Omoda 9 Review 2026: Prices, specs and verdict

What is the Omoda 9?

Let’s start by asking: What is Omoda? After all, the brand itself only came to fruition in 2022, arriving in the UK in 2024 with the Nissan Qashqai-sized 5 and electric E5.

Omoda is one prong of China’s fourth largest automotive group, Chery – a company which claimed more vehicle sales in 2025 than Mercedes-Benz. Chery has several brands in its umbrella, and Omoda and Jaecoo are the two export-focused labels only marketed outside of China.

Jaecoo has already rocketed up the UK sales charts, but Omoda isn’t far behind, having outsold Lexus, Suzuki, Polestar and Porsche last year. The Omoda 9 is currently the brand’s range-topping model, both in size and price.

Supposedly aimed at tech-savvy young families, the Omoda 9 is roughly the same size as a BMW X3 and, so far, only available as a powerful plug-in hybrid. So, is it a true market disruptor? Or a bit of an also-ran? Our in-depth review tells all.

Verdict: is the Omoda 9 a good car?

We reckon the Omoda 9 is a strong effort from a new Chinese brand, with impressive specification and performance, along with a premium interior and lots of space, all for a very reasonable price tag.

We do think it’s faster than it needs to be, though, because the suspension and steering need more polish. The technology is a bit fiddly and distracting, too. But given the savings over premium plug-in SUVs, it’s well worth a look.

Pricing, specs & rivals

Omoda keeps things simple in terms of pricing for the 9, with one power option, one trim level and only colours and interior trims to choose from.

That base price is £44,990 at the time of writing, which might not sound like an absolute bargain at first glance. But remember this is Omoda’s flagship model, with a powerful plug-in hybrid system.

It’s a little cheaper in list price terms than a Volkswagen Tiguan eHybrid 272 and Renault Rafale PHEV, but Omoda would prefer you to think of it alongside much more expensive plug-in hybrids like the BMW X3 and Mercedes GLC. You’ll pay £10-15k more for one of those.

And you certainly aren’t wanting for standard kit in the Omoda 9. It comes with electrically adjustable, heated and ventilated front AND rear seats, a surround-view camera system, a head up display, a panoramic sunroof, a Sony sound system, a head-up display and much more.

That’s equipment that’s either only available on high-spec versions of rivals or optional extras.

Rivals

The Omoda 9 is priced to compete with the Volkswagen Tiguan eHybrid, Renault Rafale PHEV, Peugeot 3008 and Skoda Kodiaq iV. The Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage are also options to consider – and there’s also the closely related Chery Tiggo 8 for the same money.

Pricier premium-brand alternatives like the BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60 are what Omoda is really aiming for, though.

Interior comfort, quality & technology

The Omoda 9’s cabin is smart and premium for a car of this price point. In fact, spent some time looking at the details and you’ll see many design elements that are uncannily similar to a Mercedes-Benz.

The raised centre console with its metallic trim elements, the shape of the door trims and the switchgear all remind us of cars like the GLC. While it’s not exactly an original look, we’d argue that a Mercedes-aping interior isn’t a bad thing on a cheaper SUV.

The plush, soft-touch materials are mostly very convincing, too, and we like the neat rotary climate controls. We’re less convinced by the buttons that electrically pop open the doors, given there are handles to do so anyway. Look harder and you’ll find the odd detail that isn’t premium, but it’s otherwise impressive.

The driving position, however, isn’t ideal for taller people. No only is the (comfortable) seat mounted too high even in its lowest position, but the electrically adjustable steering wheel doesn’t come out quite far enough, so you feel like you’re perched on the seat and reaching forward.

Forward and side visibility is good, but the view out the back is compromised by the small rear window. Still, you get an impressive 360-degree camera system that will operate at up to 20mph and display a transparent view of what’s around and underneath the car to make manoeuvring easier.

Infotainment, sat-nav, stereo and connectivity

Every Omoda 9 gets a pair of 12.3in screens blended in a single bezel on top of the dash. There’s such a wealth of features built into it that you could spend an age playing with everything – some of them are useful, some are quite gimmicky.

The screen is reasonably responsive and clear, but many of the icons and fonts are a bit too small for easy operation on the move. You also make do without any easy physical shortcut buttons, while we’re not fans of the fiddly haptic touch panels on the steering wheel either.

Of course you get wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay that works seamlessly. You can delve deeper and find an impressively customisable lighting ‘editor’ – the interior ambient lighting and even the exterior lighting is almost endlessly configurable.

There’s an almost overwhelming amount of vehicle settings to change, too. And while that’s all very clever, it feels like a screen designed to fiddle with while stationary rather than one that easily presents important functions while you’re driving.

The digital driver’s display is similarly busy, with lots of modes but a curiously small speedo. Thankfully, you get a head-up display that clearly shows that. There are also both USB-A and USB-C connectors in the front and rear.

The 14-speaker Sony audio system deserves special mention too. It sounds good, but we especially love the headrest-mounted speakers that let you take Bluetooth calls while the passenger continue to listen to music.

How practical is the Omoda 9?

The Omoda 9’s dimensions of 4,775mm in length, 1,932mm in width and 1,686mm in height make it comfortably larger in every measure than a VW Tiguan.

It’s longer than the Skoda Kodiaq, too, but close in size to the latest BMW X3. That means generous passenger space inside.

Things are nice and airy up front, with plenty of width to avoid banging elbows. In the rear you’ll find plenty of legroom even for those over six-foot, and space to slide your feet under the front seats.

Headroom will be fine for most, but those well over six foot will find their head very close to the panoramic sunroof. The third seat is usable for adults, too, thanks to a flat floor, but because the outer seats tip you slightly inwards there are more comfortable SUVs for three rear passengers.

One nice touch in the rear seats is that the outer backrests recline electrically via controls on the door. You can even move the front passenger seat forwards with controls on the side of the seat to free up leg space. Overall, it’s a very roomy car for families or a group of adults.

Storage and boot space

Storage in the cabin of the Omoda 9 is impressive. Along with a good-sized glovebox and huge door bins, there’s a large centre armrest storage with a cooling air vent to keep drinks cold, a handy lidded storage area below the dash with removable cupholders and a little secret compartment. There’s even further storage underneath the centre console itself.

In the back you’ll find another pair of large door bins, pockets in the front seatbacks and a pair of cupholders in the centre armrest. There isn’t any through-loading, however, and those seatbacks only fold in a 60-40 split rather than the Tiguan’s 40/20/40 split.

As for the boot? Well, a claimed 660-litres makes the Omoda 9’s larger than even pure petrol versions of VW, BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz rivals, let alone plug-in versions that often compromise boot capacity.

However the capacity doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s a long and wide space, but it’s quite shallow (particularly under the load cover) with very little under-floor storage. At least there’s no load lip, but again the sloping roofline further reduces outright carrying capacity.

Performance & drive: What is the Omoda 9 like on the road?

You certainly won’t be wanting for power with the Omoda 9. Bar some fake quad exhaust trims, there’s very little on the outside or in that gives a clue to its sports car-baiting performance.

A 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine under the bonnet doesn’t exactly shout about it, either, with its modest 154hp. But that engine is mated to a pair of large electric motors and a chunky battery to allow a huge combined output of 449hp.

It’s all-wheel drive, with the front wheels powered by both the engine and electric motor and the rear wheels electric-only. The gearbox only has three speeds, but as we’ve seen from brands like Renault that’s not all that important in a hybrid.

0-62mph is over and done with in under five seconds – a figure well beyond mainstream hybrid rivals and on a par with the much pricier Volvo XC60 T8. And while there’s a bit of a delay when flooring the throttle as both power sources sync up, it feels every bit as fast as the figure suggests.

There’s the usual complexity with modern hybrids: The petrol engine can drive the wheels directly but will only do so if you floor it. Most of the time, it’s either switched off or acting as a generator to put power into the big battery pack.

Despite that, the Omoda 9 transitions between those power sources smoothly, and you don’t really notice any gearshifts. All-in-all, this is one of the Omoda 9’s strongest assets, even if there’s little excitement to be had from the actual drive.

The regenerative braking has three strength settings, but it’s really frustrating to have to delve into touchscreen sub-menus to find them. They don’t make much of a difference, anyway, and the brake pedal’s sharp response takes some getting used to.

Power, 0-62mph times

Omoda 9 (all versions): 449hp / 4.9 secs

Ride and handling

Omoda doesn’t just let you adjust the steering weight and throttle response in the 9, it also has adaptive suspension and even adjustable brake pedal response.

It’s great to have all that customisation, but again it requires ferreting around in multiple touchscreen menus to find them all. You can just switch between Comfort and Sport drive modes with a switch, but that gives you less control.

Once you’ve played with them, though, you’ll realise that no setting is perfect. In Sport mode, the Omoda 9 has a thumping, unsettled ride around town which has no place in a family SUV. It’s a fair bit softer in Comfort, but even then, big potholes make themselves felt and heard more than the best large SUVs.

Happily, that soft suspension works much better at motorway speeds, making the 9 ideal for longer trips. The steering is vague, though, and although there isn’t much body roll there’s very little enjoyment or confidence to be found from pushing it in the bends.

Overall, the Omoda 9 is far from terrible. But when the competition is so strong, the driving experience is nothing to shout about.

Noise and refinement

The Omoda 9 is a decent cruiser, with a ride that settles down on the motorway. Wind and road noise are a touch more noticeable than in a Tiguan eHybrid, but it’s never intrusive. The engine is quiet at speed, too – although it is a bit grumbly at low speeds when trying to charge the battery.

Euro NCAP: is the Omoda 9 a safe car?

The Omoda 9 was awarded the maximum five-star rating by Euro NCAP when crash tested in 2025. That’s a far cry from Chinese cars of only a decade ago.

The Omoda’s score of 80% adult occupant protection is significantly better than a Tiguan eHybrid, although the VW’s child occupant protection is slightly better.

There’s an extensive array of safety kit as standard, including the usual automatic emergency braking that detects vulnerable road users, lane keep assist and traffic sign recognition.

It also has an advanced driver monitoring system, reverse auto-braking to prevent parking collisions, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and a safe exit alert to prevent you opening your door in front of cars or cyclists.

Running costs and fuel economy

The Omoda 9’s 34.5 kWh battery pack is almost twice the size of a Volvo XC60 T8’s, and larger than in some electric cars sold today. That means less time with the engine running when it’s charged, benefitting fuel economy.

The official WLTP fuel economy figure for the 9 is 201.8mpg. That’ll prove hard to achieve in the real world unless you rarely use the petrol engine, but for comparison purposes an XC60 T8 manages 282.5mpg and a Tiguan eHybrid 272 boasts an outstanding 565mpg.

The Omoda isn’t quite as economical as its rival in official tests, then, but the brand claims it’ll still manage 40mpg on an empty battery, which isn’t a bad figure given the performance.

CO2 emissions of 38g/km aren’t much to write home about these days, but because company car tax bands are broad, business users sit in the same Benefit-in-Kind tax band as the Tiguan.

Private buyers will need to pay the additional ‘Luxury Car Tax’ supplement for the Omoda 9 as its list price is over £40,000. But the same is true for almost every plug-in hybrid rival.

Electric range and charging

Even more outstanding than the Omoda 9’s performance stats is its electric range figure. Officially, it’ll manage up to 93 miles on a charge from that 34.5kWh battery.

That makes it the longest range plug-in hybrid car on sale today at the time of writing, beating everything from the Golf eHybrid to the most expensive Range Rover Sport PHEV. It’s also enough range, in theory, to go from Bristol to Birmingham without ever waking the engine up.

It’s hard to really achieve such a distance on a charge because the Omoda kicks the engine into life when the battery drops below 20%, ensuring you can always pull away from a standstill in EV mode. Still, it’s impressive nonetheless.

Also class-leading is the Omoda 9’s DC rapid charging capability. A few PHEVs, like the Tiguan, are capable of this, but the Omoda sets the standard with 70kWh peak charging speed. Theoretically, you can add 50% battery in under 25 minutes, although for UK buyers the current high cost of rapid charging means you’re unlikely to bother with this very often.

More meaningful for most is that you’ll be waiting around five hours to charge from a typical 7kWh home wallbox. That’s more than the PHEV norm, which is a hazard of a big battery.

How much does the Omoda 9 cost to insure?

One potentially significant problem with the Omoda 9 is its insurance groups: it might be cheap to buy, but for many it may not be cheap to insure, sitting in insurance group 47. For context, even the most powerful Tiguan eHybrid sits in group 31.

Part of the problem is Omoda’s new arrival to the UK market, meaning insurers lack data on the car and repairers might find it harder to source parts. Omoda claims it is addressing this, but whether it’s affordable to insure for you will depend on your circumstances.