Chery Omoda 7 unveiled – sporty SUV with 1.5 TGDi PHEV tech, gaming-style interior, sliding touchscreen

Chery Omoda 7 unveiled – sporty SUV with 1.5 TGDi PHEV tech, gaming-style interior, sliding touchscreen

The Chery Omoda 7 has just been unveiled at the carmaker’s hometown in Wuhu, China. As a bigger brother to the popular Omoda 5, it is described as a sporty coupe SUV with wide ranging appeal. It combines three key design pillars: dynamic, avant-garde and futuristic.

It’s certainly a striking looking SUV. The shark nose with borderless parametric grille looks to be inspired by the Lexus RX, as are the general sharp angles seen all around. Look closely and the front corners and you’ll see a repeating hexagonal pattern that can light up, as part of the “digital pixel design detail.”

The Omoda 7 rides on large 20-inch dual-tone alloys, while the wheel arch liners have a distinctive pattern on them. Suprisingly enough, the doorhandles are traditional pull-up items instead of self-presenting pop-out designs favoured by a majority of new cars coming out of China recently.

Round the back, the coupe-like roofline does lend it a bit of a Range Rover Velar vibe, although the windowline with a prominent kink over the rear fender matches that of the Omoda 5, creating a neat family look of its own. The taillights have what’s called an electric energy design – a series of connecting arrows that form a lightning bolt.

Size wise the Omoda 7 measures 4,621 mm long, 1,872 mm wide and 1,673 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,700 mm. That’s considerably larger than the Omoda 5 (4,400 mm long, 1,830 mm wide, 1,588 mm tall, 2,630 mm wheelbase) in every way, and is much closer to the Honda CR-V (4,694 mm long, 1,865 mm wide, 1,681 mm tall, 2,700 mm wheelbase).

Inside is where it gets really interesting, as it features gaming-style elements. The steering wheel, for instance, is said to be inspired by a PlayStation 5 controller – easy to control, “maximising the playful experience” – while the front seats were modelled after gaming seats (which ironically were made to mimic car seats to begin with). Fancy stitching, nubuck leather and quilting add on to the sporty look and feel.

Meanwhile, the 15.6-inch centre touchscreen can actually slide to be positioned right in front of the passenger, to provide a more comfortable viewing angle on the move. The “space orbit sliding smart screen” – with 2.5K resolution and 1,000 nit brightness – can be controlled via gesture, voice and button prompts.

Other interesting features include integrated air freshener pods that infuse the chosen fragrance into the air conditioning system (similar to the Air Balance option on high-end Mercedes-Benz models) and a 12+2 speaker Sony audio system. The latter adds on a pair of small surround speakers inside the driver’s headrest. There’s even an engine noise cancelling system for a quieter cabin!

Beyond that, the chassis (a stretched, reworked version of the Omoda 5 platform) has been upgraded with double hydraulic suspension and an advanced brake-by-wire system. As for ADAS, there’s no less than 18 features covering all the usual driving assist systems, plus a novel voice-activated lane change assist function.

Under the hood is a 1.5TGDi four-cylinder petrol engine, paired to a plug-in hybrid system. The engine itself is claimed to have the highest thermal efficiency in its class of 44.5%, while the battery pack can provide up to 95 km of pure-EV driving range. In hybrid mode it’s claimed to have a fuel consumption of 4.89 l/100 km, allowing a combined range of 1,250 km, at least in theory.

There will also be a pure-ICE version later, likely with a larger 1.6 litre four-cylinder petrol engine like in the Jaecoo J7. Surprisingly however, unlike the Omoda 5, there won’t be an EV version of the Omoda 7.

So folks, what do you think of the Omoda 7 – can it possibly be anywhere near as successful as the Omoda 5? Comment below!

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Hafriz Shah

Preferring to drive cars rather than desks, Hafriz Shah ditched his suit and tie to join the ranks of Malaysia's motoring hacks. A car's technical brilliance is completely lost on him, appreciating character-making quirks more. When not writing this ego trip of a bio, he's usually off driving about aimlessly, preferably in a car with the right combination of three foot pedals and six gears.

 

Comments

  • I think Omoda should launch an all-wheel drive version of the 7, though I suspect that will only be feasible in the 1.6 version.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
  • Omakan modal 7 on Apr 29, 2024 at 2:28 am

    Double hydraulic suspension = axle belakang putus
    Brake-by-wire = Flintstones Style Braking (FSB)

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 3
  • Kawtim Puspakom on Apr 29, 2024 at 6:11 am

    Weldment and brake got quality check or not?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1
  • Z900 2016 on Apr 29, 2024 at 6:35 am

    All the best of luck with your axle!!! i meant welding :)

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 0
  • Ben Yap on Apr 29, 2024 at 8:12 am

    i can’t see how the steering is inspired by Playstation. it looks like a normal steering.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
    • Be careful with this playstation steering. You turn right the car go left. Why? Because torsion beam patah

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
  • Bob Mal on Apr 29, 2024 at 8:38 am

    So either Chery is not good enough or those western cars that keeps on fitting us super figure like BMW 330e launched back in 2017 has a combined fuel consumption of 2.1L/100km (4.89L/100km Chery) or the all electric range of 35km BMW only (95km Chery) while Chery manages 44.5% thermal efficiency from 1.5L TGDi (while BMW 2L is ???) However all points to better figure from the BMW even if it was launched 7 years ago.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
  • ROTI CANAI on Apr 29, 2024 at 8:41 am

    will the wheels drop off? unfortunately too much negative press on this brand in malaysia

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 0
  • tricycle on Apr 29, 2024 at 8:50 am

    Everything is beautiful, except the door handles.

    Hoping for them to provide AWD option as well.

    And do not forget to do extra and super strong welding.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
    • Chery on Apr 29, 2024 at 3:23 pm

      We give free gift lifetime unlimited supply elephant glue and 3M celo tape. Will you still buy?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 0
  • merzwan on Apr 29, 2024 at 9:03 am

    Come with detachable rear axle or not?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 0
  • Plenty of skillful welders in Malaysia. Hire them.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • alibaba on Apr 29, 2024 at 9:32 am

    will battery fall on road?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Mudahlupa Wuhan on Apr 29, 2024 at 10:07 am

    Hahhah most of you are laser focused on where & how people in India defecate, no wonder china/MY couldn’t produce cars that would last longer than my Tamiya LOL

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
  • man that is ugly

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Sohai on Apr 29, 2024 at 10:43 am

    I think Chery needs to be more selective and targeted in the model launch for Malaysia. Too many models too soon could be a problem for a small market like us. The after sales service is important to build long term good will, and too many models just complicate the parts retention and service complexity.
    They so far have managed to launch attractive cars with good pricing. I hope the after sales is proven to be affortable too.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
    • Chowhai on Apr 29, 2024 at 3:24 pm

      I think Chery should just gulung tikar because gomen will enforce cherry law

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Pussykom on Apr 29, 2024 at 10:47 am

    Impressive features but nothing beats failed brakes and broken torsion beam

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0
  • bad quality on Apr 29, 2024 at 12:06 pm

    quality at doubt, broken axle, can’t brake
    nice outside, rotten inside, buy at your own risk

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
    • Chery Malaysia on Apr 29, 2024 at 3:25 pm

      Here’s our sales pitch. Buy our vehicles if you have given up on life and wanna leave this world quick.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • stick on Apr 29, 2024 at 12:56 pm

    lexus + range rover, can’t chinamen create something original? sigh…….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
    • Hampeh on Apr 29, 2024 at 3:27 pm

      Can’t even weld properly you ask them to create their own design?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 0
  • too_much_omoda on Apr 29, 2024 at 3:59 pm

    I think paultan website is giving too much coverage to Chery too. Aren’t there any other more interesting brands to cover?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • Hong Yee Hong on Apr 29, 2024 at 7:14 pm

    I’m sure this one will be better than the #Omoda5 , the axle arm won’t break easily, and the computer system will allow you to stop your car when you depress the break padel. Right #Chery ?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • New cars with brake failure, broken torsion beam, these cars are not road worthy. Very surprised how can this toy be approved safe by the authorities to be on Malaysian roads. This is endangering all road uses, akin to intentional manslaughter. The government should stop allowing these cars on the road until approved road worthy and safe by a qualified international body.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • hayoh on May 03, 2024 at 12:56 pm

    Fascinating on how many key warriors the competitors are willing to pay these days to fill up the comments section with just negative stuffs, except related to the articles.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
 

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