Omoda’s C7 SUV has landed and will follow you home for (at least) R540,000

Negotiating with a car salesman is a bit like chess. Avoid traps (those ‘optional’ extras), strengthen your position (be prepared to walk away), and, hopefully, knock a few bucks off that tag price. Omoda might offer you less leverage, since you’d be buying its new C7 SUV brand new, but it can’t hurt to try, can it? Salesmen are human, after all.

The Chinese brand has launched three trim levels of its C7 SUV in South Africa, which will be in showrooms from today. These are priced between R540,000 (provided you pay cash) and R690,000 (ditto), depending on which option takes your fancy.

Wallet to C7

Two versions of the mid-range C7 feature turbocharged 1.6-litre engines, capable of 145kW of output and 290Nm of torque. These are set apart by their trim, with the 1.6 TGDI Luxury (R540,000) being the base model. The R590,000 1.6 TGDI Elegance is the step up, nabbing drivers more advanced in-cabin features. These include smarter driver seat controls, separate climate controls for the front passenger and driver, additional airbags (for the driver’s knees and a central airbag), as well as extra driving assists.

The Elegance features rear and cross-traffic collision warnings, cross-traffic collision avoidance, lane-change assist, and blind-spot warnings. Speed limit and lane-keeping functions are also present in the pricier model. Okay, fine, more speakers and an Omoda sound system, also found in the more expensive C7 SHS, are also part of the package.

Step up to the R690,000 Omoda C7 SHS and you’ll have yourself a plug-in hybrid. The fossil fuel power plant is a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, with what Omoda calls a Dedicated Hybrid Transmission. Going fully-electric will see the 18.4kW battery giving you 105km without a sound, while using it as a hybrid drops fuel consumption from 7.5l/100km in the Luxury and Elegance models to 5l/100km. It should help to stretch that petrol budget just a little further than usual.

Omoda’s C7 SUV can be viewed at the company’s website or at one of its (currently) 48 dealerships from today.