BMW 4 Series vs Jaecoo J8

What's the difference?

The BMW M440i xDrive Gran Coupe manages to combine sleek design with a fun-to-drive personality and surprising practicality. It’s a rapid premium, four-door, five-seater offering extra flair, and in this part of the market, good value. But more than anything else it’s got a cracking in-line six under the bonnet.

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.

So, how does this four-door 4 Series differ from a four-door 3 Series? The answer is as plain as the nose on this car’s face.

BMW’s head of design, Adrian van Hooydonk, has been expanding the brand’s signature ‘kidney grille’ in every conceivable direction, and this is the much talked about interpretation adorning all 4 Series models (petrol, hybrid and electric) as well as the M3 sedan.

The new Gran Coupe is longer, wider, and taller than the outgoing model, and the track is broader, front and rear. The wheelbase has also been extended, now a whole 5.0mm longer than the 3 Series.

The DRLs and headlight main beams are LED with laser high beams, immense gills square up the edges of the front clip, while a vent and the strake attached to it stand the car apart. Plus, of course, the doors are frameless. 

One niggle, though. I’m not in love with the slender door handles. It’s hard to get a good grip on them, especially in the wet. 

Standard 19-inch alloy rims are shod with Pirelli P Zero rubber 245/40 fr / 255/40 rr), the roofline slopes distinctly towards the rear, a lip spoiler on the trailing edge of the tailgate is classic BMW, darkened LED tail-lights wrap around the rear corner, and a diffuser-type panel is flanked by large exhaust apertures.

Our car’s ‘Aventurine Red’ finish is a $3850 option, but to my eyes anyway it looks superb.

Exterior trim including the grille frame, front air intake inserts, mirror upper housing, model designation badges, and tailpipe are finished in ‘Cerium Grey’, which I reckon 99.9 per cent of people will see as black. 

The interior will be familiar territory for any current BMW owner, the 12.3-inch digital instrument screen sitting in a compact, hooded binnacle, and partnering with a 10.25-inch multimedia display standing proud of the dash above the broad centre stack. 

The seats are trimmed in top-shelf leather with blue contrast stitching, plus the grippy sports wheel is also wrapped in genuine hide.

BMW calls the finish on the main buttons and controls ‘Galvanic’ which translates to a slick silver metallic look and feel. Configurable ambient interior lighting is a nice touch, and the broad console enhances the driver-focused feel, with a sprinkling of carbon-fibre around the centre console and dash lifting the sense of occasion.

Overall, the interior feels clean and classy with an obvious attention to detail.  

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.

At close to 4.8m long the 4 Series Gran Coupe is a sizeable machine. Up front, the feeling is airy and comfortable, and the rear is surprisingly spacious, especially in light of the car's sloping roofline.

At 183cm I have to fold myself tightly to fit under the low roof, but once inside I have enough room to sit behind the driver’s seat set for my position with more than enough legroom and adequate headroom. Put three full-size adults across the back row, though, and there will be breathing difficulties.

Kids will be fine, however, and individual vents with adjustable temp in the rear was a big plus during a particularly hot test week.

For storage there are generous door bins in the front with room for large bottles, a decent glove box, dual cupholders in the centre console, a reasonable lidded bin (which doubles as a centre armrest), and the wireless device charging bay (forward of the gearshift) makes a handy oddments space when not in use.

In the rear, again the doors feature pockets with room for (medium-size) bottles, there’s a fold down centre armrest with two cupholders, but thanks to the one-piece shells on our test car’s optional M Sport front seats there are no map pockets.

Power and connectivity runs to a USB-A socket and a 12V outlet in the front centre console, as well a USB-C port in the front storage bin, a pair of USB-Cs in the rear, and a 12V outlet in the boot.

Speaking of which, lift the tailgate and with the rear seat upright we were able to fit all three of our suitcases or the beefy CarsGuide pram into the healthy 470-litre (VDA) boot space.

Lower the 40/20/40 split-folding rear seat down and 1290 litres of volume is at your disposal. Plus there are handy bag hooks and tie-down anchors to help secure loose loads.

You can also tow a braked trailer up to 1.8 tonnes (750kg unbraked), but don’t bother looking for a spare of any description, a repair/inflator kit is your only option.

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.

Under the bonnet is BMW’s (B58) all-alloy 3.0-litre twin-scroll turbo intercooled, in-line six-cylinder engine, driving all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and electronically controlled clutch pack, as well as an electronic limited-slip differential at the rear.

It features high-pressure direct-injection and BMW’s ‘Valvetronic’ system managing air flow to the intake side, to produce 285kW at a relatively high 5800-6500rpm. But the big punch is 500Nm of peak torque from just 1900rpm all the way to 5000rpm.

The M440i is also a mild-hybrid with a 48-volt starter motor-generator and supplementary battery able to give an 8.0kW kick at low engine speeds.

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.

BMW’s official fuel economy figure for the M440i xDrive Gran Coupe, on the ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban cycle, is 8.2L/100km, the 3.0-litre turbo six-cylinder emitting 187g/km of C02 in the process.

Stop/start is standard, and we saw an average of 11.1L/100km over city, B-road and freeway running during a week with the car.

With the 59-litre tank brimmed (with minimum 95RON premium unleaded) that real-world test number translates to a range of around 530km.  

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.

BMW says the M440i xDrive Gran Coupe will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 4.7sec, and I reckon the threshold for a properly quick car is sub-five seconds.

The 3.0-litre turbo six develops its peak power of 285kW between a relatively lofty 5800-6500rpm, but the big number is a solid 500Nm punch of pulling power delivered between 1900-5000rpm.

Squeeze the throttle pedal pretty much anywhere in the rev range and the response is glorious. Rapid acceleration accompanied by raucous engine noise and rorty exhaust note (albeit with some synthetic support). Various pops and bangs in the Sport settings add extra entertainment.. 

The eight-speed auto gets some electric support from the mild-hybrid system to fill the torque gap on up shifts, and the result is a conventional torque-converter transmission that behaves like a dual-clutch.

Shifts are seamless in general driving, and satisfyingly quick in a more aggressive mode, the wheel-mounted paddles dialing up the fun in manual changes. 

Suspension is double wishbone front and multi-link rear with the standard ‘Adaptive M Suspension’ built around an adaptive damper set-up.

The change between the ‘Comfort’ setting to the ‘Sport’ or ‘Sport+’ calibration is close to instant and makes a discernible difference, especially in terms of ride comfort.

I found the best ‘Individual Sport’ arrangement to be damping in Comfort, with the steering engine and transmission in Sport. The car flows so beautifully through corners with urgent response from the powertrain.

By all means dial up the suspension if you’re having a real crack, but the car feels superbly balanced, stable and predictable in Comfort (front to rear weight distribution is 50:50).

The electrically-assisted variable-ratio steering is nicely weighted with good road feel, and the grippy sports steering wheel is a nice point of contact.

The xDrive AWD system’s default setting is rear-biased, although it will push most of the drive forward when required. But the RWD feel is unmistakable. 

The M440i weighs in at around 1.9 tonnes but feels lighter and more nimble than that figure would typically indicate.  

A standard electronically-controlled M Sport limited-slip differential puts the power down confidently. I have a favourite LSD test corner on my regular evaluation drive, a sharply twisting and rising left-hander.

Rolling into it in a low gear before planting the throttle mid-corner, the car simply hunkers down without a hint of fuss (or traction loss) as it rockets out the other side.

Optional M Sport front seats ($2000) provide comfort and firm location in equal measure and in terms of ergonomics BMW knows how to focus on the driver and set-up an efficient environment. Key controls are perfectly positioned and simple to operate.

I have an issue with the ‘Lane Departure Warning’ function, however, which is too quick to intervene and overly intrusive when it does so. I turned the ‘Steering Intervention’ function off. You can dial down steering wheel vibration warnings, too.

The standard M Sport brakes feature big vented rotors front and rear, with fixed four-piston front calipers doing the bulk of the work. They’re strong but don’t bite or release too aggressively. It’s easy to grease in a smooth application. 

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.

The M440i Gran Coupe is covered by BMW’s three-year/unlimited km warranty (including paintwork), as well as 12-year/unlimited km anti-corrosion (perforation) cover. 

That’s off the premium market pace now with Genesis, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz at five years/unlimited km and Lexus set to join them from January 1st, 2022. 

That said, roadside assistance is provided for the duration of the main warranty, but it’s worth noting “rattles and squeaks” are only covered for one year.

Service is condition-based, the car telling you when maintenance is required, and a range of service packages are available. The basic plan covering a 4 Series for five years/80,000km comes in at $1750. 

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.