JAC Hunter vs JAC T9 UTE

What's the difference?

While the local motor industry is engaging in much hand wringing and brow furrowing over the rapid influx of new makes and models, experts are busy predicting what may happen in the longer term. What brands will still be here in 10 years? Or even ten months…

It’s a bit of a lottery, really, but in the short term, one thing is for absolute certain: Cars are getting cheaper to buy.

That’s despite a never-before-seen level of technology and sophistication, too, and we’re now seeing full electric vehicles hitting the market at $30,000 or so - a number unheard of just a year or two ago when front-loading an EV’s ownership costs was a given.

But it’s happening in the dual-cab ute world, too. Disruptors like the BYD Shark 6 and the GWM Cannon Alpha have taught us that a turbo-diesel driveline is not necessarily the way forward for all of us. And now there’s this vehicle, the JAC Hunter dual-cab which stretches the concept of fries-with-that across an even tighter budget.

The Hunter is not just an off-road capable dual-cab: It’s also a plug-in hybrid with a sophisticated driveline that offers a claimed 100km of EV-only running from a full battery. But the Hunter is not just a techno statement, it also hits the market at under $50,000.

Interested? So were we.

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.