What is it?
Jaecoo is one of several Chinese brands that have recently landed in the UK. It’s the sister brand of Omoda and both of these firms lie underneath the wider Chery group, which is one of the largest Chinese vehicle manufacturers around. Internationally Jaecoo has been producing this car – the J7 – for a few years, but 2024 marks this SUV’s arrival on our shores.
As we’ve seen with other new Chinese brands, Jaecoo has introduced the J7 with some eye-catching technology and a value-orientated approach which it hopes will put it in good stead alongside accepted rivals such as the Nissan Qashqai and Volkswagen Tiguan. We’ve been behind the wheel to see what it’s like.
What’s new?
If you’re wondering where you’d actually buy a Jaecoo from, fear not – the brand has already set up a network made up of over 70 established dealer partners so there are plenty of access points to the firm’s products. It’s a similar process that we’ve seen put to good use by companies such as BYD, too.
Prices start at £29,435, rising to the £35,065 plug-in hybrid model that we’re driving here. All come loaded with equipment, too, with features such as heated front seats and interior quiet-boosting laminated glass all equipped as standard, regardless of model.
What’s under the bonnet?
We’re testing the more expensive plug-in hybrid variant, which blends a 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor and battery. Combined, this setup helps to deliver 201bhp and a 0-60mph time of 8.2 seconds but, more importantly, a claimed consumption figure of 403mpg. We’d be taking that with a large pinch of salt – as with all plug-in hybrids – and during our daily driving, we saw around 50mpg combined. However, the claimed electric-only range of 56 miles is impressive for this area of the market.
The plug-in hybrid model is front-wheel-drive-only, too, so you’ll need to opt for that 1.6-litre petrol if you’re after better poor-weather traction. It runs through a single-speed gearbox, contrasting the seven-speed dual-clutch setup that you’ll get on ‘standard’ petrol version.
What’s it like to drive?
Things start off well in the J7. You’ve got a nicely elevated view of the road ahead and the electric-only range allows you to whisk about in pleasant silence. The square proportions of the car make it easy to park, too, though the column-mounted gear selector can be a bit slow-witted at times – you need to ‘properly’ select it with a decent push in order to get the gear you want.
Ask for more acceleration and the 1.5-litre engine roars into life – this is a car which is far better suited to low-speed driving and unhurried performance. However, what lets the side down is the steering – light, lifeless and lacking any real feeling of connection between the driver and the front wheels, it leads the J7 to feel vague around bends. The suspension also seems to struggle to maintain its composure; high-speed bumps cause the car to wobble about, yet at slower speeds, the J7 searches out imperfections that you didn’t think were there. On a basic level, this makes the J7 tricky to drive smoothly and will no doubt contribute to quite a bit of car sickness from those sitting in the back.
How does it look?
The J7 definitely makes an impression design-wise. The big, upfront grille strikes a commanding presence and there are plenty of shiny accents dotted here and there. There’s quite a ‘traditional SUV’ look to the Jaecoo and that’s not a bad thing – certainly against some of its more rounded contemporaries the J7 has a nicely chunky appearance that helps to differentiate it.
You’ve got five exterior colours to choose between ranging from Amazonite Black to Greenstone, while the ‘flush’ door handles which pop out to meet you as you approach the car help to preserve the J7’s long side panels. It’s a good-looking car overall – to our eyes, at least.
What’s it like inside?
There’s space for five inside the Jaecoo J7 and thanks to the car’s boxy dimensions, there’s more than enough headroom and legroom for everyone aboard. Those entering the back of the car can do so easily courtesy of doors which open widely and, once inside, there are charging ports aplenty to help charge up devices. You’ve got a nice flat floor, too.
Up front, the J7 does the job practicality-wise. The two large cupholders are ideally placed and, because the gear selector is on the steering column, your bottles or cups don’t get in the way of a gear change. In terms of boot space, the PHEV offers 412 litres, which is some way off the 500 litres you’ll get in standard petrol versions. Opt for those if you’re after the best possible practicality.
What’s the spec like?
There’s a lot of ‘wow factor’ to the J7’s on-board tech, centred around a super-large central touchscreen. Here, you get all your key media and navigation functions, as well as both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Both of these smartphone mirroring apps span the full area of the screen when selected and that’s something of a pain because doing something as simple as changing the interior temperature takes too many steps, and is dangerous to do when you’re on the move. There are simply too many functions included in it without any physical buttons – it’s great having heated seats included as standard, but it’s a challenge to even find the right screen to switch them on.
Luckily, the screen to switch many of the assistance systems is easy enough to locate. You need to do this each time you restart the car – as is mandated by law – but you need to do it, as many of them are quite distracting. Bizarrely enough, the driver awareness monitor is hyper-sensitive and will activate whenever you look away – which you need to, in order to perform simple tasks like adjusting the car’s temperature, something which wouldn’t be the case if there was a rotary knob or dial instead. Petrol version do, in fairness, get physical controls for many aspects, so why have they been removed from the PHEV?
Verdict
There are plenty of positives to take from the Jaecoo 7. It’s well equipped, efficient and very spacious inside while its boxy looks help it to stand out from the crowd. There’s an impressive seven-year warranty, too, and for the money the 7 gets a great level of standard equipment. The standard petrol makes the most sense price-wise, mind you.
But it feels – in this plug-in hybrid variant, at least – that technology is being used to disguise some sub-standard driving dynamics. Coupled with some rather odd ergonomics and an interior setup which favours screentime too much, the J7 ends up feeling off the pace of the wider segment.
- Model as tested: Jaecoo 7 SHS Plug-in hybrid
- Price: £35,065
- Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol with plug-in hybrid assistance
- Power: 201bhp
- Torque: 310Nm
- Max speed: 108mph
- 0-60mph: 8.2 seconds
- MPG: 403mpg
- Emissions: NA
- Electric-only range: 56 miles
- Maximum charging speed: 40kW
