Citroen C5 Aircross vs Jaecoo J7

What's the difference?

Let’s be honest, medium SUVs are the bread and butter of the Aussie new car market and there are a lot of rivals to choose from.

Which is why the Citroen C5 Aircross Sport’s much-needed update is welcomed with open arms, especially since it’s the only model in the range.

It boasts more space than a lot of its rivals but it’s been let down in the past by a sparse safety sheet and older tech.

The facelifted model sees tweaks to the design, safety and tech, making it more of a true competitor against the likes of the Kia Sportage, ever-popular Mazda CX-5 and practical Nissan X-Trail.

But are the changes enough for it to be considered as a family SUV? I’ve been testing it this week with my family of three to find out for you!

Jaecoo has entered the medium SUV space with the J7, pairing a plug-in hybrid powertrain with a sharply positioned price tag. On paper, it’s a compelling formula; electrified efficiency without the 'premium'.

But the J7 doesn’t arrive in a vacuum. It sits above its smaller sibling, the J5, and goes head-to-head with some increasingly polished rivals - the mechanically related Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid, GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV, MG HS Super Hybrid and now the BYD Sealion 5. And all of them are chasing the same buyer.

So the question isn’t just whether the J7 is good value. It’s whether it carves out a clear identity of its own in a segment that’s quickly filling up.