Audi A7 vs Jaecoo J8

What's the difference?

The Audi A7 is a really likeable car, one that is heavily focused on style but also emanates substance. The 55 TFSI model will appeal to many, but my initial impression is that the best buy in the range could well be the entry-level 45 TFSI. I can't wait to sample it sometime in 2019.

It is hard to argue with the sheer amount of stuff you get in the J8 for the price. And that long warranty and capped price servicing program remove the stress of buying into a new brand.

The J8 might be more car than most people need due to its size and lack of third row seating.

It’s okay to drive but isn’t class leading and no hybrid option will count it out for the ever increasing number of Aussies looking to petrol-electric power.

The J8 is a solid machine and well worth a look if you are after glitz and glamour on a budget.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

If you can't find something interesting about the design of the Audi A7, there's a good chance you're visually impaired.

The original A7 Sportback was perhaps ahead of its time in the way it blended the lines of a coupe with the practicality of a big sedan, and the new second-generation version pushes the envelope even further into the future. The vision, according to chief designer Andreas Koglin, was "a clear form with sharp lines and tight shapes", including the distinguishable 'boat tail' at the rear.

This is a technologically advanced looking car - big, long, sleek and stylish. From the LED headlights (or matrix LED and laser lights - yes, frikkin' lasers that have the same 5500 Kelvin as the sun, according to Audi) and daytime running lights, to the long, lean LED tail-light assembly, there's an illuminated, enlightened air to the A7.

Plus, with the matrix lights, both ends of the car do a sort of disco sequence as part of the start up and shut down procedure for the car.

There are a few carefully balanced lines across the body of the A7 that help catch the light, which is something you can't really say about its closest direct rival, the Mercedes-Benz CLS. It still retains the 'big-metal-small-glasshouse' look of the existing model, but there are definitely more angles and interesting elements to this new-generation car.

There are two exterior types offered for Australia - the S line that you see here is the version that'll be fitted to the two higher grade models, while the entry-grade model gets a less aggressive look to its front and rear bumpers. To my eyes, the base car actually looks more luxurious, where the S line models - when not fitted with the optional black exterior styling pack that deletes the chrome trims outside - have a slightly uneasy look in the grille area. With a black edge to the single frame grille, it looks a touch more convincing.

The A7 is still large, at 4969mm long (-5mm) and riding on a longer 2926mm wheelbase (+12mm), spans 1908mm wide (2118mm including mirrors), but it's also a little bit taller, at 1422mm (+2mm). According to Audi, the interior space has been increased by 21mm in this generation, making for a more luxurious cabin than before.

Things are a little edgier in terms of design in the cockpit, too. Gone is the appealing wraparound dashboard design, with a more driver-focused treatment evident. It looks sharper, more shapely, and has improvements to the usability inside, too.

The J8 looks familiar but it's hard to remember where you’ve seen it before. There are shades of Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and Range Rover scattered throughout.

The J8 looks more native Jaecoo than the smaller J7, but either way it's a handsome machine in the metal.

Its large, prominent front grille with thick vertical slats gives it presence on the road. This is paired with a big JAECOO badge on the grille and dynamic LED headlights and DRLs.

It has a sleek side profile and does away with gaudy panel creases and sharp edges, which helps project its premium persona. This design is highlighted by its hidden door handles, well integrated roof rails and rear spoiler.

There is a rear light bar, which is the current must have styling item, and connects the tail-lights

Inside is where the action is.

It looks proper luxe, with soft touch and textured inserts all over. We spent the majority of our time in the Ridge AWD and on top of the dash is a type of soft synthetic suede and there are wood veneer-type inserts that give it a touch of class as well as some piano black highlights and plenty of premium feeling materials.

Even in the back seat, where some brands can cut costs, the J8 has a quality feel to it.

It is an impressive space for circa-$50,000.

According to Audi, the A7's interior is said to offer a "futuristic lounge type ambience". And if your vision of a lounge in the future includes beautiful textile finishes, quality trims, and your choice of three crisp screens to look at and interact with, it certainly lives up to that.

Unlike the existing model, which seemed to draw a bit more inspiration from the world of watercraft, the new model isn't as luxe looking, with a more tech-focused approach inside. The wraparound finish on the dash is gone, and everything is more driver-centric in its orientation - the screens are tilted just enough towards the pilot and the design of the dashboard helps anchor the person in the driver's seat as the most important in the car.

As a driver, I still struggle to come to terms with climate controls that require you to use a screen, and I think it's distracting, too. At least with the Audi screen there's the possibility to slide up or down on the temperature display to make quick changes, rather than having to tap the screen repeatedly.

The haptic feedback on the screens is something that does take a bit of getting used to, because the response time isn't as instant as some regular touchscreen systems, but the menus are all pretty logically laid out.

And of course, all the storage considerations are dealt with, including good cupholders between the seats, decent door pockets, some loose item caddies and so on. In the back there's a flip-down armrest with cupholders, bottle holders in the doors and map pockets on the seat backs. One really neat addition is illuminated seat belt buckles - clever!

Space back there is mostly good, but it's better if you're short. There's enough legroom and shoulder-room for three adults, but anyone taller than me (I'm 182cm) will likely lack some headroom due to the curvaceous roofline.

The boot is good at 535 litres - enough to deal with two golf bags, the brand claims. The shape of the boot means tall items mightn't fit, but the length and width is good, and you get tie-downs with a mesh net to keep things in order. And there's a space-saver spare wheel under the boot floor.

Having only five seats in a car this big feels like a waste of space, and in reality it is. You’re now driving a very big and bulky car without the people carrying pros.

Very rarely will you need to use the giant 738-litre boot, but the ability to carry children’s friends or extended family is probably a more useful and regular scenario.

Up front there are plenty of storage options with lots of nooks and crannies in the centre console, including a sizeable and deep bin and good size pockets on the doors. Cupholders for both rows are a plus, too.

USB charging points for both rows are great. If you like to connect to Apple CarPlay via a cord and not wirelessly the port is down near the front seat passengers right foot, which is hard to access.

Additionally the wireless device charger is on the passenger side of the console. Both are hallmarks of a car originally designed to be driven on the other side of the road.

The back seat is huge, there is ample leg, shoulder and head room and it can easily accommodate adults or large teenagers.

The J8 comes in two grades: the two-wheel drive Track variant and the all-wheel drive Ridge. The variant names are tied into the brand’s adventurous image.

The Track is priced at a national $49,990 drive-away, which is about $5000 and $8000 cheaper respectively than the base Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe.

Jaecoo has thrown everything at the J8, except a third row of seats.

The Track grade has 20-inch alloy wheels, heated and ventilated front seats wrapped in real leather and topped off with a massage function.

There are dual 12.3-inch displays, one for the multimedia and the other for the driver. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav and a 12-speaker Sony stereo are other highlights.

There are some clever functions too. When on a phone call it projects sound only through the two headrest speakers giving more privacy.

Three different scents can be diffused through the cabin, which might help override the drive-through food or old sports bag aroma in the boot.

It also has a panoramic sunroof, dual-zone climate control, power adjustable steering wheel, a head-up display (that projects vital information such as your travelling speed on to the windscreen in front of the driver) and a wireless device charger.

There isn’t much room left on the $54,990 drive-away Ridge AWD’s equipment sheet, but it manages to squeeze in a suede headliner, heated and ventilated rear window seats, privacy glass and electric door handles.

The Ridge also adds all-wheel drive grip with multiple drive modes such as 'Sport', 'Eco' and 'Normal' as well as 'Mud', 'Snow', 'Sand' and 'Off-Road' to best handle different conditions.

A more advanced active suspension system adjusts each wheel independently according to driving conditions to smooth out the ride.

In a win for buyers, both variants have a full size spare tyre hidden under the boot floor.

All three drivetrains offered in the A7 have some form of mild hybridisation. The entry-level 45 TFSI engine is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo producing 180kW of power (at 5000-6000rpm) and 370Nm of torque (1600-4500rpm). It has a 0-100km/h claim of 6.8 seconds, and employs a seven-speed dual-clutch auto with quattro all-wheel drive. It employs a 12-volt mild-hybrid system to assist with stop-start traffic and uses brake regeneration, too.

The high-spec petrol is the 55 TFSI, a 3.0-litre V6 producing 250kW (at 5000-6400rpm) and 500Nm (1370-4500rpm). The 0-100 claim is 5.3sec, and it also uses a seven-speed dual-clutch auto. It has a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that uses a larger capacity battery and a belt-driven starter generator that recuperates energy in stop start traffic and, according to Audi, can also allow the car to coast for up to 40 seconds at speeds of 55-160km/h.

The same 48-volt tech is used for the only diesel model in the range, the 50 TDI. This powertrain uses a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine producing 210kW (3500-4000rpm) and 620Nm (2250-3000rpm), and unlike the petrols, it has an eight-speed automatic (not a dual-clutch). The claim for acceleration is 5.7sec from 0-100km/h.

Power comes from a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine that makes 183kW and 385Nm, which is matched to an eight-speed automatic driving either the front or all four wheels.

That’s a decent amount of grunt and is on par with a Volkswagen Golf GTI, but the J8 weights about 1800kg in 2WD guise with AWD adding 100kg.

Those numbers are also short of the 206kW/422Nm delivered by the Santa Fe’s turbo-petrol motor but are better than the 200kW and 333Nm made by the Sorento’s non-turbo V6.

The lack of a hybrid option at launch, which is popular in rival machines, could prove to be a misstep.

Jaecoo said a plug-in hybrid version was under consideration, but is likely to come at a decent premium.

The mild hybrid tech in each of the A7 models help it offer miserly fuel consumption.

The 45 TFSI model claims 7.1 litres per 100 kilometres; the 55 TFSI model just a touch more, at 7.3L/100km. And as you might expect, the 50 TDI diesel model is the most efficient, using a claimed 6.0L/100km.

We only drove the 55 TFSI on test, and the dashboard indicated display of 9.1L/100km seemed pretty respectable.

Jaecoo claims on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle the J8 Track 2WD will drink 8.3L/100km and the Ridge AWD will gulp 8.6L/100km, which is better than its similar sized rivals. But those rivals also have hybrid options that are more powerful and drink less fuel.

It also requires premium unleaded fuel, while the others drink the cheaper stuff.

A 65-litre fuel tank gives it a theoretical driving range of 755km in its thirstiest guise.

We didn’t get to spend enough time behind the wheel to do a thorough real-world test, and the majority of our drive was spent on high-speed arterial roads or motorways where petrol cars are at their most efficient. So we’ll reserve judgement until we undertake a more comprehensive test drive.

A lot of the time when we go on new car launches the test drive route is planned to highlight handling dynamism, with less focus on the day-to-day drudgery most of us will actually encounter.

The launch of the Audi A7 was primarily of that design, too, but (thankfully?) there was some disgusting traffic to deal with on our in and out of Brisbane, where it was clear the A7 is superbly comfortable.

Well, that is, if you get the air suspension system. The ride was impressively cushioned, untroubled by sharp edges and road joins, and the suspension eliminated pothole effects, too. All the cars I drove on the launch were the 55 TFSI model, and all had the air suspension - the cynic in me thinks there's probably a reason for that, and I'd love to sample one without it.

This stint of stop-start driving saw the engine cut out at speeds up to 22km/h when you're decelerating, allowing us to coast to a stop without the engine burning fuel.

Once we exited the city limits and found ourselves on the roads of Mt Nebo and Mt Glorious, the chance presented itself to push the A7 in some bendy bits. With the dynamic drive mode selected, the transmission in sport mode, and about a hundred corners to contend with, the big German luxury hatch showed its skills.

The air suspension kept the circa-1815kg model relatively flat in the bends, but the front seats lacked adequate side bolster support despite being called 'sports' seats. Obviously physics were at play here.

The steering was more eager in the four-wheel steer version we sampled, and that's definitely an option for the enthusiastic owner to consider. Otherwise, the steering was accurate, if devoid of meaningful feel.

And while the engine was strong in its response and the transmission clever in its shift speed and intelligence, it became clear that this was a car that seemed more adept at open road cruising than bruising a series of hairpins. It didn't disappoint in terms of dynamics - it just felt its size.

Eventually when we reached an open road, the effortlessness of the A7 came to the fore. Comfort mode engaged, it paced along beautifully, the adaptive cruise taking its surroundings in nicely. There is a touch of wind noise and the suspension can be loud when you encounter pockmarked sections, but it doesn't feel flustered at speed.

One of the nice elements of the A7's smarts is that it will pulse the accelerator pedal to warn you that you could be saving fuel - say you're approaching an 80km/h zone, and you're driving at 100km/h, the throttle will throb to let you know you could ease off. Neat.

At the end of our day of driving, I was left with the impression that the Audi A7 is more than capable as a luxury saloon, one that was relaxing to drive - even when we encountered a five km traffic jam on the way back into Brisbane. It feels well engineered, without excessive gimmickry and with enough genuine quality to leave you feeling pampered.

There is a clear line of demarcation between the Chery brand and Jaecoo, and the J8 drives substantially better than Chery’s line of budget-friendly Tiggo SUVs.

We spent most of our time in the Ridge AWD and the fancy active suspension makes a huge impact. It keeps the vehicle in check through corners, exerting excellent body control. It's a bit unnerving how flat the car sits through the bends with next to no body roll.

Despite riding on giant 20-inch wheels the J8 soaks up bumps and road imperfections with ease.

The Track 2WD falls off noticeably in this regard without the active damping.

The steering is light and a bit floaty, which saps confidence when entering corners as there isn’t a lot of feedback on what is happening underneath you.

The steering ratio seems a bit wide of the mark, the wheel needing more input than we'd like.

The engine delivers decent grunt and it's tuned for leisurely acceleration rather than performance. 

There was the odd occasion when the transmission and the motor weren't quite in sync and you might get a bit of hesitation and then too much oomph all at once.

It has no problems getting up to speed on the motorway and handles overtaking with ease. 

Jaecoo, and its parent company Chery, have worked hard on the safety tech calibration and it's much less intrusive on the J8 than some earlier models. This applies especially to the lane keep assist, which only steps in when needed. There are far fewer bings and bongs than before.

You sit up nice and high in the J8, which gives you a good view of the road ahead, but the sloped rear window restricts vision out the back compared to boxier shaped SUVs.

It is a big rig and you feel that on the road, even the Jaecoo team said you’d notice the width of the J8 on the road, which might be an issue if you live in compact inner city areas or deal with cramped car spaces.

The J8 hasn’t been tested by ANCAP yet, but it is expected to get the same five-star score as the J7.

One thing that jumps out is the AWD version gets two more airbags than the 2WD variant.

The Ridge AWD adds two side airbags to the rear row, while the Track 2WD makes do with curtain airbag protection only in the back seat.

It covers all the bases for active safety with auto emergency braking, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert with auto braking, blind-spot detection, speed recognition, active cruise control and door opening alert.

As with all Audi models, there's a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty offered. Mainstream brands seem to be pushing to five years' warranty, while the premium makers lag behind.

The company also offers a three-year pre-purchase capped price service plan called the 'Audi Genuine Care Service Plan', which you can bundle into your finance package. Exact pricing isn't known yet, but you can expect it to average out at about $650 for every 12 month/15,000km service (based on the previous generation model).

Jaecoo backs its cars for eight years and unlimited km, which is one of the most comprehensive in the business. MG, Mitsubishi and Nissan all have 10 year warranties but are not unlimited km and Mitsubishi and Nissan need you to only service at their dealerships.

Jaecoo backs this up with an eight-year capped priced servicing program, which costs $2952 for the Track 2WD and $3452 for the Ridge AWD. That’s slightly on the expensive side but better than being at the whim of the mechanic after five years.

Keep in mind the fourth and eight year services are biggies, costing $699 and $799 in the Ridge AWD and $499 and $599 in the Track 2WD.

You also get eight years of roadside assistance if you service your car at the dealership.