2026 Omoda 7 review | A petrol family SUV that's big on value

What is the Omoda 7?

Omoda tells us its brand recognition in the UK has shot up in the last few months, so perhaps you've already heard of it. If not, let us help you: Omoda one of the phalanx of Chinese SUV brands that have landed on UK shores in the last couple of years, offering models with petrol, plug-in hybrid and electric powertrains at bargain prices.

But Omoda doesn’t want to be seen as a budget marque. It contends, rather, that cars like this new Omoda 7 offer a luxury feel for a bargain price. The 7 comes with petrol and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) engines, and slots into the range between the 5 and 9 SUVs. It’s closer in size to the latter than to the former: think larger than a Kia Sportage or a Volkswagen Tiguan, and about the same length as a Citroën C5 Aircross.

But the ace up the 7’s sleeve is that it costs less than any of those cars, so it’ll appeal to buyers who really want to get a lot of car for their money, and don’t care too much about where that car comes from.

How practical is it?

Petrol models come with a fairly whopping boot capacity of 639 litres. In the plug-in hybrid versions, that capacity is impinged upon slightly by the big battery, but at 590 litres, the boot is still vast: and, it’s worth noting, larger than that you’ll find in the Kia Sportage PHEV. Mind you, it’s not the biggest in the class: that honour falls to the Citroën C5 Aircross, which bests it in both petrol and plug-in hybrid forms.

Up front, there’s been an uplift in the quality of the materials used compared to some of the other Chinese SUVs we’ve been in recently, including the Omoda 5, most notably.

The synthetic leather is more convincing, for example, while the addition of swatches of man-made suede lend the whole thing a more upmarket feel. It’s still not quite up there with a mainstream European, Japanese or Korean marque, but the gap isn’t as wide as you might imagine.

Space is pretty good for those in the front, too: there’s lots of headroom, for example, and legroom isn’t exactly in short supply. If there’s a fly in the ointment, it’s that the footwells are quite narrow, and where the flying centre console spreads out as it meets the dashboard, it impinges on the space in which the driver’s knee would usually rest.

In the back, there’s actually even more space than you get in the front, with simply acres of leg room on offer. Equally impressive is that the level of quality seen up front is maintained in the back: rear-seat passengers don’t have to make do with cheap and not-so-cheerful plastics.

What's it like to drive?

The basic petrol engine is a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo, which produces 145bhp. It’s capable of powering the Omoda 7 to 62mph from rest in 10.4 seconds, and comes as standard with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

We haven’t driven this version of the 7 yet, and we’ll let you know what it’s like just as soon as we do. The plug-in hybrid model, badged SHS, is considerably more potent, with a maximum of 201bhp on tap from its combination of petrol and electric power, and can send the 7 to 62mph in a not-unreasonable 8.4 seconds.

Out on the road, it feels quicker than that. In fact we’d go as far as to say this powertrain is the best bit of the car we drove. What’s clever about it is that the petrol engine spends most of its time acting as a generator, adding charge to the battery, which then powers the electric motor. Only during higher-speed cruising does the engine drive the wheels directly.

Charge the 7 SHS’s 18.3kWh battery up, and it’ll achieve 56 miles of electric-only range (well, officially at least: expect more like 40-45 in the real world, which is still more than enough for most commutes). But when the battery runs down, it can charge it back up again using the petrol engine, and it’s worth noting that it does this particularly effectively, far more so than most PHEVs.

Because it’s usually only the electric motor powering the wheels directly, the Omoda 7 accelerates like an electric car, which is to say seamlessly. It feels muscular and responsive no matter how fast you’re going, and you don’t notice any gearchanges as the speed rises. The engine revs remain constant, and at a low level, so that they’re only rarely anything more than a distant background hum.

Even when you thrash the Omoda 7, the motor simply extracts what it needs from the battery, and the engine charges it back up later on, so the revs don’t flare in an attempt to keep up. The only time you do get an increase in engine noise is when you ask for full-bore acceleration when the battery is already flat.

The rest of the car isn’t quite so impressive. But then, neither is it awful. The way the 7 rides bumps, for example; it’s on the firm side, and it can cross the line into harshness if the road surface is particularly churned up. Most of the time it’s fine, but really hefty potholes will send a nasty shudder through the car.

The steering, meanwhile, is far better than we’ve found in Omoda’s other two models. It’s more progressive, even if there still isn’t much feel, and because the rate at which it turns is less inconsistent, it’s easier to pick your line through a bend.

Does that mean the 7 is fun to drive? Hmm. We wouldn’t go that far, but it feels far happier to be hustled along a back road at a spirited pace than any other Omoda. There’s a decent amount of grip and traction, and the car reacts in the way you’d expect it to, which generates confidence. You might even find traces of a smile creeping across your face.

The only slight downside is that you can feel quite a lot of weight transfer from side to side in rapid direction changes. This might be because the wheels are mounted quite far inboard, which means the car won’t feel as stable laterally. Indeed, we did wonder if that explains the slightly stiff suspension: a decision Omoda's engineers may have felt forced to take to prevent the car from leaning over too much given its narrow stance.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

Most Chinese cars’ interiors place a huge emphasis on their touchscreens, and the Omoda 7’s is no different. Climb aboard, and you’re met with a vast central display, along with a smaller version directly in front of the driver.

All but a handful of the car’s functions are controlled through this big main screen. The trouble is, because it has to deal with so much, its menu structure has to be quite labyrinthine, and that can mean it takes quite a few presses, swipes and prods to get to the function you’re looking for.

It’s not as bad as some Chinese rivals, in that you do get separate, physical buttons to turn on the lights (some models require you to use the touchscreen to do even this).

It’s better, too, than the smaller Omoda 5, in which the always-on climate control ‘taskbar’ along the bottom of the screen disappears when you use Apple Carplay or Android Auto.

This doesn’t happen in the 7, which is a blessed relief, as it means you always have access to a quick and easy way to change the temperature, along with several other major climate functions. Still, a separate climate panel with some physical dials like those you get in the Omoda 9 would be rather less distracting.

Omoda has clearly done some work on its automated driver assistance systems (ADAS) since we last drove one of its cars, too. The driver monitoring system is far less intrusive in the 7 than in its older models, and the same can be said for the lane departure warning system.

The speed limit detection system is still a bit of a pain, but on the plus side, all three of these systems can be linked to shortcuts in a quick-access menu you can swipe down on the main screen to see, making them relatively easy to turn off each time you jump into the car.

Omoda is renowned for offering lots of equipment in its cars, and the 7 is no different. There are two versions to choose from; the entry-level Knight can be had with both engine options, whereas the top-spec Noble is only available with the plug-in-hybrid powertrain.

Both models get 19-inch wheels, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, wireless mobile phone mirroring, and a memory function for the electrically adjustable driver’s seat.

To this, the Noble adds an electric panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting, heated- and ventilated front seats, and a 12-speaker Sony audio system. It also gets lumbar adjustment for the driver’s seat: keep in mind if you need a bit more lower back support that the Knight doesn’t have this.

One more point we feel it worth making is that we noted several quality niggles with the Omoda 7 we drove while out on the road. A couple of trim rattles behind us meant the 7 didn’t feel quite as well put together as its interior finish suggested. We also noticed that the windscreen wipers didn’t reach quite to the edge of the screen, leaving a smeary, unwiped and unwashed area next to the door pillar that would impinge on visibility when it’s dirty, or when the weather was wet.

These niggles are far from deal-breakers, but they’re the sorts of things that would annoy you day-to-day, and they show that the 7 lacks the final degree of polish you'd get with its pricier rivals.

Omoda 7 running costs

Barely believably, you’ll pay less than £30,000 for the entry-level version of the Omoda 7. That’s an incredibly low price for such a lot of car, and while it does mean you have to live with the pure petrol engine and the lower specification, it still feels like a bit of a bargain.

Mind you, there is still a question mark over the petrol model’s fuel consumption. Its official figures haven’t yet been released, but in the smaller Omoda 5, this engine manages a parlous 31.1mpg on the official WLTP combined cycle.

Given the Omoda 7 is bigger and heavier, it’s not unreasonable to expect it to fall below even this low benchmark. In other words, don’t expect to see more than around 25mpg in day-to-day driving.

The SHS should be much more efficient, though we can’t say exactly by how much, because it does depend largely on how much charge is in the battery and the type of driving being carried out.

Omoda claims a total range of 745 miles is achievable, and given the fuel tank can take 61 litres, that suggests real-world fuel economy figures of over 55mpg are possible on a charge and a tank.

That’s decent enough, but you’ll have to keep the battery topped up to achieve it; if you can’t plug the car in regularly, you’ll get far fewer miles to the gallon, at which point a more basic self-charging hybrid alternative might be a better bet.

Having said that, if you can plug in regularly enough to carry out most of your driving on electric power alone, saving the petrol engine for longer jaunts, you’ll find the SHS is pretty cost-effective to run. That’s an option you don’t get in a self-charging hybrid.

And because the SHS doesn’t actually cost all that much more to step up to from the petrol model, it actually undercuts several of its non-plug-in-hybrid rivals, too.

Whichever Omoda 7 you buy, you won’t have to worry too much about the cost of taxing it. All 7s come in at the same basic flat tax rate, with the low list prices meaning there’s no chance of troubling the higher-rate tax band.

Service intervals are every year or 10,000 miles on both engines, which is a little more frequent than some rivals, but far from the end of the world. And the Omoda 7 is fitted with a metal timing chain, which should last the life of the car, rather than a rubber timing belt, which needs changing every few years. That’ll help keep overall maintenance costs down.

Omoda 7 reliability

Because Omoda is so new to the UK, we’ve absolutely no data to suggest how reliable the 7 will be. As soon as we have some idea, we’ll be sure to share it with you.

In the meantime, you might take comfort from the fact the 7 comes with a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty. Just like a Kia, right? Well, don’t be so sure, because when you look at the small print, you’ll find that the warranty cover actually only runs to three years, and just 40,000 miles, for quite a few of the car’s major mechanical parts.

For example, after that period, if you find your air conditioning compressor, fuel pump or oil pump packs in, you might be startled to discover it isn’t covered. The same goes for the starter motor, water pump, alternator, brake calipers, fuel injectors, and even the window regulators, among other things.

These are not insignificant components, either. If your oil pump fails, it could quickly lead to a seized engine and a hefty repair bill.

In Omoda’s defence, it’s better to have some warranty beyond the three-year mark than none at all. But Kia will cover all these items right up to the end of the warranty period, as will most other car makers who offer longer warranties, so despite the headline figures, Omoda’s warranty isn’t really comparable.