Omoda C9 PHEV by Jaecoo previewed in Malaysia – RM220k est; 605 PS; 150 km EV range, 1,100 km hybrid

Joining the Jaecoo J5 at the Omoda | Jaecoo Carnival at Desa Park City from August 21-24 is the Omoda C9 PHEV, essentially a plug-in hybrid version of the D-segment SUV that was launched here in December last year.

While it may look practically identical to its internal combustion-engined sibling, the keen-eyed among you will notice the very few design cues to set it apart. At the front, the lower portion of the bumper has a small “break” in the middle that isn’t present on the ICE model, while the left side gains an additional door for the charging ports. Look at the back and you’ll spot the stylised ‘PHEV’ badge, while the ‘C9’ emblem is in blue.

It’s much the same story on the inside, as the C9 PHEV’s dashboard appears as a carbon copy of the ICE model. Again, there are some minor differences if you look closely, including a revision of the drive mode dial to put the powertrain in either hybrid or pure electric mode. There’s also no engine start button on the dash, with the car starting up when it detects someone with the key fob in the driver’s seat.

Of course, the main draw of the C9 PHEV is its powertrain, which delivers a total system output of 605 PS (597 hp or 445 kW) and 915 Nm of torque. These are mighty figures when compared to the non-PHEV model that gets 261 PS (257 hp or 192 kW) and 400 Nm from its 2.0 litre turbocharged inline-four petrol engine.

To make all that grunt, the C9 PHEV uses an upgraded version of the J7 PHEV’s Super Hybrid System (SHS). This is based around a 1.5 litre turbocharged inline-four petrol engine making 143 PS and 215 Nm of torque. However, where the J7 PHEV is front-wheel drive only, the C9 PHEV offers electric all-wheel drive thanks to a rear electric motor rated at 283 PS and 310 Nm.

The system also includes two electric motors at the front providing 102 PS/170 Nm and 122 PS/220 Nm respectively, along with a three-speed dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT) in place of the J7 PHEV’s single-speed unit. In a sprint, the C9 PHEV needs just 4.9 seconds to get from 0-100 km/h.

Power for the electric motors is provided by a 34.46-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, which will provide up to 150 km of range when running on pure electricity following the WLTP standard. In hybrid mode, you’re looking at a total driving range of around 1,100 km.

Is 1,100 km possible? Well, our man Jonathan Lee participated in the Omoda | Jaecoo Long Range Safari Drive earlier this year and clocked an effective range of 1,190 km (939 km driven, plus 251 km of range remaining) on one full tank of petrol and a single battery charge.

In terms of charging, the C9 PHEV supports up to 70 kW of DC fast charging, topping up the battery from 30 to 80% in 25 minutes. It will also accept AC charging up to 6.6 kW, taking five and a half hours to charge from 30 to 100%.

Much like the regular C9, the PHEV version gets MacPherson struts in front and a multi-link setup at the rear, supplemented by Continuous Damping Control (CDC) adaptive suspension, which is only standard on the AWD variant of the ICE model.

A full spec sheet isn’t available yet because this is merely a preview, but expect the C9 PHEV to come with the same kit as the ICE model, especially when considering the price. The estimated figure we’re given now is RM220,000, which is RM31,200 more expensive than the C9 ICE in AWD guise at RM188,800 – the base 2WD is RM168,800. Is it worth the premium?