Launched in Malaysia in December 2024 following its preview in September that year, the Omoda C9 by Jaecoo is one of the most disruptive Chinese cars to enter the Malaysian market, priced from RM168,800 with a generous equipment specification.
By the numbers, the Omoda C9 by Jaecoo – as it is sold by Jaecoo Malaysia – measures 4,775 mm long, 1,920 mm wide, 1,671 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,800 mm and packs a luggage capacity of 660 litres with its rear seats in place and 1,783 litres with the seats folded.
This places the C9 in the price ballpark of the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro and the Honda CR-V, while gunning for the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLC, and the Toyota Harrier. The Omoda C9 undercuts the latter two on price by a long way; two variants of the C9 are on offer in Malaysia; the 2WD at RM168,800, and the AWD at RM188,800; prices for both are on-the-road without insurance.
That outlay brings a powertrain comprised of a 2.0 litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder petrol engine, producing 261 PS and 400 Nm of torque, sent to the driven wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. The C9 2WD gets three drive modes, while the C9 AWD gains a further four modes with emphasis on off-road driving.
It’s a generous kit list in the Omoda C9, and both 2WD and AWD variants get a Level 2.5 ADAS suite that packs adaptive cruise control, integrated cruise assist, traffic jam assist, AEB, blind spot detection, front collision warning, rear cross traffic alert, rear collision warning, emergency lane keeping, lane change assistant, lane departure prevention, active speed limiter, and front departure alert.
Also on are door opening warning, automatic headlamps, and driver monitoring with driver fatigue warning. Active safety features include ABS, ESP, brake assist, EBD, traction control, hill hold, hill start assist, hill descent control, multi-collision brake, tyre pressure monitoring and speed limit reminder. On the passive safety front, the C9 gets eight airbags.
That said, the Omoda C9 isn’t perfect. Our man, Hafriz Shah goes through what’s good, and what’s bad about the locally assembled (CKD) SUV; watch the review video here.
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