Omoda 9 vs Mitsubishi Triton

What's the difference?

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.

Apart from its distracting driver attention monitor, we can't see any major flaws that would detract from this vehicle’s comfort, practicality and performance when serving as either a utilitarian 4x4 workhorse or back-to-basics 4x4 dual cab for adventures off the beaten track.

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.

Our test vehicle rides on a compact 3130mm wheelbase and is 1865mm wide and 1795mm tall, which combined with a 12.4-metre turning circle makes it agile and easy to manoeuvre both on and off-road.

Speaking of which, its all-terrain credentials include 228mm of ground clearance, a useful 30.4 degrees approach angle (without bull-bar) and 23.4 degrees ramp breakover angle, with the departure angle dependent on the type of tray fitted. These numbers would be more than adequate for accessing rugged worksites.

Its front suspension is double-wishbone with coil-springs, paired with a robust leaf-spring live rear axle. Brakes are front discs and rear drums and it has electric power-assistance for the rack and pinion steering.

Looks are subjective of course but we reckon it has a robust and purposeful appearance in cab-chassis form, particularly with the accessories fitted to our example.

Chrome is all but extinct in its predominantly grey interior. However, hard surfaces on the centre console and door-pulls have a synthetic carbon-fibre finish, which adds a touch of style to a low-maintenance cabin that won’t get trashed by spilled coffee or muddy boots.

You also won’t find fancy features like digital instruments (it has analogue speedo/tacho) or an electronic handbrake (this one’s the good old manual lever). Plus there’s physical dials for audio volume/tuning and ‘piano key’ buttons for the cabin’s climate control, which ensures no distracting touchscreen prompts when driving.

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.

With a kerb weight of only 1993kg (without tray) and 3200kg GVM, our test vehicle has a 1207kg payload rating. However, after you add the combined weight of its steel tray and other accessories (417kg), the payload rating is reduced by the same amount to 790kg. Even so, that still leaves a sizeable weight capacity for up to five tradies and their tools.

It’s also rated to tow up to 3500kg of braked trailer but with its 6250kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) the payload would have to be reduced by 450kg (from 790kg to 340kg) to avoid exceeding the GCM.

In real-world use it’s unlikely that many (if any) Triton owners would need to tow 3500kg but it’s important to be across these numbers to avoid overloading, which is dangerous and illegal.

The genuine accessory galvanised steel tray is internally 1650mm long and 1780mm wide. It has a robust checker-plate floor and a tube-frame front bulkhead with sturdy wire-mesh rear window protection.

There’s also swing-up load retainers on top of the tube-frame on each side, which when paired with the matching rear tube-rack accessory provides secure carrying space for extension ladders or long lengths of timber and PVC pipe/conduit.

There’s also external rope/strap rails along each side but like all steel trays we’ve come across there’s no internal load-anchorage points.

The driver and front passenger have access to a bottle holder and storage bin in each front door plus an overhead glasses holder and a large open compartment above the glovebox. The centre console offers more open storage plus two bottle/cupholders in the centre and a usefully-sized box at the back with a lid that doubles as a driver’s elbow rest.

The rear bench seat is comfortable and surprisingly spacious for tall people, given I’m 186cm and when seated behind the driver’s seat when set in my position, I have about 40mm of kneeroom and 60mm of headroom.

There’s also adequate head clearance for those seated in the slightly higher centre position, but the floor’s prominent transmission tunnel requires one boot either side and knees together between the front seat backrests.

And like all dual-cab utes short of a full-size US pick-up, rear shoulder room is squeezy for three adults, which is tolerable for short trips but a maximum of two adults would be ideal for longer drives.

Rear seat storage includes a bottle-holder and bin in each door plus pockets on each front seat backrest. The centre seat’s backrest also folds forward to serve as an armrest with dual bottle/cup-holders.

The bench seat’s base cushion is fixed, so unlike numerous rivals it can’t swing up and be stored vertically if more internal carrying space is required.

The Triton’s cab-chassis list pricing (without tray) starts at $34,490 for the GLX single-cab 4x2 manual and finishes at $61,540 for the premium GSR dual-cab 4x4 auto.

Our GLX test vehicle comes standard with a 2.4-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine (shared by all Tritons) and optional six-speed automatic for $49,490. This pricing is competitive with base-model 4x4 dual-cab-chassis equivalents like the Toyota HiLux Workmate ($48,735), Ford Ranger XL ($49,230) and Isuzu D-Max SX ($51,200).

However, our example is loaded with numerous items from Mitsubishi’s genuine accessories range including a steel tray ($5775), rear ladder rack ($951.42), steel bull-bar ($4755), driving lights ($1295), side-steps ($1750) and 3500kg towing kit/electronic brake controller ($2370).

This desirable ensemble adds almost $17,000 to the price, which with on-road costs would be nudging $70K to drive away. So, buyers must keep their budgets in mind, as it’s easy to get carried away in genuine accessory lolly shops.

Our test vehicle comes standard with 17-inch steel wheels and 265/65R17 all-terrain tyres plus a full-size spare. It also has heavy-duty rear suspension and underbody armour, front/rear parking sensors, reversing camera, tyre-pressure monitoring and more.

The work-focused cabin has wipe-clean fabric seat trim and vinyl floors, power-adjustable driver’s lumbar support, twin 12-volt accessory sockets and USB ports, 7.0-inch driver’s instrument cluster and a four-speaker audio system controlled by a 9.0-inch multimedia screen with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Bluetooth connectivity.

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.

The Triton’s 2.4-litre four-cylinder diesel engine is equipped with two turbochargers that work in sequence to boost efficiency, with the smaller one providing fast response at low rpm and the larger one optimising performance at higher rpm. The result is 150kW of power at 3500rpm and torque peaking at 470Nm between 1500-2750rpm, using AdBlue to minimise emissions.

It’s paired with a six-speed torque converter automatic that offers the choice of sequential manual shifting, which can be preferable when hauling and/or towing heavy loads, particularly in hilly terrain.

The 4x4 system is dual-range, part-time offering 2H (2WD High Range), 4H (4WD High Range) and 4L (4WD Low Range) controlled by a dial on the centre console. However, you need to step up to the GLX+ to get a rear diff-lock.

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.

Mitsubishi claims official combined average consumption of 7.7L/100km but the dash display was showing 9.9 at the completion of our 316km test, which included the usual mix of suburban, city and highway driving of which about one third of that distance was hauling its maximum payload.

Our own consumption figure, calculated from fuel bowser and tripmeter readings, came in higher again at 10.7L/100km which is on the borderline of the usual 2-3L/100km discrepancy between manufacturer claims and real-world consumption.

So, based on our own numbers, the test vehicle should have a real-world driving range of around 700km from its 75-litre tank.

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.

Large assist-handles on the A (and B) pillars, combined with the accessory side-steps on our example, make it easy to climb aboard and find a comfortable driving position.

The unladen ride is firm, as you’d expect given its 6.0-tonne-plus GCM rating, but it’s still supple enough to soak up the bumps without the harsh kidney-belting ride suffered in some cab-chassis one-tonners we’ve tested.

This is no doubt helped by the accessories fitted, which provide more than 400kg of additional sprung weight to engage the heavy-duty rear springs and improve the ride quality. That’s something to keep in mind if you often drive unladen.

The steering is firmly weighted and the brakes have good response, with the rear drums offering a terrier-like bite when the manual handbrake is applied on steep hills with a heavy load on board.

The four-cylinder 2.4-litre diesel, with its sequential turbocharging and strong outputs, provides energetic all-round performance with efficient gearing that ensures its operating within its peak torque band most of the time.

However, at highway speeds it does tend to hold top gear for too long, when the engine has dropped below 1500rpm and is clearly wanting a downshift.

To test its payload rating, we strapped 650kg on the tray which when combined with accessories and crew was right on the weight limit. The stout rear springs compressed only 25mm under this load, leaving ample bump-stop clearance that assured there was no bottoming-out on our test route.

The Triton handled this task with competence, maintaining good performance and chassis stability. It easily hauled this load up our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km set climb at 60km/h, with the six-speed auto self-shifting down to third gear and 2500rpm which was comfortably within its peak torque band. Engine braking on the way down was also commendable.

Our only gripe is the driver distraction monitoring system which is still too reactive in certain situations, like scratching an itch below my eye even though I was looking straight ahead while doing it. Even though Mitsubishi has tried to improve this system, it needs more refinement, as it detracts from an otherwise positive driving experience.

The Triton comes with a five-star ANCAP rating (tested 2024) and a suite of passive and active features highlighted by eight airbags (including side-curtains), auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian/cyclist detection and junction assist, rear AEB when reversing, front/rear cross-traffic alert, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping, front/rear parking sensors, reversing camera, trailer stability assist and lots more. Rear seat has ISOFIX child-seat anchorages on the two outer rear seating positions and three top-tethers.

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.

It comes with a five-year/100,000km standard warranty, or 10 years/200,000km if serviced at Mitsubishi dealers.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/15,000km whichever occurs first. Pricing is capped at $6860 for 10 scheduled services up to 10 years/150,000km, or an average of $686 per service.

Mitsubishi currently has more than 200 dealers across its national network that spans metro, rural and regional areas. Mitsubishi dealerships are also service centres.