OMODA 5: 185hp and 1.6L turbo engine for around €22,000

The 185hp Chinese SUV arriving for around €22,000 and tightening the squeeze on Europe

How much must a European car be discounted to compete with a gasoline SUV announcing 185hp for around €22,000? This is the question the OMODA 5 has placed on the table of the Spanish market, and the answer circulating among buyers does not reassure the usual brands. We are talking about a combustion SUV, a 1.6L engine with a turbo and timing chain, positioned below the €25,000 threshold that until recently seemed like secured territory for traditional manufacturers.

What the OMODA 5 offers for around €22,000

The car is no design masterpiece — all modern SUVs look too similar, with the exception of the Tucson and others — but the technical sheet is what it is: 1.6 liters, turbo, and 185hp with digital screens. Its declared weak points: a 380-liter trunk, small for the segment, and a homologated consumption of 7.5 liters in the mixed cycle, with the urban figure unpublished. None of this is revolutionary. The price, however, is.

Why the 1.6L turbo engine worries Stellantis

There is a detail that repeats itself in any workshop conversation: a four-cylinder engine with a turbo delivering 185hp is a conservative and proven solution. It does not require exotic architectures. And that is the problem, because European brands have been replacing these blocks with smaller three-cylinder engines, tighter and with more fine print. The argument going around is that an engine like this, with a timing chain, exposes the belt-driven oil-bathed engines and AdBlue tanks. It is worth remembering that, according to a calculation circulating in the thread, Chery manufactures 1,800,000 engines per year: it is not a newcomer improvising in a garage.

From the Astra costing 2.5 million pesetas to the Škoda Scala at €30,000

To understand why a Chinese car is entering through the back door, one must look at the sector's inflation. As one participant recalls, an Astra 1.6 16v with air conditioning and two airbags cost 2.5 million pesetas. Until the mid-past decade, a reasonable compact moved between €15,000 and €18,000. Then came the jump: over €10,000 in a single blow, and models with a C label and 115 to 150hp engines hovering around €30,000, like the Scala. The average driver's memory remembers what a car cost and does not reconcile that with what it costs today. That is where the Chinese SUV fits in.

Tariffs, subsidies, and the Chinese advantage

The establishment's reaction is predictable: tariffs. The parallel with the United States repeats itself — when industry does not compete, there is protectionism. The matter has edges. Brussels pushed electrification with a rule and calendar; some argue that China subsidizes its companies heavily; and European factories and suppliers have been left behind. While some fight over the electric car, Chinese manufacturers are taking over the combustion market and building factories within the EU to bypass any tariffs imposed on them.

Reliability, spare parts, and the untested warranty

The Achilles' heel is not the price: it is the aftermath. A long warranty is of little use if the workshop takes months to bring a part or if the service does not cover it. There are uncomfortable precedents. MG, which now sells more than several European brands, still generates doubts: one driver recounted that a new MG from the dealership emitted a smell of unburned fuel that pulled backwards. And before that, there were brands that sold a lot and disappeared from the map, like Daewoo. Whoever pays €22,000 for a new car has no margin for error; whoever buys it used for half price is playing with a cushion.

How a Chinese car is judged: with the wallet or with prejudice

History repeats itself with every industrial wave. Japan started by copying and ended up eating the market. Korea did the same. The question is not whether China will do it, but when. Even among the most critical, there is a nuance: in combustion, Chinese cars are not overflowing, they consume more, and they carry a development delay. The clear advantage lies in the electric sector, where some place the Xiaomi SU7 or the BYD Seal already competing by design, software, and finishes with the European high-end range. In gasoline, the OMODA 5 appeals to something else: price and specs, not pedigree.

In the end, the OMODA 5 costs what it costs. And that, precisely, is what it costs the others.