Back for another bite: Chery returns to Australia with the high-specced MG ZS, GWM Haval Jolion rivalling Omoda 5 small SUV

Chinese car-maker Chery has spearheaded its return to Australia with the reveal of its Omoda 5 small SUV with drive-away pricing set to start from less than $40,000, and backed by a seven-year warranty.

Australians will be among the first in the world to be able to buy the Omoda 5 when it arrives at the end of March.

Chery will announce exact pricing closer to that date, but the carmaker said there will be a drive-away deal of “$30-something-thousand”.

That would make it a more expensive offering than its MG ZS rival which starts at $22,990 drive-away and it backs up Chery’s claim to the media that it didn’t want to just be “the cheap and cheerful Chinese brand”.

Mazda has the similarly sized CX-30 which starts with a list price of $30,210 while the Toyota Corolla Cross begins at $33,000. Australians can expect the Omoda 5 to be more closely aligned in price to these.

The Omoda 5 will be covered by a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty along with seven years of capped price servicing and roadside assistance for the same duration.

The Omoda 5 will initially go on sale in two grades. There’s the entry grade Omoda 5 and the Omoda 5 EX.

Coming standard on the entry grade are dual 10.25-inch digital displays, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, proximity key and push button start, power driver’s seat, LED headlights and 18-inch alloy wheels.

The top-of-the-range EX adds a sunroof, power tailgate, power front passenger seat, heated steering wheel, heated front seats, red brake calipers, LED Omoda puddle lamps and LED running lights. 

The Omoda 5 will arrive initially with one engine variant - a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine making 155kW and 230Nm, with a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

A more powerful Omoda 5 EX+ will arrive in the second half of 2023 with a 1.6-litre unit matched to a dual-clutch automatic.

A for those looking for a fully electric Omoda 5, that’s coming too in early 2024.  

Chery plans a major comeback to Australia following a brief and relatively unsuccessful stint from 2011 to 2013, and the Omoda 5 is just the start. Arriving later this year will be the Tiggo 7 Pro mid-sized SUV and Tiggo 8 Pro large SUV.