• One plug-in hybrid option
• 449hp and four-wheel drive
• Impressively smooth

Hybrid engines

The Omoda 9 is powered by a version of the Super Hybrid System (SHS) also found in the Jaecoo 7. Here it pairs a 1.5-litre petrol engine with dual electric motors and a 34.46kWh battery. That gives the 9 an official EV-only driving range of 93 miles on the WLTP combined cycle, far more than you get from most of the best plug-in hybrid SUVs.

All-wheel drive is standard and gives the 9 a total system output of 449hp, way more than anything else in this class for the money. We can believe the blistering 4.9-second 0-62mph time given the way it piles on speed, although the delivery can be inconsistent.

While much of the time the 9 runs on just its electric motors, allowing the petrol engine to charge the battery if necessary, really hard acceleration has the engine driving the front wheels directly through a three-speed automatic gearbox. You will feel a slight jolt as it shifts followed by lessened acceleration before the engine gets back into its stride. This makes overtaking moderately trickier as you don’t know if the 9 is going to be fast, or really fast.

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The engine remains commendably quiet even when worked hard, and you’d barely know it’s on when it wakes up apart from a tiny tremor through the steering wheel and a quiet hum from up front. Switching between power sources is always smooth too, making this an impressive powertrain.

What’s it like to drive?

• Puts its power down well
• Soft suspension doesn’t always mean comfort
• Lumbers around corners

Despite standard adaptive dampers allowing the suspension to be stiffened up in Sport – one of nine modes available – the 9 never rides or handles particularly well. Leave it in Normal or Eco and there’s a soft, squishy feel at speed that’s quite pleasant on pimple-free Tarmac.

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It’s surface imperfections the 9 doesn’t like, with crumbling roads causing it to fidget and jitter more than a Tayron or Kodiaq even without clever suspension. Sport mode adds to this brittleness but does at least more tightly control pitch and heave.

It won’t make the 9 particularly gifted in the bends, though. You’re very aware of the 9’s sizeable bulk as it leans heavily in bends and feels lazy to turn in. Things are better on the way out of a bend as the power is distributed smartly between the front and rear wheels, driving you neatly out of corners without the front tyres scrabbling away for grip.

Brake feel is better than many plug-ins we’ve tried. You don’t have to push too hard for the 9 to start slowing with conviction which boosts confidence, although it can be a little too sharp at times. You’ll find it easy to place the 9 thanks to precise steering that builds weight naturally but is devoid of any feel.