Just popped along to one of the two Omoda dealers within ten miles of my home.

Saw a grey metallic Omoda E5. Very different seeing these 'in the flesh ' than a youtube review. I'm over 60 6ft4 and hefty. Bags of room inside and very comfy seats. Austere dash very on trend. But clearly it's nailed together very well indeed on first appearances. Quality feeling materials and at bargain basement prices.

Some takeaway points...front fixed quarterlights. Haven't seen them since my old Ford Corsair . Huge boot very nice for my 25kg medium sized dog. No noticeable lip to the load area. And get this. For an EV this is unusual, it has a full size spare in fact another alloy not a cheapo steel wheel.

Now the bits I think it could be an issue. It's been called the Golf that VW ought to be making well it appears far larger than a golf. My Mokka-e parked next to it looked miniature by comparison. It's huge on the outside. Taller wider just feels heftier. Plus disappointingly this example had no plastic side protection guards. So in my estimate ( being quite wide) the flanks will get a fair share of door dings in car parks. But I understand at less than 26k it's a huge bargain. There is a 1.6 petrol version for the dino juice aficionados and this version has an attractive front grill, sadly not found on the EV version. Front access door to the charge port feels again to be of decent quality.

Imo it's going to be taking sales from the Qashqai and deservedly so.

Edited by Ethan Edwards on 28/09/2024 at 22:04