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Final Up to date on: thirteenth Could 2025, 12:45 am
Eight months in the past, Majella and I went for a take a look at drive within the newly arrived Omoda E5 from Chery. You may examine it here. Our conclusion was that the automobile was good worth for the cash and ought to be thought-about when cross searching for an electrical SUV. However 4 months is a very long time within the present Aussie EV market.
What’s it wish to drive the Omoda each day? I requested John, one among our regulars on the native month-to-month espresso mornings, to share his expertise transferring from a GMH Bolt to a Chery BEV.
He advised 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 noticed the Chery Omoda E5 marketed on TV, so I went for a take a look at drive at Motorama Chery at Moorooka. My funds was below $40,000 driveaway. At first, I wasn’t satisfied that it was the correct automobile for me. So, I went to a different dealership, which was Motorama Chery at Springwood. And I had one other 2 take a look at drives. I nonetheless wasn’t satisfied, because the dealing with was so totally different to the Holden Volt. I went for one more take a look at drive at Chery North Lakes, which was higher, as I used to be capable of drive on the Bruce Freeway. After that take a look at drive, I made a decision to buy the automobile at Motorama Chery Springwood, which was near the place I dwell, they usually had loads of parking and gross sales crew. The driveaway worth was $39,000, which is my funds. I had a take a look at drive of the BYD Dolphin. I didn’t just like the dealing with. One other automobile to contemplate was the BYD Atto 3, however I didn’t like the inside and the vary of the decrease spec one was beneath 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 bit of background for the curious: The Chevy Bolt was offered in Australia below the Holden model from 2012 to 2015. It was an try by GM to rebuild its environmentally pleasant credentials after the EV1 fiasco. It had a 16 kWh lithium-ion battery pack to offer a goal all-electric vary of 60 km. Vary was then prolonged by a petroleum engine appearing as a generator. Regen braking also can contribute to vary. Solely 250 Volts offered in Australia, for a unit worth of about AU$60,000 every. The Volt offered below roughly 177,000 items below varied manufacturers world wide.
Fairly the quantum leap then. The Chery Omoda has already offered extra BEVs than the Holden Volt in Australia (256 to date this 12 months). It’s at all times attention-grabbing to discover the pathways and explanation why folks go BEV. Additionally it is price noting that John has gone from an American automobile (albeit with an Australia model) to a Chinese language automobile. John was capable of purchase a completely electrical automobile for 2 thirds of the price of a hybrid! And with a great deal of expertise. John has now began a Fb web page and a chat group for others becoming a member of him within the Omoda expertise. Nice to listen to your story, John. For you and your group, the long run is vibrant and electrical.
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