Omoda 5 review

In all variants of the Omoda 5, you’ll be greeted up front by a single panel that pairs a large 12.3-inch driver display with an infotainment touchscreen of the same size. The latter gets wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity as standard, although there’s no permanent or physical home button so switching between your phone display and the car’s native system is frustratingly fiddly.

A cooled wireless charging pad is also standard fit, and thankfully you can pull down from the top of the screen to access shortcuts to switch off the speed limit warning bongs.

There is a drive mode button and a few proper climate controls on the centre console, but we’d prefer a dedicated panel with the ability to change the temperature and fan speed without delving into the sub-menus of the screen.

Is it comfortable inside?

Strangely the seats in the 5 seem to be extremely firm. They’re also mounted extremely high, so even in the front there isn’t a huge amount of headroom. Plenty of the plastic trim also feels slightly too cheap, and there’s none of the sense of fun like you’d find in the Dacia Duster.

There are just two trim levels to choose from and most tech is thrown in as standard, but the more expensive option does include a small powered sunroof (no panoramic option here) and ‘eco-leather’ trim.

It also adds a heated leather steering wheel, heated seats for front- and rear-seat passengers (who do reasonably well with legroom, but not headroom), multi-coloured ambient lighting, a 360-degree parking camera and an eight-speaker Sony sound system. Not a bad kit list for the price point.

What about boot space?

When it was first launched the Omoda 5 came with a full-size spare wheel, but that meant that boot space was compromised, so it was removed with the hefty overhaul.

You’ve now got 430 litres of space back there no matter which powertrain you go for. That’s more than you’d get in a Ford Kuga, but a fair bit less than the Qashqai, Sportage and MG HS.