest.
But you have more than 1000 liters with the 60/40 split rear seat folded. The upside is a full size alloy spare sitting under the floor.
The two wheel drive GT has marginally more boot space, but cops a space saver. The tailgate is power operated, but those keen on towing are are out of luck, as the Omoda 5 isn’t rated.
Efficiency
Cherry’s official combined cycle fuel economy figure for the Omoda 5 GT is 7.4 liters per 100 km.
The minimum fuel requirement is the pricier 95 Ron premium unleaded and you’ll need 51 liters of it to fill the tank, which translates to a theoretical range of around 690 Km, roughly 500 kilometers using our real world number.
Road Experience
Cherry doesn’t quote a zero to 100 kmh figure for the Omoda 5 GT, but you can expect it somewhere in the seven second bracket and the car feels quick. It’s really urgent.
You’ve got maximum torque between 2000 and 4000 RPM, which is just where you want it. The car weighs in at about 1.5 tons.
This all wheel drive is about 100 kegs heavier than the two wheel drive. The seven speed dual clutch auto. It’s really sporty in its nature.
It wants to hang onto ratios for quite a long time, and it’s ready to pluck a lower gear when it senses that you need a little more oomph.
One thing I would like is some paddles on the steering wheel. It shows how you get spoiled, but it would be nice to be able to take control.
You can do manual shifts with the central shifter, but wheel pedals would add to the experience.
As is often the case with relatively small capacity turbo petrol engines, you need to ease into the throttle gently for smooth takeoffs.
And once underway, there are multiple modes available. The default eco setting, then sport, snow, mud and off road. Suspension is by Struts at the front and multi links at the rear.
And that multi link rear end is for the GT only. It’s torsion beam in the emotive five standard models.
And despite the fact that it runs on 18 inch rims, you’ve got 215 by fairly comfy 55 sidewall rubber.
Some of the high frequency bumps do make their presence felt. The seat of the pants and into the cabin.
It’s nothing dramatic, though. It’s just a little more than you might expect. And in terms of overall refinement, the engine noise is modest. It’s really refined in that regard.
No surprise the steering is electrically assisted and it can be swapped through sport and comfort modes.
The latter is relatively light and road feel is switch to sport and the weight increases noticeably. But road feel remains the same. Not the best in the business, but Not the worst either.
When you are pushing on through your favorite set of corners. If you choose to do that, it does make a difference. You can feel that balance and stability that the all wheel drive setup brings.
Worth noting, however, with the adaptive cruise engaged steering wheel inputs from the lane departure function are constant and relatively abrupt, even in sweeping, well marked bends.