Omoda 7 SHS-P Noble Tech review: buy this over the Jaecoo 7
The range-topping Omoda 7 offers a handful of benefits over its Jaecoo 7 counterpart – but the sliding screen isn’t one of them
Verdict
The Omoda 7 is the ‘Alibaba Lexus RX’ to the Jaecoo 7’s ‘Temu Range Rover’; the sibling to China’s best-seller is just as derivative in the way it looks, but it’s a fundamentally better car under the skin. Not only is there more boot space, but parent company Chery has also made some small-yet-welcome changes to the 7’s suspension. The sliding screen, on the other hand, is nothing more than a one-time party piece and diminishes the Omoda’s price advantage over the Jaecoo.
Most of us spend anything between six and seven hours per day on average glued to our electronic devices, prompting doctors to encourage us to try and reduce our screen time. However, the new range-topping version of the Omoda 7 (the sister car to the Jaecoo 7) appears not to have got the memo, because its biggest USP is a 15.6-inch touchscreen that, with a swipe of your fingers, can electronically whir across the dashboard and position itself in front of the passenger.
The Chinese are no strangers to touchscreen gimmicks; the BYD Atto 3, for example, made its debut with a rotating touchscreen that allowed drivers to choose between a portrait or landscape orientation. In the case of the new Omoda 7 Noble Tech, the sliding arrangement is designed to allow the front passenger to consume content while you’re driving along, without the expense of another display. This, alongside a remote parking function which can move the car in and out of a car parking space using only the key (as on contemporary Hyundai and Kia models), is the only difference between the Noble Tech and the standard Noble, which costs around £500 less.
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Cash £27,990Questions quickly arise as to whether that’s money well spent when you realise that there aren’t any media apps built into the screen; unlike other cars with Android-based infotainment systems, Omoda owners are unable to download streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+ or YouTube to their car. The firm says it is developing a plug-in device that functions like an Amazon Fire or Roku TV stick, connecting to the car’s Wi-Fi hotspot so you can stream films, TV and even video games. This isn’t available yet, though, nor is it the most elegant solution.
This unrefined approach extends to the infotainment system as a whole. Not only is the screen itself rather unresponsive, but locating any of its very few features also requires playing a mental game of Labyrinth as you navigate the maze-like menus. Getting into the car and being told by the voice assistant to “have a happy drive” is also indicative of how little time the team at parent firm Chery spent on the system’s English language localisation.
That’s a shame, because the rest of the Omoda 7’s cabin mostly feels like a pleasant place to spend time; a cooled wireless phone charger, the high-mounted sunglasses case to replace the driver’s side grab handle, and even a fragrance dispenser built into the air-con unit are all thoughtful inclusions. We just wish the product development team had instead prioritised adding physical controls for the media volume and climate control.
There may only be a veneer of quality, but at least it’s a thicker one than you might expect given its sub-£36k price point. All of the main touchpoints are adorned with soft-touch plastics, although we’re not sold on the material chosen to sit on top of the dashboard, which can only be described as the same type of fabric used for wetsuits. Transitioning from water sports to e-sports, Omoda says the heated and ventilated leather seats are inspired by gaming chairs; we found them to be more than comfortable on longer drives.
On that point, it’s obvious that ride comfort was the engineers’ main focus with the Omoda 7. It gets an updated suspension set-up compared to its sister car, the Jaecoo 7, which is said to be configured with British roads in mind. In practice, the Omoda feels slightly more sure-footed, dealing well with most potholes and not getting too out of sorts when faced with the most fissure-stricken of surfaces. It’s also rather quiet on the move, although there is a distinct echoey rattle akin to the admittedly much louder one you get while travelling on a bus.
What the Omoda doesn’t fix, however, is the Jaecoo’s wayward driving dynamics. There’s just as much body lean in the bends, while the steering still appears to be taking communication classes from a brick wall; it’s disconcertingly light by default and even in its heavier Sport setting, offers very little feedback from the front wheels. The SHS-P plug-in hybrid powertrain fitted to this car, as well as the vast majority of Jaecoo 7 models sold, continues to offer more than enough oomph for most, though, and remains relatively hushed, even when the petrol engine is working its hardest.
Most buyers will be driving the Omoda 7 economically, rather than enthusiastically, and this is where the plug-in Super-Hybrid-System truly shines. On our drive along rural and urban roads, as well as dual-carriageways, we averaged just under 60mpg with the petrol engine and electric motor running in tandem. Omoda says the 7 is capable of 56 miles on electric power alone and given the performance of the SHS-P powertrain in its Jaecoo sibling in our recent plug-in hybrid megatest, we have no reason to doubt that.
All of this makes the Omoda 7 a solid budget SUV choice for families – especially so thanks to the extra space on offer compared with the Jaecoo. The rear seats are incredibly roomy and what they lack in under-thigh support they make up for in foot space thanks to the completely flat floor. The Omoda 7’s 590-litre boot is also roughly 200 litres larger than the Jaecoo’s and thus one of the most practical in its class.
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