Omoda E5 review

With 204bhp from the motor and a fairly trim (for an EV) kerbweight of 1,710kg, performance isn't the worry. It'll do 0-62mph in 7.2 seconds. Whether you're using all the power or not, the delivery is smooth and the pedal well calibrated.

As it's front-drive, if you're sudden with the pedal you'll find a bit of tyre scrabble out of sharp bends or away from rest in the wet, so the traction control gets busy. Again though it operates smoothly.

The suspension is a multi-link design at the back, so you'd hope it'll work well. Omoda has a German engineering centre and the car has been tested on UK roads. Another good sign.

On normal roads at moderate speeds, the suspension is indeed OK, with an absorbent ride and steering that's not too twitchy. But push on a bit and it feels too much like an early attempt from a new manufacturer. Hit a sharp bump at speed and a clang goes through the body. Tackle undulations too fast and the whole thing floats. It rolls a fair bit in corners too, but that at least means it doesn't rock too much on straights. The steering is too light to give any realistic impression.

The brakes don't feel very positive either. You can alter the regeneration level, but not through a wide range.

What about the driver assistance?

Yes there's a full suite of that, including lane centring for the active cruise control and traffic jam assist.

But as with many Chinese cars (and some others, to be fair) the warning/prevention systems are unsubtly calibrated and over-intrusive. Yes, this is a family crossover and yes you probably won't want to be apex-shaving or tyre-smoking, but even so there will be times when you want to switch some systems off.

On a country road the lane assist tugs at the wheel. Bing. The forward alert gets scared: bong. You might not know what it is that's binging or bonging so you look at the dash and then the attention warning chimes up. Beep.

Then you have to dive several layers into the screen menus and so some jabbing and swiping, by which time the attention warning might indeed have a point.

Anyway, the multiplicity of sensors and warnings gives the E5 an 88 per cent score in the EuroNCAP safety assist section, as well as – for the petrol version – a five star crash score. The electric hasn't been tested yet. These high ratings should help with insurance cost.