Omoda 7 Review 2026: Prices, specs and verdict

What is the Omoda 7?

Omoda may be a relatively new brand to the UK, but it’s certainly made a splash– and it’s only just getting started.

Omoda only launched here back in 2024, but by the end of 2025 the Chinese brand was already outselling well-established brands such as Suzuki, Polestar and Porsche.

And with new models arriving in 2026, including a hybrid version of the Omoda 5 and this, the new Omoda 7 mid-sized SUV, expect it to be an even bigger year for the brand.

Omoda is part of the Chinese Chery group, along with Jaecoo. And this, the new Omoda 7, is a mid-sized family SUV with petrol or plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power, sharing quite a lot underneath with the hugely popular Jaecoo 7 and Chery Tiggo 7.

Does the new Omoda 7 have what it takes to take on best-sellers like the Kia Sportage? We’ll find out in this in-depth review.

Verdict: is the Omoda 7 a good car?

Overall, the Omoda 7 reminds us of Goldilocks and the Three Bears: this mid-sized model is the brand’s best compromise between price, space and capability.

In hybrid form it’d decent to drive, offers smooth performance and should be efficient. We don’t know what the pure petrol version is like, however, while some alternatives offer a longer range on a charge. The interior is roomy and well-equipped, but some fiddly tech still detracts from the experience. Given the price, though, it’s a compromise many will happily make.

Pricing, specs & rivals

Prices for the Omoda 7 kick off from £29,915 for the entry-level pure-petrol version. That’s slightly more than an equivalent MG HS, but comparable to the cheapest Kia Sportage.

The petrol model is only available in entry-level Knight trim, with the hybrid version commanding a £2,085 premium in the same trim. Topping the range is the Omoda 7 Noble in hybrid form, at £35,000.

Although the list price of the Omoda 7 doesn’t significantly undercut most rivals, even the base trim is better equipped than most mid-spec alternatives.

Knight versions feature 19in alloys, privacy glass, synthetic leather seats with electric adjustment and memory, on the driver’s side, a heated steering wheel, keyless entry and start, a wireless phone charging pad, a surround-view camera system and even a remote engine start feature.

Upgrading to Noble trim ups the wheel sizes to 20in, while giving you extra kit such as a panoramic opening sunroof, heated and ventilated front seats with passenger electric adjustment, a Sony audio upgrade, an electric tailgate and two-zone voice control. You also get a fragrance diffuser with three scents – luxury car kit at a non-luxury price.

Rivals

The Omoda 7 goes up against a glut of mid-sized petrol or hybrid SUVs, with its closest competitor being the value-focused MG HS. Other Chinese brand alternatives include the BYD Sealion 5, Jaecoo 7 and Geely Starray.

There’s plenty of more established rivals, too, such as the Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Ford Kuga, Peugeot 3008, Vauxhall Grandland and Volkswagen Tiguan, to name a few.

Interior comfort, quality & technology

The interior design of the Omoda 7 is minimalist in the way many new Chinese cars are, but with the odd styling flourish and plenty of faux leather covering most surfaces. It certainly doesn’t give a budget car first impression.

Details like the ribbed door cards and Mercedes-style metal speaker grilles make a good first impression, an although there are some cheaper plastics to be found lower down that’s perfectly forgivable at this price.

One area that might be an acquired taste is the driving position. You sit high up even with the seat in its lowest position, and while we had no complaints over seat comfort some colleagues found it less comfortable than they’d liked.

You also don’t get adjustable lumbar support on base trim, but there’s good electric adjustment and a steering wheel that moves out enough.

Even though you might feel perched on the car rather than in it, that high driving position does mean great forward visibility. Slim pillars also don’t impede your view, and the side windows are large, but rear visibility isn’t amazing.

Infotainment, sat-nav, stereo and connectivity

Every Omoda 7 comes with a 15.6in touchscreen infotainment system positioned in a single bezel on the dash top, combined with an 8.9in digital driver’s display.

The touchscreen has sharp, fancy graphics and good response times. That’s something we’re used to with many new Chinese cars, but it’s also good to see large icons and plenty of shortcuts to make it easier to use on the move than Omodas of old.

Those shortcut functions aren’t yet customisable, but an over-the-air update is due soon to make that happen. Even so, we still have some issues with the over-reliance on screens over buttons – there’s no physical door mirror controls, for example, and only basic buttons to demist the windows outside of the touchscreen.

Some menus are complicated and some functions take a while to find at first, but it’s going in the right direction. We still find the driver’s display has too many confusing icons, small fonts and awkward controls for cycling through the menus, though.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto feature in every Omoda 7, and voice control responds to your commands reasonably well. There are USB-A and USB-C connectors in the front, and both in the rear, while the wireless phone charging pad has a cooling fan to stop your phone overheating.

We’ve not sampled the standard six-speaker sound system, but the 12-speaker Sony upgrade is good. Speakers in the headrests allow the driver to receive phone calls and sat-nav directions separate from your passengers.

How practical is the Omoda 7?

The Omoda 7’s dimensions of 4,660mm in length, 1,875mm in width and 1,670mm in height make it significantly longer than both the Chery Tiggo 7 and Jaecoo 7. It sits in-between a VW Tiguan and Skoda Kodiaq in terms of exterior size.

The Omoda also gets 50mm a longer wheelbase (the space between the front and rear wheels) than either of its siblings, meaning even more generous cabin space. There’s plenty of space up front for a couple of six-footers to stretch out.

In the rear, too, the Omoda 7 is as accommodating as some of the best family SUVs. Even those over six-foot will have loads of legroom, reasonable headroom and enough space under the front seats to slide their feet underneath.

There’s also a flat floor and a wide rear cabin, so a middle-seat adult passenger can get relatively comfortable in-between two others.

Storage and boot space

Storage in the cabin of the Omoda 7 is good, with big door bins, a large glovebox and a substantial area below the centre console for storing larger items.

There’s some cupholders in a covered lid, too, along with a centre armrest cubby that’s cooled to keep drinks chilled. In the rear you get some good-sized map pockets in the front seat backs, decent door bins and a pair of cupholders in the flip-down centre armrest.

The seats fold in a 60/40 split, which is a little disappointing when many rivals offer a more flexible 40/20/40 split.

The Omoda 7’s boot capacity of 639 litres is, on paper, substantially larger than that of the Jaecoo 7 and bigger even than the Tiggo 7. In fact, it’s only a little smaller than the pricier Omoda 9.

That figure applies to the pure petrol model, but the hybrid version drops that figure to 590 litres by losing the underfloor storage. In real-world use, the boot space and flexibility on offer is about average.

Either way, it’s a boot that will swallow up a typical weekly shop or family holiday luggage with ease. It’s a nice square shape, with a standard adjustable boot floor, some underfloor storage and some wells either side of the floor to stop smaller items rolling around. The only black mark is a high loading lip.

Performance & drive: What is the Omoda 7 like on the road?

The pure petrol version of the Omoda 7 uses a 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, putting 147hp through the front wheels only.

We’ve yet to try it, but with a 0-62mph time of 10.4 seconds it’s likely to provide adequate if not thrilling performance for a family car.

Omoda expects to sell more 7s fitted with what it calls a ‘Super Hybrid System’ – its term for a long-range plug-in hybrid powertrain. This mates a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine with an electric motor and 18.4kWh battery pack – again powering the front wheels only.

With a healthy 204hp, performance becomes more effortless, with a 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds. With no gearshifts to disrupt the flow of power it’s smooth and delivers its performance in a fashion similar to an electric car.

In that regard it’s better than a Tiguan eHybrid, which is let down by sometimes ponderous gearshift response. The Omoda rarely hesitates when pulling smartly out of a busy junction or roundabout

The brake pedal feel is good, but the regenerative braking is a bit odd because there’s a delay before it kicks in when you lift of the throttle. This makes driving smoothly difficult at first, so you’re better off adjusting to a lower regen setting via the touchscreen – we’d prefer steering wheel paddles.

Power, 0-62mph times (H4)

• Omoda 7 1.6T: 147hp, 10.4 secs
• Omoda 7 SHS: 204hp, 8.4 secs

Ride and handling

Omoda claims it has worked hard to make the 7 its best-driving car yet, and although there’s very little surprise and delight it’s mostly agreeable on the road. More so, it must be said, than its siblings from Jaecoo and Chery.

It steers with decent precision and natural, if light, weighting, while there is plenty of grip. It certainly isn’t fun, but it’s capable enough for a car that won’t be hustled down a twisty road very often. There’s a fair amount of body roll if you do so, too.

Ride comfort is generally decent, with soft suspension smothering low-speed potholes but some sharper impacts making themselves felt. Again, it’s up to the class standard for a family SUV but not outstanding.

Noise and refinement

In hybrid form the Omoda 7 is quiet, with engine noise only becoming noticeable under sustained hard acceleration. Wind noise and road roar are decently well isolated thanks to standard acoustic glass and plenty of insulation, but not at a class-leading level.

Euro NCAP: is the Omoda 7 a safe car?

The Omoda 7 is yet to be tested for crash safety by Euro NCAP, but judging by the performance of other models in the group (and the sheer amount of safety kit on offer) we’d say a strong rating is a safe bet.

Both the Omoda 9 and smaller Omoda 5 received the maximum five-star Euro NCAP rating, while the related Jaecoo 7 also achieved the top score. Whether the 7 will do the same remains to be seen.

There’s certainly no shortage of standard safety kit. As well as the usual automatic emergency braking, lane departure prevention, speed limit assist and driver monitoring, every Omoda 7 gets rear cross-traffic alert, blind spot monitoring and a total of eight airbags.

Omoda has also worked to make these safety systems less intrusive than on older models, and by a and large this seems to be the case in our testing.

Running costs and fuel economy

The Omoda 7 SHS uses an 18.3kWh battery pack, resulting in a claimed 56 miles on electric power alone. That’s better than a Kia Sportage or Hyundai Tucson hybrid, but can’t match the 77-miles claimed for the Tiguan eHybrid.

We reckon that range figure is obtainable from our testing, although a strange quirk of Chery hybrids is they won’t let the battery ever drop below 9% before the engine kicks in. Still, if you want to set the engine to high energy recovery to top up the battery, it’ll do so quickly.

Official WLTP combined fuel economy is 403mpg. That’s a strong figure by plug-in hybrid SUV standards, showing how efficiently Omoda’s system manages its energy.

As ever with PHEVs, though, you’ll only achieve a triple-digit MPG figure like that if you only do journeys within the car’s electric range. On longer journeys with a depleted battery, expect more like 50mpg.

It’s possible to charge the 7 using DC rapid charging at speeds of up to 40kW. Although current public charging prices make this a pricey way to top up the battery, it’s useful if you’re planning lots of stop-start driving ahead.

The pure petrol version manages a less remarkable 43.4mpg. That’s broadly comparable with petrol engined rivals, however.

How much does the Omoda 7 cost to insure?

We don’t yet have insurance groups for the entry-level petrol model, but the Omoda 7 SHS hybrid sits in insurance group 32 regardless of trim level. That’s slightly higher than an MG HS Hybrid+ and VW Tiguan eHybrid, but significantly less than the Omoda 9.

Omoda’s new arrival to the UK market means insurers may lack data on the car and repairers could find it hard to source parts, hence the higher groups. Omoda claims to be working with insurers to address this. However.