Chery Omoda 5 vs Lexus Rz

What's the difference?

Finding a half-decent small SUV for less than $30,000 has become quite challenging in the past couple of years. But as mainstream brands march further upmarket, some Chinese manufacturers are happy to grab sales at the lower end of the market.

One such brand, Chery, re-emerged with the Omoda 5 compact crossover about 18 months ago with keen pricing and loads of standard features.

Further pushing the value point, Chery recently added a new base grade of the Omoda 5, the FX. It sits under the Omoda 5 BX and EX with the same powertrain and it only loses a handful of features from the BX.

At $27,000 drive-away, it looks like a steal on paper. But how does the new cut-price Omoda 5 handle urban duties? And does this small SUV offer more than just a solid standard features list?

When Lexus revealed its first dedicated electric car, a sporty looking SUV based on the Toyota bZ4X, price seemed to be the biggest factor in its disappointing sales figures.

Starting at about the $120,000 mark, the Lexus RZ you may have seen around, if you’re extremely eagle-eyed, was far from popular. 

After a little bit of time off showroom floors, however, the RZ is back.

More range, more power, a new first for Lexus in terms of driving tech and a much, much lower starting price could see the brand’s first dedicated EV pick up the pace.

But, there’s a big question mark over that new tech - the much-hyped steering yoke that replaces the wheel in the top-spec F Sport, which uses a steer-by-wire system in a debut setup for Lexus.

Is it a revelation, or a gimmick? We attended the updated RZ launch in Victoria to find out.