What's the difference?
This is the new Chery C5.
Not a Chevy C5 Corvette, Citroen C5, Sinclair C5 city trike or even a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy bomber, but a facelifted Omoda 5, with a fresh nose and a few (largely) welcome upgrades underneath.
But do they address the old model’s flaws? Which, for many reviewers, made it difficult to recommend, even against other equally cheap and cheerless small SUV rival alternatives, including the previous-shape MG ZS and GWM Haval Jolion.
Read on to find out.
The Denza B5 Leopard PHEV is the latest in China’s plug-in hybrid invasion of Australia.
Denza is a premium sub-brand of BYD and the B5 is a luxury body-on-frame 4WD wagon with five seats, 16 drive modes, a low-range gear-set on the rear axle, and front and rear diff locks.
It has a packed standard features list, a premium-style interior, about 100km electric-only driving range, and real off-road adventure potential.
But how does this plush plug-in perform off-road?
Read on.
Can a new name, fresh face and suspension update save Chery’s sleek SUV coupe from the ignominy of being one of the least pleasant options in its ultra-competitive class?
Sadly, not enough has been done for us to recommend the new C5.
As an affordable, stylish, roomy and zoomy SUV, the Chery definitely provides showroom appeal, especially given the decent warranty.
But, with lots of little niggles still present to distract and frustrate, the C5 is far from A1. Plus, with prices now creeping up, it doesn’t even have the cheap pricing of the old Omoda 5 to get it over the line.
Heading into 2026, Chery still needs to do better than this.
The Denza B5 Leopard PHEV is an impressive five-seat premium-style 4WD wagon: it’s reasonably nice to drive, it’s comfortable and it’s a capable 4WD and word on the tracks is that a new software update is set to make it even more of an effective off-roader.
It doesn’t offer the level of fuel economy you’d hope for, and there are issues with elements of its driver-assist tech suite – some of which are jarring and over-reactive – but the B5 looks and feels like a premium 4WD and represents decent value for money, especially when cross-shopped against something like a new-generation Prado.