Omoda 9 vs Toyota GR Yaris

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.

You already could have argued the GR Yaris was the best car Toyota made even before its update.

The GR Yaris’ refreshed interior and its slight bump in performance are the result of plenty of feedback from owners and even racing drivers that Toyota took on board, and the result is an even better sports car.

It helps that it’s not prohibitively expensive in the grand scheme of the new-car market these days.

Now, I reckon even fans of the rear-drive Toyota GR86 might start to doubt their preferences after a stint behind the wheel.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

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 GR Yaris isn’t just a regular Yaris with sports bits stuck on, and because of that it looks fantastic. 

It’s properly aggressive, sculpted to look more like a rally car than other Yarises (I’m not calling them ‘Yarii’), even down to the fact it’s a two-door design.

A carbon-fibre roof, aluminium bonnet, doors and tailgate, plus a series of functional aerodynamic and cooling features prove the Yaris doesn’t just look like this for show, though.

The redesigned front bumper directs air to more radiators for extra cooling but also through to the front wheel arches to cool the brakes.

Another change is the tail-light bar, which spans the rear and does away with the light integrated into the rear spoiler, which is now also body coloured. Down below that, larger exhaust tips reflect a more powerful engine.

There’s also significant change inside. The repositioning of some elements for better ergonomics make the GR Yaris a much more driver-oriented space inside, and despite some soft-touch materials it has a race car vibe to it.

The interior centre stack no longer looks like a standard Toyota interior, and the fact Toyota went to the effort and cost to do this purely because of driver feedback shows how serious it is about its GR division’s future.

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.

The changes to the GR Yaris interior come down to useability as a sports car.

Thanks to the update, some pre-update complaints about ergonomics like the driver’s seat being too high or impeded visibility have been addressed.

The seat is now 25mm lower and feels much more natural in terms of eye-level and body positioning, but also allows more space above to fit a helmet on your bonce.

The pedals have also moved for easier heel-toeing, while the steering column angle has been adjusted to feel more natural. 

Additionally, the dash panel is now tilted towards the driver by 15 degrees more and there’s better visibility between the dash and rear-view mirror with the multimedia screen now integrated into the centre stack.

Essentially, the Yaris has undergone a generation-level update in the interior and is much better for it.

Everything falls to hand without the driver needing to move their shoulders, but at the same time it doesn’t feel cramped.

While the second row is near unusable for adults - plus only seating two - the 174-litre boot is only 39L less than the GR Corolla. It’s not much space at all, really, but fold the seats down and there’s space for track day gear, maybe even a spare tyre or two. Not that there’s a standard space-saver spare with the car. Just a repair kit.

The GR Yaris comes in two grades, now called GT and GTS, and they're both available with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission.

The ‘entry’ GT comes in at $55,490 plus on-road costs for the manual or $57,990 for the automatic, and has plenty of kit for a performance-focused light hatchback including heated suede and leather-accented sports bucket seats, a leather heated steering wheel and leather-wrapped gearshift, aluminium pedals and park brake lever.

On the tech front you get an 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, USB-C and 12V power sockets, an eight-speaker JBL audio system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and digital radio.

The GTS comes in at $60,490 or $62,990 for the manual and auto respectively, and add some performance extras like a set of 18-inch BBS forged alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sports 4S tyres, red GR brake calipers and upgraded GR sports seats.

The GTS also gains a Torsen limited-slip differential, upgraded GR suspension, a sub-radiator for better cooling as well as intercooler spray.

At this price point, the GR Yaris is wanting for proper rivals. Similarly-priced cars like the Hyundai i30 N and VW Golf GTI are bigger, front-drive and less focused, while similarly-sized cars are either less powerful or less capable, like the Abarth 695 or Hyundai i20 N.

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 GR Yaris now makes 221kW (at 6500rpm) and 400Nm (between 3250 and 4600rpm) from its 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, dubbed G16E-GTS in Toyota code.

Outputs are up 21kW and 30Nm from before, and both the six-speed manual and eight-speed torque converter automatic have matching figures.

Normal, Track and Gravel modes for the AWD system can distribute torque either 60:40 (front/rear) in Normal, 53:47 in Gravel or variably as needed in Track.

Toyota says, weirdly, both versions can hit 100km/h in 5.1 seconds and max out at 230km/h. We expect you’d need to be fairly handy to match the auto’s acceleration in a manual.

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.

Toyota claims the GR Yaris sips 8.2L/100km of fuel (which needs to be 98 RON by the way) in manual, or 9.1L/100km as an auto.

Its 50-litre tank means you should be able to get more than 500km out of a tank of fuel if driving frugally, but let’s be honest, are you going to do that in a tiny all-wheel-drive hot hatch with a 0-100kmh time that would embarrass a great number of Aussie V8s?

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.

To get straight to the point, the GR Yaris might be the best car Toyota builds if you’re a keen driver.

Most who’ve driven it in the past will know it’s extremely fun with a manual gearbox, but after the update it’s impressive how capable the new auto makes it, too.

For a start, while its GR Corolla sibling feels as it is - a hot hatch based on the Corolla - the GR Yaris feels bespoke.

From behind the wheel, as a performance car, there isn’t really anything that jumps out as a red flag.

Now that it’s got more power and torque, it’s also an even more convincing choice in Toyota’s hot hatch duo in terms of power-to-weight ratio.

Of course, it still holds up well as a car for day-to-day duties, if looking a little brash while doing so. In Normal drive mode with the diff set to front-bias, the GR Yaris feels ready to take on the suburbs.

But knock it into Sport and set the diff to Track, and you’ll find the rear wheels working harder out of corners as the Yaris sends torque backwards to avoid the front wheels spinning.

The Yaris’ suspension is definitely on the stiffer side of things, but it’s compliant considering the focused nature of the GR, and even sharp bumps you might expect to rattle the car don’t feel harsh.

At the same time, the GR doesn’t feel like it’s dulling any useful feedback from the suspension or steering, the latter being very direct but not too heavy.

It’s altogether very confidence-inspiring, and combined with the fact the GR Yaris is actually very capable, it makes for a rather quick car point-to-point. It means even if you make a small mistake, say coming into a corner on track, you don’t feel as punished on the way out because there’s a mix of power and composure to get you out of it.

Some of the best things about the Yaris though, are the things that speak to your heart a little more than your head. The sound of the exhaust itself but also the turbo flutter when you lift off after boost - even just the way it looks inside and out.

The GR Yaris isn’t the same as its non-GR cousins, and therefore the five-star rating ANCAP gave the Yaris a few years back doesn’t apply here.

Still, Toyota takes safety pretty seriously and the GR comes with the kit to back that up. Six airbags for a start, plus a decent reversing camera, auto emergency braking (AEB), a blind spot monitor, safe-exit assist, anti-skid brakes with brake assist and plenty of traction help.

There’s also a slew of features that fall under the ‘Toyota Safety Sense’ suite including a pre-collision system, intersection collision avoidance in daylight, emergency steering assist, adaptive cruise control, lane trace and steering assist with lane centring, lane departure alert, road sign assist for speed signs and auto high beam.

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.

Toyota’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty covers the GR Yaris, with an extra two-year warranty on the engine and driveline.

Toyota also offers a capped price of $310 on the first six services, though intervals of six months or 10,000km (whichever comes first) mean that capped price will only get you through three years of ownership.