Rhinoplasty: stylish crossover has been updated and started to be assembled in Russia
More than 100 years ago, writer Viktor Shklovsky scolded Hispano-Suiza cars for having an unreasonably long hood. They say that the car has almost a yard of distance between the radiator and the engine — not for the sake of some technical necessity, for snobs. The new Omoda C5 has almost half an inch of this emptiness from the nose to the radiator. And what filled the new crossover, which has increased in size, tell Izvestia.
Omoda C5: how a separate brand appeared
The Omoda C5 crossover was originally launched under the Chery brand. They say that someone from the Russian representative office suggested separating Omoda into a separate brand. On the one hand, this allowed us to create the appearance of diversity against the background of the departure of many brands from Russia in 2022. On the other hand, the new model turned out to be out of the ordinary. Bold lines, frameless radiator grille, fancy optics and a coupe-like silhouette. Technically, it was an ordinary crossover, but from a design point of view, it was a breakthrough for the Chinese car industry.
The dimensions of the new Omoda C5 are 4545×1824×1588 mm. Wheelbase — 2630 mm
Therefore, based on one Omoda C5 model, we have created a whole philosophy of a stylish, but at the same time massive brand. The experiment worked: the C5 became one of the segment's bestsellers and the engine of Omoda's sales. In a few years, even the most unusual design is destroyed, and in 2025, the crossover did not sell as well as before. By this point, he had acquired all-wheel drive and underwent a minor upgrade, it was time for drastic changes. Moreover, the owners have accumulated wishes for a new car. Appreciating the exterior, comfort and interior of the C5, they were unhappy with the cramped trunk, criticized the CVT, wanted more space in the cabin and more physical buttons.
Omoda C5: Slot and zipper
Interestingly, it was the exterior and interior that changed the most, which seemed to suit everyone. In the past, there was a beautiful frameless radiator grille, the front is deaf, like the electric version of the C5, which did not appear in our country. Aerodynamic discs are also inherited from the electric car. The difference between a gasoline car is a strange rectangular slot right above the license plate, as if sawn through in the front at the last moment. The engine is additionally cooled through it.
There are four body colors so far — white, gray, black and red
If you think about it, there's nothing strange about this slot: it resembles a USB connector. A design that is quite in tune with the era, the new norm. It should be noted that the rectangular, uncomplicated air intake first appeared on the younger Omoda C4 model, designed in a "cybermechanical" style. The taillights with LED zippers and interior elements are borrowed from the older model, the C7 crossover.
The dynamic characteristics remained the same. Acceleration from a standstill to 100 km/h takes 9.9 seconds. The maximum speed is 181 km /h.
Usually, by the standards of human beauty, they try to reduce the nose, but with Omoda everything is different. The hefty nose increased the length of the car by 14 cm and gave the crossover a vague resemblance to either the Lamborghini Urus or the Lotus Eletre. When viewed in three quarters, the car looks like a sports car, but if you look at it from the side, the front overhang is disproportionately large. The headlights are now two-tiered, not three-tiered, without fog lamps, which means they will cost less.
Omoda C5: What has changed inside
Interior elements are also inherited from the older C7 model. Previously, the interior contrasted with the refined exterior — an abundance of hard plastic, flat panels with a simple texture. Now the interior looks more elegant and expensive to look at — two-tone upholstery with orange stitching, lots of soft overlays, beautiful striped wood inserts, two-spoke steering wheel of unusual shape. I would especially like to mention the door cards with stitching, soft window sills and ribbed niches of the side pockets.
The multicolored interior is a feature of the cars of the first batches. In the basic equipment, the seat upholstery will be combined — fabric plus leather.
According to fashionable Chinese trends, the transmission selector is now located behind the steering wheel on the right, the instrument display is tiny, but unlike the Jaecoo J6, it is full-format here. The central display, like many modern cars from China, controls most of the functions. And Omoda didn't really listen to the requests of customers who wanted more physical buttons. Yes, a block of large keys appeared on the center console, controlling the driving mode, turning on the air conditioner, blowing windows and an all-round viewing system. But the physical seat heating buttons are gone, as is the touch bar under the display. Now all control is tied to the touchscreen, which has a row of hot virtual keys at the bottom, the set of which can be changed. The side mirrors are adjustable via the central display menu. At the same time, the system itself runs smartly on the new Snapdragon 8155 octa-core processor. And it connects quite confidently with smartphones using the Android Auto and Apple CarPlay protocol.
Omoda C5: raised the ceiling
Between the new bow and the new stern, the body is still the same — elegant, but cramped. The distance between the axes has remained the same, so the interior space has not changed significantly. The front bucket seats are still too high, especially the passenger seat on the right, but they are now equipped with adjustable head restraints. The ceiling is a bit low, especially in the hatch version. The rear landing became a little more convenient, thanks to the reduction in the height of the cushion and the curved ceiling panel, it was possible to gain a margin above the passengers' heads. Due to the modified upholstery, the trunk has slightly increased.
The claimed ground clearance is 190 mm. Despite the increase in weight, the official angle of entry has not changed (19.8 degrees), and the angle of exit has decreased to 22.8 degrees.
At the same time, the passengers in the back row have individual buttons for turning on the sofa heating, which the related Jaecoo J6, a much more practical car, lacks. As for the upholstery, it is similar to that used for the J6, the company says. Only in the case of C5, its harmlessness to pets is simply not confirmed by the certificate.
Omoda C5: the "robot" is working hard
The appearance of the C5 has become more sporty, but not the dynamics. Under the extended hood, there is still the same 1.5 L turbo engine (147 hp and 210 Nm), but the CVT has been replaced by a six-speed robotic transmission with wet clutches. They promise that it is more reliable than a CVT. The claimed acceleration to a hundred has not changed — the same 9.9 seconds as before. Of course, from the point of view of some Russian manufacturers, these are the most sporty figures. Even maintaining such dynamics is more difficult for the car due to the increased mass, and consumption has increased. It may have grown a little, but a "robot" is usually more economical than a CVT. And it seems to be supposed to work faster.
The stated average consumption is 7.4 liters per 100 km. If the materials on the official website allow the use of 92nd gasoline, then the 95th is prescribed in the instruction manual.
According to my subjective feelings, the restyling car started more willingly, with a slip in both economy and sports mode. The new C5 also has two modes, but the difference between them has become more noticeable. The eco is empty, the sports are dense. In general, the car has not changed much on the move, except that the suspension runs through the joints harder. There's still the same artificial force on the steering wheel. But the car has become noticeably quieter, especially on a country road, and the engine does not growl so loudly during acceleration. What has been seriously improved is the operation of adaptive cruise control, in addition, its ability to self-learn has been announced.
Omoda C5: prices down
The new C5, despite significant changes, turned out to be even cheaper than the restyled car, without losing equipment. The basic C5 costs 2 million 349 thousand rubles. The average one with climate control instead of air conditioning, 18-inch wheels instead of 17-inch wheels will cost 2.5 million rubles, and the top-end one with a sunroof, ventilation of the front seats and a set of electronic assistants will cost 2.65 million rubles.
The price was reduced by organizing the assembly of machines in Russia. It is especially emphasized that they are painted with a thicker layer, but the color scheme is modest and there are no two-color options yet. I was surprised that the empty front passenger seat was shaking quite noticeably in the test car. Features of the pre-production batch? While the C5 is offered in front-wheel drive, later they promise an all-wheel drive version with a multi-link instead of a rear beam.
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