Alicia Loves Her Chery Omoda

Alicia thought the Suzuki Jimny looked cute for her first new car but she came away with the electric Chery Omoda instead because it looked good, was better for the environment, and had an impressive safety rating. Electrify Gold Coast talked to her about the decision and the experience of driving an EV. 

How did you choose?

“I guess I had some encouragement from the family to consider going electric as Mum and Dad have made changes to go electric in other ways because it's better for the environment. So definitely, that's one of the big reasons why I was looking at an EV. I also wanted a car that looked nice and did have the Suzuki Jimny in mind but actually the ultimate decision making point was that the Jimny only had a three star safety rating, according to the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). “

“And then I came across the Chery, a compact SUV which looked really nice, is electric, and has a five star ANCAP safety rating. I feel like no car should have less than five stars in Australia anyway.”

Alicia said the Chery’s size and price also suited her perfectly.  

“I didn't want a big car but I also didn't want a tiny hatchback like a Nissan Leaf if I was going electric. And it was quite an affordable option. There are a lot of brands that have electric models but some of them are $60,000-80,000 and that's just not affordable for me. So I was just looking at the lower end, but also for something that felt like a little bit of luxury. I thought the Chery was a good fit.”

Alicia was able to find an ex-demo model on carsales.com.au which was $10,000 cheaper than the retail value for the same car straight off the showroom floor. 

What do you love about your EV?

“I like how modern it is. It's got all of these new features that I've never experienced in other cars. It has driver assistance which is one of the features that give it the safety rating. For example, if you drift beyond a solid line, it will actually direct you back into the middle of the lane.

“It's easy to drive and it's quiet. I've always driven older cars, so this feels really special. It's got a lot of cool features. It's got wireless Apple CarPlay so my phone just connects through it automatically. It's got a reversing camera that I've never had before. It's got sensors when you're parking so that you don't accidentally hit things.

“It’s great in so many ways. I do like the smarts about it, but I think I like having the EV specifically, because it feels like it's the right step forward.”

Have there been any hassles? 

“I think day to day it's pretty easy if you're just driving around town. The challenge with the EV is definitely planning your travels a little bit more. You can't just fill up in 10 minutes at the petrol station. You actually need to really budget time for filling up if you're going to be doing a bigger drive. Certainly the times that I have to drive up to Brisbane, I've got to plan for it the night before or a day before, and make sure that I've got at 80% - 100% charge. Especially if it's a work day, you don't want to be spending your time sitting at a charging station.”

Alicia said there can be a wait when you go out to charge as there aren't many charging spots available in some areas, or they're full, or they’re down for servicing. 

“I don't have a charger at home so I have to use the public ones and am at the mercy of their availability. Originally I was looking at putting in a home charger but this does require about $1,200 and a licensed electrician to install it….but the landlord wasn’t supportive. From his point of view, he didn't want a charging EV to be a fire risk in his building.”*

“I think there's room for debate here about whether or not insurance premiums go up, and what the rules and the liability are….some people are really concerned about that.”

*Fact check: Energy.gov.au confirms that fires occur less frequently with EVs than petrol and diesel vehicles [link here].

Any other surprises?

“I do think that it feels like you're in a new community to some extent. Certainly, whenever I'm charging at a public charger and there's someone else there with their electric car, you'll strike up a conversation and they give you little tips and tricks, whereas you would never speak to someone at a fuel pump,” she said.

“For example, a Polestar driver was telling me about his experiences and how if there's two cars charging, it drops the speed of charging. Another time I was charging, and there was an older couple that had pulled up beside me, and they were waiting for my charger. They usually charge at home so this was new for them and they were asking me how the app works.”

Final thoughts”

At the end of the day, it is still a car and it still drives the same. It doesn’t have the range you get with a petrol or a diesel car and it requires a little bit more planning to make sure that you can get the distance you want. I think that just becomes part of owning one of these cars.”

Alicia uses the Evie and Plugshare charging apps.