JAC Hunter 2026 review: PHEV X - Australian first drive | Toyota HiLux rival tested

Price and features – Does it represent good value for the price? What features does it come with?

9 / 10

At $49,988 plus on-road costs, the entry-level Hunter Pro is instantly making waves. Aside from the hardware that makes it an off-roader and a PHEV, the Pro gets nice additions like:

• Leather-accented trim
• Leather steering wheel
• Reading lights
• Multi-function steering wheel
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Six-way powered driver’s seat
• 10.25-inch driver display
• Digital radio
• Wireless connectivity
• 10.4-inch central touchscreen
• Wireless charging
• LED lighting.

There are also neat touches like a tilt and reach adjustable steering column (something that’s by no means a given in dual-cab utes) and a 64-colour ambient lighting system in the cabin.

The version we’ve tested here is the top-shelf variant, the Hunter X. At $54,844 pus on-road costs, it undercuts entry-level versions of the BYD Shark 6 Dynamic ($55,900) and the Cannon Alpha PHEV Lux ($57,490).

On top of the Pro’s standard equipment, the X gains:

• Automatic anti-glare interior mirror
• Power adjustment (four-way) for the passenger’s seat
• Heated front seats
• A second USB-C port (rear)
• A 220-volt accessory socket
• JAC-monogrammed puddle lights.

If that sounds like a lot of kit for the money, it is, and it’s hard to imagine a vehicle with more tech and a broader range of abilities for similar money. Which is exactly what JAC wants you to think, of course.

The sunroof is a $1500 option on either variant, and our test car also came with dealer-fitted Pirelli Scorpion off-road tyres at $1200.

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Design – Is there anything interesting about its design?

8 / 10

That’s nothing terribly subtle about the JAC’s appearance. The big, bold grille and front graphics are sure to remind you of the full-sized US-built pick-ups, and in the hero colour of Ochre, our test car never failed to make an impression.

It’s big, it’s impressive and JAC has made a deliberate effort not to simply churn out another obviously Chinese dual-cab. That said, it doesn’t really break new design ground, either, but that won’t bother too many ute buyers who have already shown their preference for convention over novelty (Kia Tasman, anyone?).

But there’s another side to the Hunter’s design story and that’s a degree of local input from a dedicated engineering team that knows local conditions and how to tame them. Plenty of time went into the suspension and steering tune (mainly through careful damper specification and validation) to make the vehicle work better in tough Aussie conditions. At least two other countries (one being New Zealand) have already picked up `our’ suspension tune for their own markets.

Practicality – How practical is its space and tech inside?

7 / 10

As a dual-cab ute, the JAC seems to work pretty well. The tub is about line ball with its competitors in size terms and will accept a standard pallet between the wheel arches. The tray features a spray-on tub liner which means water can’t get underneath it and start the rusting process, but the edges of the spray pattern are a bit rough and ready where it meets the painted tub sides.

There’s a light for the cargo area and four tie-down points that would be more effective if they were mounted closer to the floor instead of half way up the tub side. And since the JAC has a smaller EV battery than a full electric vehicle, there’s room under the tray floor to mount a full-sized spare tyre.

Payload for the Hunter is 915kg, and despite the hybrid driveline, the JAC can haul the full 3500kg towed (braked) load that has become the industry standard.

The Hunter also features vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality, too, allowing it to power worksite tools and camping gear.

The rear seat is, again, pretty typical of this type of vehicle. There’s good foot room under the front seats, but knee room is a fraction tight and headroom ditto. The seat cushion is also pretty flat and the backrest angle won’t suit bigger folk. But you do get a set of air vents in the rear, reading lights, grab handles and a pair of USB charge points. On the more expensive Hunter X grade we’ve yested here, there’s also a 220-volt power socket in the rear.

The front of the cabin is also home to charge points and grab handles, but from there it falls away a bit in practicality terms. That’s largely due to the way the interior and the vehicle’s functions are centred around the centre info screen with its menu-driven approach. Even re-setting the trip meter is a multi-toggle process and relies on buttons with no clear explanation of their function.

Some of the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are a bit sketchy, too, with lots of bells and flashing lights to warn you (mainly) of your incorrect lane position and a perceived lack of driver attention and concentration. The JAC is not the worst we’ve experienced in this department, but it’s far from good enough.

The other hassle is the actual driving position. Although the Hunter has both tilt and reach adjustment for its steering column, the relatively high floor of the cabin mans you sit flat on your backside with your legs sticking straight out ahead of you. In a sports car, this is fine. In a dual-cab ute… not so much.

The high floor even makes getting in and out of the car more difficult than it should be, as you can’t just step inside. Instead, you need to dive in head first, swivel around and hope the side steps (that are also in the wrong location for a taller person) haven’t plastered mud all over your Hard Yakkas.

Under the bonnet – What are the key stats for its engine and transmission?

7 / 10

Make no mistake, this is a complex vehicle under the skin. The driveline is made up of a 2.0-litre petrol engine with a turbocharger, feeding into an electric motor which drives the front wheels and a second electric motor between the rear wheels. This endows the Hunter with electric – rather than mechanical - four-wheel drive.

The transmission is a four-speed unit, but there’s no sense that there’s anything but a single ratio when driving the vehicle, nor is there any driver involvement in selecting what gear engages when.

The front electric motor acts as the transmission and there’s sufficient grunt on tap that JAC says the Hunter doesn’t need low ratios for off-road work. Traction, meanwhile, is taken care of by front and rear differential locks (optional in the Pro and standard in the X version) and there are five drive models including a rock-crawling function (as well as snow, mud and sand).

The battery pack is a Lithium-iron Phosphate unit with a capacity of 31.2kWh and is liquid cooled for efficiency and stability. The Hunter uses a Type 2 CCS charge plug and can charge on either AC or DC outlets.

The Hunter uses old-school body-on-frame construction and there are four-wheel disc brakes. Suspension is a little different for this type of vehicle with coils springs on an independent front end, but coil springs - rather than the more common leaf springs - supporting the live rear axle.

The Hunter is rated to tow the full 3500kg that has become the industry standard, while payload is a competitive 912kg, against a kerb mass of just over 2.5 tonnes. Which means that if you tow the full 3500kg, you have just 375kg of payload remaining which includes fuel, accessories and even the people on board. This is not unusual for this type of vehicle, but it needs to be pointed out in the interests of preventing dangerous overloading.

Efficiency – What is its fuel consumption? What is its driving range?

8 / 10

The bald numbers on the brochure make some pretty amazing claims but, as usual, the real-world efficiency of the Hunter is less impressive. That said, it’s still a vehicle that’s capable of being charged for free off a solar array and then covering a few days’ worth of suburban running without ever starting its petrol engine.

The official numbers, meanwhile, are 100km of range from a single full charge and a combined fuel economy figure of 1.6 litres per 100km.

The reality? Closer to 80km of EV range and a fuel consumption number of closer to 9.5 litres per 100km, including a fair mix of suburban, freeway and EV-only running.

The Hunter has a 77-litre fuel tank, so the range (despite the brochure’s 1000-plus kilometre claim) is going to be closer to 800km if you start with a fully charged EV battery.

The JAC’s EV battery is a 31.2kWh unit and can be charged via either AC or DC with 11kW of AC charging possible, and 50kW of DC charging. That equates to a DC charge time from 15 to 80 per cent of about 30 minutes, and an AC charge on a wall box at home from 15 to 100 per cent in 3.5 hours.

Driving – What's it like to drive?

7 / 10

The Australian input into the JAC Hunter’s steering and ride can really be felt. While there will always be a ride compromise in any vehicle designed to operate anywhere from empty to having almost a tonne in its tray, in the JAC that compromise has been blurred a little.

What that means in this case is that the vehicle now feels as though the front and rear end are working together, and not out on their first date. The steering, too feels neutral and pretty natural - although there’s not a lot of feel or feedback - with no need to clarify your instructions mid-corner.

Part of the JAC’s demeanour is to also exhibit fairly minimal body roll, which makes for a tidy response and a greater felling of control. The flip side is that, when unladen in particular, that roll stiffness translates into a tendency to lift its inside rear wheel in corners, allowing the tyre to spin and squeal earlier than you’d expect it to. Wet roads demand a little extra care. But the damping overall is actually very good, and there’s minimal road or suspension noise making it into the cabin.

The driveline seems less completely resolved. That starts with some vibration when the petrol engine kicks in and there’s a small degree of noise and hum, made all the more dramatic by the silence of the electrical running gear component.

But the real complaint lies with the throttle calibration. Despite all that alleged performance, the Hunter is a little tardy to get rolling from a green light. After a couple of seconds, the engine and motors seem to get the memo, and all chime in together to get things hauling.

But worse is the Hunter’s tendency in HEV mode to hang on to throttle input for a second or so after you’ve released the throttle pedal. It doesn’t actually continue to accelerate, but it doesn’t begin to slow down immediately either, holding what feels like a percentage of throttle opening, even though you’re already slowing down. To be fair, this is most noticeable during the process of full-bore acceleration and completely stepping off the throttle, but it remains an issue and is probably caused by the petrol engine taking its sweet time to kick in and out.

And then there’s the outright acceleration. Despite claiming 360kW of power and better than 1000Nm of torque, the Hunter never ever feels as though that’s the case. Its acceleration is most convincing when rolling on the power from about 70 to 100km/h when it hustles pretty hard, but below that, there never seems to be the performance such mighty numbers would suggest. It’s also true that you need to meet certain criteria to unleash that full potential, including being in both Sport and HEV modes as well as having lots of charge on board for the full wallop to be unleashed.

Safety – What safety equipment is fitted? What is its safety rating?

8 / 10

The JAC Hunter’s standard safety package is a pretty compelling one. Inclusions even on the entry-level variant include:

• Autonomous emergency braking
• Hill start and descent control
• Stability control
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• Isofix child-restraint mounting points
• Lane-keeping assistance
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Traffic-sign recognition
• Blind-spot monitoring.

The more expensive Hunter X also features front and rear parking sensors (rear only on the Pro) a 360-degree camera (rear only) and a dashcam.

But even better is the fitment of seven airbags to the Hunter in any of its forms. That includes side-curtain airbags for all outboard seating positions and a centre airbag to reduce head-clash injuries in a side impact.

The Hunter has been tested by ANCAP and scored the maximum five safety stars.

We will, however, take exception to the ADAS functions (some of them anyway) fitted to the Hunter. The speeding warning is not as annoying as some, but the lane-keeping warning and driver awareness monitor (including the hands-on-the-wheel reminder) are insistent and are – depending on how you look at it – their own form of driver distraction.

Ownership – What warranty is offered? What are its service intervals? What are its running costs?

8 / 10

The Hunter has a pretty strong story to tell here, with seven years of warranty cover with no kilometre limit and no caveats for vehicles used for commercial purposes. There’s also eight years or 150,000km (which ever comes first) cover on the EV battery.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km, and there’s capped-price servicing for the first seven years and free roadside assistance for the same period.

JAC is also offering a ute-for-ute deal on any Hunter ute that is sidelined for a warranty fix. Dealers will have loan vehicles in that case with the aim that no small (or large) business is negatively impacted through a warranty claim.

Verdict