4 Months with the Chery Omoda E5

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Last Updated on: 13th May 2025, 12:45 am

Eight months ago, Majella and I went for a test drive in the newly arrived Omoda E5 from Chery. You can read about it here. Our conclusion was that the car was good value for the money and should be considered when cross shopping for an electric SUV. But four months is a long time in the current Aussie EV market.

What is it like to drive the Omoda on a daily basis? I asked John, one of our regulars at the local monthly coffee mornings, to share his experience moving from a GMH Bolt to a Chery BEV.

He told me: “In 2014 I was interested in buying an electric car. At that time there wasn’t many options. Only the Tesla Model S which was well over $100k and the Nissan Leaf which had limited range and only had an air cooled battery management system. I saw an online clip about the Holden Volt, so I went for a test drive, thought about it, and read some reviews as the car was very popular in the USA. I purchased the Volt in February 2014 and found that it was very reliable. My lifetime petrol consumption was 1.9 liters per 100 km, which is very good, and I managed to drive 123,000 km in 11 years. The battery range in the Volt was only 60 to 80 km, which was useful for short trips and then the petrol motor was used for longer trips.”

“In 2024, the service support for the Holden Volt became very limited, as any work on the car had to be done by certified Volt technicians. In later 2024, the battery was showing signs of wear, meaning I wasn’t getting the battery range that I used to get when the car was new.”

“In 2025, I saw the Chery Omoda E5 advertised on TV, so I went for a test drive at Motorama Chery at Moorooka. My budget was under $40,000 driveaway. At first, I wasn’t convinced that it was the right car for me. So, I went to another dealership, which was Motorama Chery at Springwood. And I had another 2 test drives. I still wasn’t convinced, as the handling was so different to the Holden Volt. I went for another test drive at Chery North Lakes, which was better, as I was able to drive on the Bruce Highway. After that test drive, I decided to purchase the car at Motorama Chery Springwood, which was close to where I live, and they had plenty of parking and a good sales team. The driveaway price was $39,000, which is my budget. I had a test drive of the BYD Dolphin. I didn’t like the handling. Another car to consider was the BYD Atto 3, but I didn’t like the interior and the range of the lower spec one was below that of the Chery Omoda E5.

“At present I have driven 2,400 km. The only issue I had was the car had a steering fault which had to be rectified at the service centre at Chery Springwood. They fixed the fault in one day and I have to say they were very helpful and professional.”

“The car is a very smooth car to drive, with lots of tech and the wide display on the 2 screens is very clear and easy to see. The only complaint is the regen levels on 2 & 3 cause a jerky sensation — seems to not be modulated correctly. So, most of the time I use level one. The rated range is 430 km, which after a long return trip to Toowoomba, that is close in real-world driving. The sales team at Chery Springwood purchased an 8-amp home charger for me, as the car doesn’t come with a charger. That is what I use at home to charge the car. The Chery is different to the Volt, much better turning circle. The tech in the Volt is not supported any more, and comparing it to the Chery Omoda E5, I would say there is no comparison.”

A little background for the curious: The Chevy Bolt was sold in Australia under the Holden brand from 2012 to 2015. It was an attempt by GM to rebuild its environmentally friendly credentials after the EV1 fiasco. It had a 16 kWh lithium-ion battery pack to provide a target all-electric range of 60 km. Range was then extended by a petrol engine acting as a generator. Regen braking can also contribute to range. Only 250 Volts sold in Australia, for a unit price of about AU$60,000 each. The Volt sold under approximately 177,000 units under various brands around the world.

Quite the quantum leap then. The Chery Omoda has already sold more BEVs than the Holden Volt in Australia (256 so far this year). It is always interesting to explore the pathways and reasons why people go BEV. It is also worth noting that John has gone from an American car (albeit with an Australia brand) to a Chinese car. John was able to buy a fully electric vehicle for two thirds of the cost of a hybrid! And with loads of technology. John has now started a Facebook page and a chat group for others joining him in the Omoda experience. Great to hear your story, John. For you and your group, the future is bright and electric.