BMW M2 vs Omoda 9

What's the difference?

Proving good things still come in small packages, the pint-sized M2 remains my pick of the BMW M range. It's not the perfect daily drive, but I reckon the fun outweighs the foibles.

The arrival of Omoda and Jaecoo so soon after Chery’s Australian return just feels like a huge task to take on for the company. And given the amount of other new brands hitting local roads there is a real danger that customers will either feel overwhelmed or simply ignore many of these new models.

Trying to position Omoda as a genuine alternative to luxury brands, and even the likes of Mazda and Volkswagen, is a tough ask for the brand and its dealers. Certainly the price and styling will help attract potential buyers but to cement itself in the local market it will need to make sure it makes an impact early.

Judging the Omoda 9 on its merits, it’s a nice enough SUV and does many things well but doesn’t have any elements that really ensure it stands out from the numerous competitors it faces.

There have been mixed reviews of the design of the BMW M range, but I reckon this one looks pretty damn good. In fact, I've always thought this kind of hyper-aggressive styling looks better on smaller cars than it does on big ones.

And it certainly is aggressive, right? From the huge bonnet bulges to the meshed out grille and angry rear diffuser, to the staggered alloys and flared wheel arches, to the blocky rear end with its four massive exhaust exits.

But my favourite exterior item has to be the blacked-out carbon roof, which helps shrink the M2 visually, and makes the whole car look more potent.

Inside, it's plenty sporty feeling, with hard-backed sports seats, lashings of carbon-fibre-look trimmings and the bright red M buttons on the steering wheel.

It's nice, but some of the touch points – like the hard plastics on top of the doors, where, if you're like me, you rest your elbow when driving – feel less than premium.

Still, all the tech is present and accounted for, with its digital dash and huge centre screen, and there's no shortage of spaces to connect or charge your phone.

From a design perspective, the Omoda 9 certainly stands out as different from the Chery and Jaecoo range. It has a distinctive look that speaks to its ‘premium’ and ‘technology’ aspirations, both on the exterior and interior.

However, to this reviewer’s eyes, there are also quite clearly some visual similarities to the Cadillac Lyriq, both in the overall silhouette but also the details and cabin design. This isn’t unusual in the car industry, especially from Chinese brands. Jaecoo’s designers clearly took inspiration from Range Rover, so it makes sense that the Omoda would find an equivalent luxury brand to be inspired by. Or perhaps it’s just a coincidence…

The important thing is that it’s notably different to what Chery is offering with its Tiggo models, which form the core of its Australian line-up. Omoda needs to be distinct and more upmarket if it is to justify its price premium. On that front, the wider group has done a nice job of making each brand stand out visually.

Judging the interior of the Omoda 9 on its own, it's actually a very pleasant place to be. The level of design, fit and finish also feels like a big step up on what Chery offers, even if it does feel familiar. The materials don't feel truly premium, but given the price that's understandable and acceptable.

The M2 pocket rocket measures just over 4.5m in length, just under 1.9m in width, and just over 1.4m in height, and it rides on a 2747mm wheelbase. That makes it longer, wider and lower than the model it replaces.

Remember that 'lower' bit, as it will come up again in a moment.

Up front, you don't feel cramped, and there's the requisite cupholders, door pockets and hiding holes, as well as wireless device charging and USB connections.

But remember, this is a two-door, four-seat affair, which cuts into the practicality a little, or a lot.

Swing open the wide front doors, and push the front seat-back forwards, and the entire chair will slide forward automatically.

It does help create more room to climb into the back, but it's still a slightly embarrassing challenge to make getting back there look anything like graceful.

Once there, it's tight. I'm 175cm and my head was firmly pressed into the roof.

You do get your own vents and temp controls, but that's about it. Even the pull-down divider only gives you access to the 390-litre boot, rather than extra cupholders.

You do get two sets of ISOFIX attachment points, though, and let's be honest –  if you're buying this to make Bunnings runs, you've probably got it wrong.

One of the standout features of the Omoda 9 is its size, measuring 4775mm long with a 2800mm wheelbase. That makes it longer in both measures than the likes of the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5, pushing it to the upper end of the ‘medium-sized’ SUV segment.

That liberates more space inside, with good room up front and a generous back seat, at least in terms of knee and foot room. The rear seats are compromised slightly by the large sunroof and sloping roofline, with headroom tight for anyone over 180cm.

Unfortunately, the space isn’t utilised as best as it can be, thanks to the lack of seat height adjustment for the driver. It’s not unique to Omoda and is becoming a common issue among Chinese-built cars for reasons I can’t explain. What it means is I couldn’t get the seat to a point I was 100 per cent happy with, which is a problem for what should be a very comfortable vehicle.

Omoda compensates for this with some clever technology, beyond just the pair of 12.3-inch screens (housed in a single setting, which again looks very similar to the Cadillac Lyriq), and the option of wired or wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

The 14-speaker Sony sound system includes two speakers inside the driver’s headrest. This is a clever addition that allows you to take phone calls via these speakers only, so you don’t annoy the rest of the occupants in the car.

The other notable luxury element is the fragrance system, which can diffuse three different scents into the car. While the names are a bit hard to interpret (Natural, Cure and Sport), the fact you can choose from three different scents and have them gently fill the cabin is a nice luxury touch.

In terms of storage, there's plenty of small item spaces around the cabin and the boot measures a roomy 660 litres and offers a nice flat floor with a square load area. However, that comes at the expense of any sort of spare tyre, with a tyre repair kit located under the floor.

For those who have been paying close attention the Omoda name will be familiar, as the Chery Omoda 5 was the first model the Chinese brand launched on its return to Australia. That has now evolved into the Chery C5, so the Omoda 9 becomes the first standalone model for the brand as it tries to position itself as a more premium, luxury and lifestyle brand separate from Chery.

While there are no confirmed plans for further Omoda models yet, the Omoda 9 is being positioned as the flagship of the range. It’s a medium-sized SUV but at the larger end of the segment so it will compete against the likes of the Mazda CX-60, BYD Sealion 6 and even the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

In keeping with the more premium image the brand is trying to create, there will be a single, high-specification model offered, the Virtue SHS, which will be priced from $61,990 plus on-road costs.

For this price you get 20-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and tail-lights, dual-zone climate control, a 14-speaker Sony-branded sound system, inbuilt navigation, surround view camera, automatic parking function, head-up display, wireless smartphone charger, leather seats with memory function, heated seats and steering wheel and even an in-built fragrance system.

Besides, this is what we're really here for, isn't it? The M2 gets the 'M TwinPower' 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline-six engine, producing a sizeable 338kW and 550Nm, sending that power to the rear wheels via an eight-speed auto or six-speed manual.

BMW says this engine is very, very close to the engine that powers the M3 and M4, and says it will rocket the M2 from 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds, and to 200km/h in either 13.5 seconds in the automatic, or 14.3 seconds in the manual.

The Super Hybrid System may sound fancy, but it’s effectively a plug-in hybrid powertrain, which is a technology that is becoming increasingly familiar to Australian drivers as it fills the gap between internal combustion and electric vehicles.

Omoda’s SHS system combines a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with three electric motors - two at the front, integrated into the transmission package and one at the rear - to create a potent SUV. This complex system can send power to either the front wheels or all four wheels via a three-speed ‘Dedicated Hybrid Transmission’.

Omoda claims the combined output of the Super Hybrid System is 395kW, allowing this family friendly SUV to sprint from 0-100km/h in just 4.9 seconds.

It’s backed up by a 34kWh battery, which allows for meaningful electric only range too.

A small fly in the ointment is fuel use, with the M2 said to use 9.7L/100km on the combined cycle. It also drinks 98 RON premium, and is home to a 52-litre fuel tank. Your theoretical driving range is around 540km.

Now, be warned, you'll be bored stiff if you drive it in the way that's required to get it that low. When we were being gentle, we were somewhere between 10.5 and 11.5 litres per hundred kilometres.

Emissions are pegged a 220g/km of C02.

What gives Omoda some confidence to use the Super Hybrid System name is its claim that the battery allows the 9 to drive up to 145km (WLTP) on electric power alone, which is more than both a conventional hybrid and many existing PHEV models. For example, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has an EV range of 84km and the Mazda CX-60 can make 76km.

Fuel economy is officially rated at 1.4L/100km, although that relies on using the battery to its maximum and once that is depleted, you can expect to see a much higher figure. Realistically somewhere around 5.0L/100km is what you should expect if you do mostly urban driving and anything below that is a good result.

Omoda claims that the Virtue SHS can drive up to 1100km, but that is theoretical and based on achieving both the full EV-only range and then the 1.4L/100km figure, which isn’t actually achievable in the real world.

Let's be totally up front here: the BMW M2 isn't the most comfortable vehicle to live with. In fact, I recently climbed out of the M3 Touring, and found that to be more comfortable on broken city streets.

The M2 is fitted with adaptive suspension, but even in its most comfortable settings it can feel rough, bumpy and jarring on bad roads (of which Australia has lots), and unless you're gentle with the accelerator, it can feel a little jumpy when first taking off – a by-product of its prodigious power.

Now, let's be totally up front again: I don't care. The M2 is fun, plain and simple, and for mine, the above is a fair price to pay for something that brings so much joy.

The steering is lovely, the power immediate and the soundtrack intoxicating, and it's the kind of car that's fun no matter where, how far or how fast you drive it.

In fact, fun seems to be the very centre of the M2 proposition, which definitely doesn't take itself too seriously.

For evidence, look no further than the 'M Drift Analyser', buried in a hopelessly busy multimedia system that will have you praising the CarPlay and Android Auto gods.

It will rate your best drift out of four stars, measure it for distance, and basically give you a pat on the back for doing your best hooligan impression (not on a public road, of course).

Fun, then, is the order of the day here. And I bloody love it.

While a generous level of standard equipment is one key measure of a luxury/premium vehicle, driving is another. For a vehicle to be truly premium it must have effortless performance, a comfortable yet controlled ride and confidence-inspiring handling.

This sets the bar quite high for the Omoda 9 and that makes it hard to really live up to the brand’s aspirations. 

From a performance perspective the SHS powertrain does a great job. Certainly 395kW means the SUV feels quick and easy to punch into gaps or call for a burst of acceleration. But the rest of the driving experience doesn’t really live up to the premium standard buyers might expect.

The ride is too busy most of the time, never feeling settled and often fussing over the bumps in the road. It lacks the smooth, relaxed ride that premium buyers are looking for.

The same is true for the handling, with the steering too light and vague off-centre and lacking feeling when you find yourself on the open road. 

The Omoda 9 is by no means a bad car to drive, but it does lack the precision and elevated comfort that genuine premium cars need to have. Perhaps with some local ride and handling optimisation it could get closer to what buyers in this part of the market expect.

The Omoda 9 ticks all the boxes that customers and, just-as-importantly, the safety authorities expect, like autonomous emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warning, emergency lane keeping, driver monitoring system and adaptive cruise control. 

Omoda even goes a step further and offers 'Traffic Jam Assist' and 'Integrated Cruise Assist', which can centre you in the lane when cruise control is active to create a low level of autonomous functionality.

However, like so many modern cars these safety systems are not integrated smoothly into the driving experience. Instead, the Omoda likes to distract you with graphics and warnings on the dashboard and then warn you that you’re distracted. To be blunt, it’s both annoying and - ironically - very distracting. 

To the credit of Omoda, as well as Chery and Jaecoo, the company has invested in a local tuning program for the active safety features and there has clearly been a dramatic improvement since the first Chery model I experienced less than 12 months ago. Hopefully with a bit more time and tuning the systems will become better integrated and the car won’t tell you you’re distracted looking at warnings.

In terms of a crash test safety rating the Omoda 9 hasn’t been tested by ANCAP yet but has five-stars from Euro NCAP so there’s little reason why it would be dramatically different if crashed locally.

The BMW M2 is covered by a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, and servicing is 'condition based', in that the vehicle will tell you what maintenance is required, and when.

You can prepay your service costs at the time of purchase for all BMW vehicles, covering the first five years of ownership, for $3480 (which means $695 per service).

In a bid to give customers confidence to try a new brand Omoda is applying the Jaecoo ownership model, which means an eight-year warranty as well as eight years of capped-price servicing and roadside assistance.

Service intervals are every 15,000km or 12 months, whichever comes first and across the eight years you’ll be spending a total of $3343, which averages out to just over $418 per year.

The decision to offer such extended coverage is a commendable move from Omoda and will no doubt help its bid to convince customers to give it a chance.