Meet the latest contender from the Far East vying for your attention, the Omoda C5 1.5 230T Lux X. This compact crossover from the Chery stable (Omoda is its ‘premium-brand’ offshoot) arrives in South Africa with bold styling and a price tag of just R425 900. After spending a week with the top-specification Omoda C5 1.5 230T Lux X, we can report it’s a car that exemplifies both the promise and growing pains of Chinese carmakers.
Let’s start with what Omoda has got absolutely right. The C5’s exterior design is certainly eye catching, if a tad overwrought. Where many mainstream crossovers blur into anonymity, this demands your attention with its dramatically sculpted flanks and angular grille. It’s unashamedly Far Eastern, with proportions the work surprisingly well and bely its relatively compact dimensions.
2025 OMODA C5 1.5 230T LUX X
Step inside and the good vibes continues. The cabin is dominated by twin screens, with a digital driver cluster and matching central touchscreen. The materials, while not quite up to European standards, are leagues ahead of what Chery was putting out just five years ago. There are soft touches where it matters, convincing stitching on the dash and seats, and an overall sense that someone actually cared about the details.
The Omoda C5 1.5 230T Lux X’s sunroof floods the cabin with light, while the ambient lighting can jam to whatever song you’re playing on the stereo. Moreover, there’s wireless phone charging, a premium sound system, cruise control, 360-degree camera and climate control. This is the kind of comprehensive specification you’d expect from a car costing north of R500k, not below it.
LACKING AUTHENTICITY
Under the bonnet, all non-GT C5 models share the same 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine. As such, the unit produces a respectable 115 kW and 230 Nm of torque. Perhaps inauthentically, it’s this second figure where the Omoda C5 1.5 230T Lux X draws its name from. As such, the C5 feels adequately brisk. However, the X series tested here pairs its ICE with a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. And this is where we need to have an honest conversation about where it falls short.
Traditionally, the dual-clutch gearbox is the purveyor of seamless shifts and snappy, efficient performance. However, somehow in the Omoda C5 1.5 230T Lux X it proves to be its Achilles heel. In stop-start traffic and at parking-lot speeds it’s frankly awful. Genuinely, if you have a lot of slow-moving traffic on your commute, you should avoid this car. The transmission lurches and judders as it tries to decide which clutch to engage, making smooth progress highly frustrating. And it does rather take the shine off all the lovely cabin elements surrounding you.
BETTER AT SPEED
However, once you’re up to speed on the open road, things improve markedly. The transmission settles down and the engine pulls cleanly – if a little peaky on the turbo – through the rev range. Sadly, it’s the steering that presents another issue. Even in its heaviest Sport setting, there’s a noticeable lack of accuracy. A distinctly vague relationship between when you turn the wheel and when the car actually reacts. It’s not in any way dangerous, but it does require constant attention particularly, once again, at slow speeds.
Meanwhile, the ride quality of the Omoda C5 1.5 230T Lux X sits somewhere in the middle ground. The suspension does a decent job of absorbing South Africa’s, at times, pockmarked roads. However, it can get quite unsettled over hard, jolting road joins/bumps. There’s also more road roar than you might like at higher speeds. But it’s perfectly acceptable for its sub-R500k price point. Although it’s not going to trouble any European rivals for refinement.
2025 OMODA C5 1.5 230T LUX X VERDICT
However, here’s the thing about the Omoda C5 1.5 230T Lux X, despite these compromises, it still represents tremendous value. For less than half a million rand, you’re getting head-turning looks and an impressive standard equipment list. And if your driving is predominantly highway based, you’ll barely notice the vague steering and on-again, off-again dual clutch gearbox. But here’s the rub …
BYD has proven recently that Chinese manufacturers can deliver more. They’re no longer just peddling a bunch of tech for cheap but rather genuine refinement, drivability and desirability. It’s fair to say that second- or third-generation vehicles from the Far East are arriving on South African shores with more engineering and quality behind them. And this will only raise the standard for everybody else.
THE FIGURES: 2025 OMODA C5 1.5 230T LUX X
- Engine: 1.5-litre turbo petrol
- Transmission: 6-speed dual-clutch auto
- Power: 115 kW
- Torque: 230 Nm
- Tyres: Apollo 215/55 R18
- Consumption: 9.5 l/100 km (tested) / 6.8 l/100 km (claimed/combined)
- Price: R425 900
