Holden Astra vs JAC T9 UTE

What's the difference?

Holden's current Astra is the second go the car has had in this country, after first being badged an Opel to the sounds of crickets from the buying public. That hubristic exercise was followed by a brief withdrawal from the Australian market before returning, rather more sensibly badged (and sensibly-priced) as a Holden.

It chugged along quite nicely in 2017. It didn't break any records, no, but regularly broke the 1000 units per month mark to end up with about five percent of the small car market, which it shares with some serious competition from Europe and Japan.

The + in R+ means more safety, but also more money. Safety is good, but do you get anything else for your money?

Although Chinese manufacturer JAC Motors (Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Company Ltd) is a relatively new player in Australia’s 4x4 ute market, it has more than six decades of experience in automotive design and production and is one of China’s largest exporters of utes and other light commercials.

Its local T9 range of 4x4 dual cab utes launched in 2024 has recently expanded to include a cab-chassis variant, given company estimates that around 60 per cent of its tradie audience customise their vehicles. So, in offering what JAC calls a ‘blank canvas’ for T9 buyers, the cab-chassis provides an ideal platform for installation of a custom-made tray or other service body to suit specific owner requirements.

We recently put this new work-focused model to the test from a tradie’s perspective to see if it has the credentials to be a compelling alternative to its many rivals.