Omoda C9 PHEV: The family SUV that embarrasses sports cars
The performance figures are stellar. A combined 590 HP and 915 Nm of torque simply means, you squeeze the accelerator, and the horizon simply begins arriving surprisingly sooner than expected
There was a time when embarrassing a sports car required an Italian badge up front or German engineering under the hood. Or at the very least, a V8 that vacuumed fuel like a black hole. Those days are officially over.
Now all you apparently need is an SUV with ventilated seats, Nappa leather finishing, a panoramic roof and enough screens to rival NASA's mission control. That being said, it launches like it's late for a Nürburgring lap.
Enter, the Omoda C9 PHEV. The Chinese brand that arrived quietly, introduced itself politely, and has now turned up at the traffic lights with enough torque to scare expensive German machinery questioning its 0-60 times. The absurd part is, the C9 isn't pretending to be a sports SUV. It isn't clad with fake carbon fibre with a tightly wound suspension. It's a plug-in hybrid family crossover whose sole mission is to cocoon its occupants from Dhaka traffic in luxury.
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Most of its switch gear is taken directly from luxury Mercedes offerings (the window and light switches are probably from the same supplier as Mercedes'). The large panoramic roof when open makes the interior feel roomier than it is. The 19-speaker system from Sony does its job decently.
The center console screams AMG GTS while the suede/alcantara like headliner puts GLS interior plastics to shame. The addition of a super fast wireless charging pad is always welcome.
The owner, Samiul took it upon himself to bring some OEM+ flair to his C9, such as wrapping the roof black for an aesthetically pleasing roofline. The shiny interior bits, such as the entire capacitive panel on the steering, are wrapped in satin PPF to prevent scratches.
With its turbocharged petrol engine working alongside electric motors, the combined output delivers instant torque in the way only electrification can. There's no waiting for boost, no dramatic downshift, no theatre, which for many enthusiasts, is a massive downside with EVs. But bias aside, the performance figures are stellar. A combined 590 HP and 915 Nm of torque simply means, you squeeze the accelerator, and the horizon simply begins arriving surprisingly sooner than expected.
The quoted 0-100 km/h sprint lands in territory that not long ago belonged exclusively to proper performance machines. That's enough to leave plenty of so-called sports cars staring at a rapidly shrinking Porsche Macan like light bar while the driver wonders whether they've accidentally selected Eco mode, which is downright hilarious.
One moment you're wafting along Gulshan avenue in near silence, cocooned inside an interior filled with quilted leather, ambient lighting and enough driver assistance systems to qualify as a co-pilot. The next, you're launching away in 300 feet with enough G force to rearrange your passenger's hairstyle.
It's the automotive equivalent of finding out your professor secretly competes in mixed martial arts.
Of course, outright speed has never been the measure for being a sports car. A lightweight coupe still communicates through the steering wheel. It dances through corners, talks to you via the chassis and makes every roundabout feel like an invitation. The Omoda, for all its astonishing straight line pace, remains a comfortable, high-riding SUV designed primarily to make daily life easier. It also masks its massive weight well. Body roll is nicely balanced.
One ergonomic quirk remains: the steering wheel sits slightly offset toward the centre console, much like old Italian exotics such as the Countach and Murciélago. The MBUX-inspired digital speedometer also hides awkwardly in the lower corner, although the head-up display largely compensates.
The C9 PHEV represents this new era perfectly. It doesn't roar. It doesn't shout. Its Cadillac-esque front fascia simply appears in your mirrors, silently edges through the traffic ahead and disappears before you've finished explaining why your sports car has a better steering rack. But steering feel doesn't win Dhaka traffic grand prix.
For buyers in markets where fuel economy and savings matter as much as performance, the PHEV formula makes even more sense. You get meaningful electric range, lower fuel consumption on longer journeys, and enough combined power to embarrass machinery wearing considerably more prestigious badges worth thrice as much. That's an impressive balancing act if you ask me.
The Omoda C9 PHEV isn't trying to rewrite the sports car rulebook. It has simply wandered into the segment by accident, armed with electric torque and a deeply disrespectful 0-100 km/h time. And somewhere, an aging sports coupe owner has just been overtaken by a family SUV in complete silence.
Being a relatively new marque in Bangladesh does expose weaknesses. Following a minor scrape, the owner had to guess the correct pearl white paint match, while replacement parts, from an NFC key to the fragrance cartridge, can take over 45 days to arrive. The reflective screens and ambient lighting can also be distracting at night, although that comes down to personal taste.
Dealer frustrations aside, the idea of quietly humiliating machinery costing three times as much makes the C9 PHEV an easy recommendation at under Tk69 lakh.
Special thanks to Samiul Hassan Mahin for letting us thrash his C9 PHEV in the name of delivering consumer advice to our esteemed readers.
