JAC T9 UTE vs LDV Deliver 9

What's the difference?

The budget-priced JAC T9 Haven is a traditional one-tonne turbo-diesel ute with plenty going for it. Sure, there are things that could be improved like any ute, but those issues are more about refinement than major design flaws. And when you consider it has five-star safety and is backed by a generous warranty, capped-price servicing and a 60-strong Australian dealer network, it represents excellent value for tradies on a sub-$50K budget. 

It has its flaws, like any vehicle, but it’s not as far away from segment leaders in terms of refinement and performance that its bargain-basement pricing might suggest. Whichever way you look at it, this is a lot of van for not a lot of money.

The T9 rides on a 3110mm wheelbase with 5330mm overall length, 1983mm width (with door mirrors folded) and 1920mm height.

It adheres to a traditional body-on-frame design with double-wishbone coil-spring front suspension, leaf-spring live rear axle, electronic power steering and four-wheel disc brakes.

Off-road credentials include 27 degrees approach and 23 degrees departure angles, 210mm ground clearance and 650mm wading depth.

The Haven's styling has a chunky and purposeful appearance and its spacious interior offers a tasteful blend of tones and textures with chrome and satin chrome highlights, contrasting red stitching and numerous soft-touch surfaces including curved diamond-quilting on the seat facings and door trims.

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery then Ford should be blushing, because the Deliver 9 appears to draw a lot of exterior design inspiration from the Transit van. It’s a substantial vehicle, as they tend to be in this weight division, with a 3750mm wheelbase and 14.2 metre turning circle, length of almost 6.0 metres (5940mm) and width of 2466mm. Its 2535mm height excludes it from underground and shopping centre carparks with typical height limits of 2.2 metres.

The rear-wheel drive chassis construction is simple and robust, with MacPherson strut front suspension, multi-leaf live axle rear suspension with supplementary rubber cones to boost support of heavy loads, rack and pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes. There’s also ample use of hard-wearing black plastic on lower body sections where most scrapes and dents appear.

The cargo bay is accessed by one kerbside sliding door and dual rear-barn doors with 180-degree opening. The walls are lined to mid-height and there’s no roof lining. Bright LEDs provide ample lighting and even though our test vehicle was not the high-roof model, there was enough headroom for tall adults to stand without stooping. 

The cabin has a spacious and airy feel, even with a crew of three aboard, thanks largely to a banana-shaped dashboard with ends that curve towards the windscreen providing wide entry access and passenger legroom which is unusually generous for a commercial van.

The cabin has higher-grade look than you would expect at this price, with a tasteful two-tone blend of light/dark grey plastics and faux carbon fibre inserts on the dash along with comfortable, supportive seats with quality-feel fabrics.

However, there is room for improvement, as there’s no cargo protection for driver and passengers, no driver’s left footrest, crackly AM radio reception (too bad if you like talkback) and a poor-quality image projected by the reversing camera.

With its 2055kg kerb weight and 3100kg GVM, our test vehicle offers a sizeable 1045kg payload rating so it’s a genuine one-tonner.

However, it’s only rated to tow up to 3200kg of braked trailer, which is 300kg less than the category benchmark. And with its 5630kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time), to tow that weight would require a substantial 670kg reduction in payload to avoid exceeding the GCM.

That would also leave only 375kg of payload capacity, which could be used up by a crew of four tradies before you could throw their tools on board. Fact is, most owners would rarely (if ever) need to tow the maximum 3200kg, but should be aware of these GVM/GCM numbers to avoid overloading.

The load tub is protected by a spray-in liner and is 1520mm long, 1590mm wide and 470mm deep, with 1175mm between the wheel arches allowing just enough room for a standard Aussie pallet.

However, the front and rear load-anchorage points are positioned in the upper half of the sidewalls, which is not ideal for securing loads of lower height (anchorage points near floor level are ideal).

Even tall people will find the interior accommodating, given I’m 186cm and have ample space to not only find a comfortable driving position but also sit behind the driver’s seat (set to my position) with plenty of knee clearance.

There’s also generous rear headroom and enough floor space behind the centre console for the centre passenger to sit with their feet together, rather than either side of a transmission hump like numerous rivals. However, like all dual cab utes short of a full-size American pick-up, shoulder room is squeezy for three adults, so a limit of two would be preferable for long trips.

Front of cabin storage includes a large-bottle holder and bin in each front door plus an overhead glasses holder, single glove box and a handy drawer for small items near the driver’s right knee.

The centre console, with its two USB ports, 12-volt socket and wireless phone-charging pad, has a large-bottle and cupholder plus a small box at the rear with an internal air-con cooling vent and a padded lid that doubles as a driver’s centre elbow rest.

Rear passengers get a large-bottle holder and bin in each door plus three storage pockets on each front seat backrest. The centre seat’s backrest also folds down to reveal two cupholders while the centre console offers adjustable air vents, a pair of USB ports and a handy 220V three-pin domestic socket.

The rear seat is split 60/40 and both base cushions can swing up and be stored vertically if more internal load space is required.

Our only criticism is that the rear seatbelt buckles fall into deep recesses in the base cushions when not in use and can be difficult to fish out by hand when you need to buckle-up.

Its 2358kg kerb weight and 4000kg GVM leaves a competitive maximum payload of 1642kg. It’s also rated to tow up to 2800kg of braked trailer but given the GCM figure (or how much you can legally carry and tow at the same time) is not published, we can’t tell you how much payload it can legally carry while towing that weight. 

We struck a similar problem testing a G10 LDV van as far back as 2017, when LDV could not provide the GCM despite a direct approach to the factory in China. Why such a fundamental figure must remain secret is a mystery to us and could be a deal-breaker if you need to tow and carry.

The cargo bay offers a competitive 10.97 cubic metres of load volume. Its load floor’s 3413mm length, 1800mm width and 1366mm between wheel housings means it can easily carry two 1165mm-square Aussie pallets or up to four 1200 x 800mm Euro pallets, held in place by a choice of eight sturdy load anchorage points. There’s also a small cave above the cabin which is ideal for carrying straps, ropes, load padding, tarps etc.

There’s more than ample cabin storage too, with large-bottle holders and two levels of storage in each front door, numerous nooks of different shapes and sizes across the dashboard including a driver’s cup holder, plus a single glove-box and large overhead storage shelf with central sunglasses holder.

Pivoting the two passenger seat base cushions forward reveals another big storage area beneath them. The centre seat backrest also folds down to reveal a handy work desk on the back if it, which includes two cup holders. Overall, there’s smart use of space here.

Our test vehicle is the long wheelbase mid-roof, which is part of a three-model Deliver 9 range offering mixed wheelbase and roof height combinations. According to local distributor Ateco, the van’s unusual name has no real significance beyond the fact that in China it’s sold as the V90, so given Volvo’s existing V90 nomenclature, LDV changed the name to Deliver 9 in export markets.

Available only with a 2.0 litre turbo-diesel engine, the standard transmission is a six-speed manual or there’s the optional six-speed automatic like our test vehicle, which has an RRP of $44,726. Needless to say, that’s a massive saving compared to top-selling van rivals like the Ford Transit 350L LWB RWD auto at $54,090 and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 314 CDI LWB RWD auto at $66,240.

Colour choice is limited to Blanc White or Pacific Blue. It comes equipped with 16-inch steel wheels and 235/65R16C tyres with a full-size spare, plus checker-plate-pattern rubber flooring throughout, LED cargo bay lighting, big truck-style power adjustable and heated side mirrors with indicators, seating for three including an eight-way adjustable driver’s seat with fold-down inboard armrest and an multimedia system with big 10.1-inch touchscreen, two USB ports and Apple CarPlay (but no Android Auto) to name a few. There’s even a rare and endangered cigarette lighter and ashtray.

LDV also offers a $1500 options pack which adds 236-degree rear door opening (except mid-wheelbase model), blind-spot monitoring, lane-change assist and remote keyless entry with push button start.

The T9 is equipped with a Euro 5-compliant 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine that produces 120kW of power at 3600rpm and 410Nm of torque at 1500-2500rpm.

It’s paired with a ZF-designed eight-speed torque converter automatic with the option of sequential manual-shifting. It also offers different drive modes ('Eco', 'Sport' etc) and the part-time, dual-range 4x4 system features an electronic rear diff-lock.

LDV’s Euro 5-compliant 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel produces 110kW at 3500rpm and 375Nm between 1500-2400rpm, which is adequate but not class-leading. It also offers a choice of Eco and Power driving modes and auto stop/start. 

The six-speed torque converter automatic is smooth-shifting and easy to use. It also has the option of sequential manual-shifting which can be handy at times when hauling heavy loads, particularly in hilly terrain to save the transmission from continually hunting for gears.

JAC Motors claims official average combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) consumption of 7.6L/100km but the dash readout was showing 9.8 at the completion of our 288km test, which comprised a mix of suburban and highway driving of which about one third was hauling a near-maximum payload.

However, our own numbers calculated from fuel bowser and tripmeter readings came in at a lower 8.3L/100km. So, any vehicle weighing more than two tonnes that can achieve sub-10L/100km in daily driving gets a big tick from us in terms of fuel efficiency.

Therefore, based on our consumption, the JAC T9 should achieve an extensive real-world driving range of around 900km from its 76-litre tank.

The dash display was showing an average combined figure of 11.0L/100km at the end of our 290km test, with the auto start/stop function disabled and about a third of that distance hauling maximum payload. Our figure crunched from fuel bowser and tripmeter came in at 12L/100km, so you could expect a real-world driving range of around 660km from its 80-litre tank.

The steering wheel only has height adjustment, which is notable given that most ute rivals have height and reach adjustment. Even so, the driving position offers ample headroom, a good-sized left footrest and, although lacking adjustable lumbar support, a comfortable and supportive seat.

It has good steering feel although we struggled to detect much difference between the various steering modes on offer. Unladen ride quality is firm and a bit jiggly on bumpy roads, but it’s no firmer than a HiLux and acceptable given its one-tonne-plus payload rating.

The engine is reasonably quiet and despite its relatively modest 120kW/410Nm outputs produces good acceleration when unladen, which we suspect is partly a result of its relatively light kerb weight.

However, there's a slight delay in response when using full throttle from standing starts, which feels like turbo lag. However, the response is fine when applying the accelerator with less aggression, so some refinement in this area would be beneficial.

Selecting the Sport mode in the smooth-shifting eight-speed (ZF-sourced) automatic alters the shift calibrations to provide the most eager response. It also displays helpful ‘intelligence’ by automatically downshifting to assist with engine-braking when the driver applies the brakes on descents.

To test its GVM rating we forklifted 890kg into the load tub, which with driver equalled a payload of 980kg that was just under its 1045kg limit. The rear leaf-springs compressed about 60mm yet there was still about 60mm of static bump-stop clearance remaining, which was ample to ensure no bottoming-out on our test route.

It competently hauled this payload around town and proved equally comfortable at highway speeds, where the engine required just under 2000rpm to maintain 110km/h which was right in the middle of its peak torque band.

The adaptive cruise control, which only adjusts in 5.0km/h increments, maintained the set speeds with discipline. However, on some uphill gradients (in cruise control mode) the transmission would rapidly shift between the sixth and seventh gears numerous times before deciding which was the correct ratio.

Even so, it made light work of our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km-long set climb at 60km/h, decisively downshifting to fourth gear and 2500rpm to easily haul this load to the summit.

We were also genuinely surprised by its powerful engine-braking on the way down. In a manually-selected second gear, it never exceeded the posted 60km/h limit on overrun, with almost one tonne of payload to restrain and no use of the brake pedal. 

It was the strongest engine-braking we’ve experienced from a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel on this descent (in either ute or van) which would be most useful when hauling heavy loads, particularly in hilly terrain.

Our only major gripe is the overly sensitive driver attention monitor located at the base of the driver’s windscreen pillar, which ensures you’re directly in the firing line for constant prompts to ‘please focus on driving’ even though you are doing just that.

Such technology, with constant nagging from audible and visual warnings designed to save us from ourselves, is well intentioned. However, if its questionable judgement of what represents driver inattention is so annoying that it becomes distracting, then it defeats the whole purpose.

It’s pleasantly civilised to drive unladen, even on bumpy roads. With rock-hard tyre pressures (front 51psi, rear 71psi) recommended for load-carrying, the unladen ride remained disciplined and relatively smooth, so LDV has done a good job with the suspension tuning.

We were also pleasantly surprised by the low internal noise levels, not only in city and suburban driving but also at highway speeds. We can only assume that the load floor’s thick rubber flooring, which also covers the rear wheel housings, is effective in reducing the higher noise levels typically experienced in vans without cabin bulkheads like this one.

There are clear eye-lines to the door mirrors and the view through the rear doors using the central mirror is also uncluttered. There’s evenly-balanced elbow support for the driver between the fold-down inboard armrest and door moulding. However, we did miss having a left footrest.

With maximum torque available across a broad band between 1600-2400rpm, the engine displays good flexibility in city and suburban driving, even though it lacks the instant punch of rivals like the Transit’s stellar 2.0 litre EcoBoost engine when operating in its peak torque zone. The engine only needs 2000rpm at 100km/h and 2250rpm at 110km/h, but the degree of push required on the accelerator pedal to maintain it feels like it’s punching above its weight a little in either drive mode.

Our only major gripe is the adaptive cruise control. Usually these systems will automatically resume their pre-set speed, after being given clear road ahead following a lane change from behind a slower vehicle. However, our test vehicle required tapping the accelerator each time a lane change was made to resume the set speed. It also required this reset technique after downhill braking, so some refinement here would be welcome.

There’s no ANCAP required in the 3501-800kg GVM class but it comes well equipped for the money with AEB, lane-departure warning, reverse parking sensors and wide-view reversing camera, hill-hold assist, adaptive cruise control and stability control. There’s also driver and passenger front, side and curtain airbags. No cross-traffic alert but blind-spot monitoring and lane-change assist are available as part of the previously mentioned options pack.

The T9 is covered by a seven-year/unlimited km warranty plus seven years' roadside assist.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/15,000km, whichever occurs first. Capped-price servicing, which applies to the first seven scheduled services up to seven years/105,000km, totals $3069 or an affordable average of $438 per service.

LDV’s national network of 82 dealers inspires more confidence than the three years/160,000km warranty, which is less than the major players – but then its purchase price is much lower too. Scheduled servicing is six months/5000km then 12 months/35,000km whichever occurs first and 12 months/30,000km after that. Capped-price servicing program of $1895 covers the first three years or 95,000km whichever occurs first.