New Omoda 7 2026 review: spacious and comfortable, but dull to drive

Verdict

With so much of its technology shared with the smash-hit Jaecoo 7, it would be easy to assume the Omoda 7 will be a success too. There are lots of positives - it’s slightly cheaper and more spacious than the Jaecoo, has the same PHEV system with tremendous EV range, and while Jaecoo might be targeting premium appeal, the Omoda doesn’t feel cheap in comparison. Clumsy driving dynamics and a fussy infotainment screen detract from the appeal though. 

Omoda is yet another Chinese brand that’s recently arrived in the UK. Its first offering here was the Nissan Qashqai-rivalling Omoda 5, and we’ve now got behind the wheel of the larger Omoda 7. 

Alongside Jaecoo, Chery and the recently announced Lepas, Omoda is one of four sub-brands within the Chery Auto group that’s looking to take a share of the hybrid SUV market. However, it’s difficult to see how Omoda is going to stand out, not just from established manufacturers, but also from its own siblings. 

The Omoda 7 itself is a sister car to the Jaecoo 7 and while a pure-petrol version is coming in a few months, the Omoda is launching with the same ‘Super Hybrid System’ – comprising a 1.5-litre petrol engine and 18.3kWh battery – found in the Jaecoo 7 and Chery Tiggo 7. 

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Omoda is adamant that its new plug-in hybrid SUV targets a different customer segment, though, and that starts with the looks. The company says the 7 is more futuristically styled than the Jaecoo, pointing out the zig-zag rear lights that are designed to look like a flourish at the end of an autograph. There’s also a rather striking front end with a hexagonal grille that seamlessly blends into the front bumper, plus a premium touch in the form of a ‘floating’ roofline. 

When it arrives later this year, the pure-petrol model will be the cheapest Omoda 7, at £29,915 in Knight trim. The plug-in hybrid starts at £32,000 in the same spec, but you can also get it in Noble trim from £35,000 – and this is the version we’re testing here. In this top-spec form, it’s £165 less than the Jaecoo 7 PHEV, and on paper it doesn’t seem any less premium than the Jaecoo. 

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At this price, the standard kit is excellent. There’s insulating ‘silent glass’, a heated leather steering wheel, synthetic leather seats with memory function, a 540-degree exterior camera that lets you ‘see’ through the chassis, plus a cooled wireless smartphone charger. Throw in a panoramic sunroof on Noble trim, along with a 12-speaker sound system from Sony, plus ventilation and lumbar adjustment for the front seats, and it sounds like Omoda is on to a winner. 

There are a few oddities and points of contention inside the Omoda 7, however. Senior Interior Designer Michael Duerr told us Omoda didn’t want its car to be “like a Las Vegas show” inside, but while there is ambient lighting, the cabin looks very sterile. Duerr also referenced Henry Ford’s famous “any colour the customer wants, so long as it is black” line for the interior. Yep, you can have it in black, and that’s it. 

Within the climate control menu there’s also a “fragrance system” with three scents and three strengths. The three cartridges that provide each scent can be removed from under the centre console, and when we asked Omoda about the potential to add personalised fragrances in future updates, a representative said it could be possible. 

Then there’s the quality. We poked around every surface and everything seemed well screwed together, while the few buttons felt well damped. However, after driving just a few hundred yards, we did notice a fair amount of rattles and creaks. Our car had less than 40 miles on the clock, though, so it may have been a case of bedding in. 

Omoda says it wants its drivers to “keep eyes on the road and not get lost in changing things on the central screen”, but on the move that’s precisely what we felt happening to us. The 15.6-inch touchscreen is strewn with various sub-menus and at first glance it’s all a little too much - although we did enjoy its super-quick response times. Unlike its Starray rival from fellow Chinese brand Geely, which inexplicably has the panoramic roof control buried in the touchscreen menus, you get a good old-fashioned switch to operate the roof in the Omoda. 

Where the Omoda 7 really impresses is space: it’s vast inside. Even with the lofted driving position, there’s loads of headroom and the storage cubbies up front are decently sized. In the back, tall adults will have space to stretch out and there’s no drop-off in material quality back there either. Boot space stands at a huge 590 litres - 178 more than in the Jaecoo 7 and 140 litres more than a MINI Countryman. There’s no movable boot floor in the plug-in hybrid, however, with the electrical system cased in some foam underneath. 

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Perhaps unsurprisingly, we found driving the Omoda 7 to be a very similar experience to driving the Jaecoo and the Chery. A kerbweight of 1,870kg is light for a plug-in hybrid SUV these days and 201bhp isn’t anything to be sniffed at. 

Despite this, the Omoda is a bit sluggish in a straight line. There’s enough initial shove from the electric motor’s torque on the front wheels to feel sprightly at low speeds, but put your foot down for an extended period and the Omoda will feel strained. 

Like its sibling models, the Omoda 7 has clearly been set up to prioritise comfort, but there are plenty of faults with its driving dynamics. The steering, for instance, is very light in all three drive modes (Eco, Normal and Sport), the 11.2-metre turning circle makes three-point turns a bit of a chore, and there's a certain nervousness fed through the large squared-off steering wheel. The wallowy ride doesn’t help either if you decide to drive the Omoda 7 with a bit of gusto; there’s obvious body roll in the bends. 

Those aspects are unlikely to trouble most Omoda 7 buyers in everyday life, but something that will is the hyper-sensitive throttle. Although the electric motor’s immediate torque is fine for merging onto fast-flowing motorways, it makes smooth driving a bit more difficult than it should be. Overall refinement is very good in the Omoda, however: big potholes are easily dealt with in isolation (although broken roads can unsettle the ride) and wind and road noise are kept at bay thanks to the ‘silent glass’. 

Just like its Jaceoo and Chery alternatives, the most impressive part of the Omoda 7 is the electrical side of its PHEV powertrain. We reckon most owners will get near to the claimed 56 miles of pure-electric range provided by the 18.3kWh battery and during our drive it only took 10 minutes of driving for the car to replenish 15 per cent of its battery after we set the energy recovery setting to its highest level. A useful maximum recharge rate of 40kW also means topping up the battery from 10 to 80 per cent can take as little as 20 minutes. 

Being a new brand, there’s some trust that Omoda needs to build up here in the UK and to this extent the Omoda 7 (whatever powertrain you opt for) comes with a seven-year or 100,000-mile warranty, with no mileage limit in the first three years. On top of this, the PHEV’s battery is covered by a separate eight-year or 100,000-mile warranty too.