Jaecoo J5 Reviews

Chinese carmaker Chery Group loves a sub-brand and its Jaecoo nameplate arrived here just over 12 months ago as a more premium option relative to its Omoda sibling. Stand by for Lepas hitting Aussie showrooms any minute as well as iCaur and Freelander in 2027.Think of Jaecoo as a mainstream Hyundai, Kia and Toyota alternative and the J5 on test here as a sharply priced small SUV challenger to the Kona, Seltos and Corolla Cross.At $34,990, drive-away, the J5 SHS-H Summit is a (series-parallel) hybrid five seater promising compelling value, family focused practicality and miserly fuel consumption. And we spent a week behind the wheel to see if it has what it takes to upset the established order in one of the Aussie new-car market’s most hotly contested segments.Elaborate decoration is notable by its absence when it comes to the Jaecoo J5’s exterior. Broad, largely unadorned surfaces give this SUV a clean, solid, no fuss look with the bold waterfall grille and flower petal-style 18-inch ‘Aero’ alloy wheels the closest things come to embellishment.The interior is similarly minimalist although some visual interest is added via configurable ambient lighting, white perimeter piping and cross stitching on the seats, a diamond pattern on the upper section of the dash and a piano black finish on the front centre console and around the multimedia screen. The colour palette is multi shades of grey, although off-white headlining lifts things a bit. For its sub-$35K drive-away price the J5 Summit is loaded with standard equipment, the highlights being:All LED exterior lightingIntelligent high beamRoof railsRain-sensing wipersHeated and power-folding exterior mirrorsGlass sunroof (with power sunshade)Power tailgateSynthetic leather trimSix-way power-adjustable (heated & ventilated) front seatsDual-zone climate-controlInterior ambient lighting8.9-inch digital instrument display13.2-inch multimedia touchscreenEight-speaker audioWired & wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlayIntelligent voice commandWe’ll get to safety equipment soon, but without even going there that list of included features is as good or better than pricier hybrid rivals like the Hyundai Kona (from $36,950) or Toyota Corolla Cross (from $37,440), both before on-road costs. At just under 4.4m long, less than 1.9m wide and a bit over 1.6m tall with a 2620mm wheelbase the Jaecoo J5 packs a lot of capacity into a relatively compact footprint.No shortage of breathing room upfront and the rear is surprisingly roomy with ample headroom and decent legroom (for me sitting behind the driver’s seat set for my 183cm position).The synthetic leather trim is claimed to “stand up to pet claws and everyday spills” and our always enthusiastic doggo put it to the test without any immediate signs of damage.Heaps of storage with everything from generous door bins (front and rear) to storage bays and boxes, multiple cupholders, pockets and power sources including wireless charging, USB-A and -C ports as well as 12V outlets (front and boot).Speaking of the boot, it boasts an average 314-litre volume to the top of the rear seatbacks, 410L to the roof and even more with the 60/40 split-folding rear seat lowered. There's a big black mark against the lack of a physical spare, though, compounded by the fact Jaecoo puts it right in your face with a spare tyre-shaped cavity under the boot floor and the 12-volt battery plonked in the middle of it. Boo. The Jaecoo J5 is offered in Australia in petrol internal-combustion, pure-electric and as tested here, series-parallel hybrid form.The SHS-H in the car’s name stands for ‘Super Hybrid System-Hybrid’, which is a self-charging powertrain consisting of a 1.5-litre (105kW/215Nm) turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine working in concert with a single (150kW/310Nm) permanent magnet synchronous motor which together send 165kW/295Nm to the front wheels through a dedicated hybrid transmission.The Jaecoo J5 SHS-H Summit’s official fuel-economy figure on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is 5.6L/100km and over a week of city suburban and some freeway running we saw an impressive average of just 4.6L/100km which equates to a range of more than 1100km. Wow.This hybrid feels more electric than petrol with plenty of surge from rest and more than enough grunt for the cut and thrust of city traffic and easy freeway cruising.It’s commendably quiet, although the ride from the strut front, multi-link rear suspension is firm and sensitive to smaller, high-frequency bumps and thumps.Steering is accurate and road feel is okay, the standard Continental EcoContact 7 rubber is quiet and grippy but the brakes are relatively abrupt on application unless you consciously focus on greasing them in.All around vision is clear and the inclusion of a quality reversing camera and 360-degree overhead view makes parking a breeze.Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) tech is extensive covering everything from auto emergency braking (AEB) to rear cross-traffic alert with any warning, assist, detection and prevention measure you can think of in between. The airbag count is seven, including a front centre bag.Most of the crash-avoidance systems work well enough, although lane keeping in adaptive cruise mode is manic with micro adjustments constantly tweaking the wheel in your hands. And the driver monitoring system is overly zealous, which is doubly annoying as it typically slaps you on the wrist with a visual and audible alert when you’re digging into the central screen for functions like ventilation that would be better handled by physical controls. Grrr.Jaecoo Motor Australia covers its cars with a competitive eight-year/unlimited km warranty (including the traction battery) with an initial 12 months of roadside assistance extended for another year each time you carry out a scheduled service at an authorised Jaecoo dealership. Recommended service interval is 12 months/15,000km and eight-year/120,000km capped-price servicing can be locked in for an average of just over $426 per workshop visit. Not the lowest when you consider a Toyota Corolla Cross service will set you back $255 for each of the first five years.There are around 50 Omoda Jaecoo dealers in Australia covering all states and territories except the NT.

Affordable cars are back with a vengeance. Chinese carmakers are rushing to fill the void left by the exodus of cheaper options from mainstream brands a few years ago.The Jaecoo J5 petrol is the latest budget-friendly small SUV to land in Australia, and it joins the J5 EV already on sale and a hybrid version is due to arrive later. Jaecoo is Chery’s more design-focused sub-brand.The two-tier J5 petrol range starts at $25,990 drive-away for the Track grade we are testing here, and $29,990 for the fully-loaded Summit variant.That starting point makes it one of the cheapest small SUVs on the market, and roughly $10,000 cheaper than options from big name brands such as Honda, Hyundai and Toyota. It joins the Chery Tiggo 4 ($23,990 drive-away), MG ZS ($22,990 drive-away) and GWM Haval Jolion ($26,990 drive-away) at the pointy end of the new-car battleground.Jaecoo has invested in the right spots to make the J5 feel more expensive than it is.The first thing you notice is its design. It’s a sharp-looking compact SUV, with a large waterfall grille, boxy silhouette, multi-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels and dynamic LED lights front and back. It looks like a Range Rover, and that can only be a good thing.Step inside and your eyes are instantly drawn to the massive 13.2-inch tablet-style multimedia screen, which is compatible with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the 8.8-inch digital driver display. The cabin has a clean, functional design, but look a bit closer and a few things stand out.The centre console has what looks like twin wireless device chargers, but is just two empty slots to put your phone. You’ll need to jump up to the Summit grade to get the cordless charger.There are wide slabs of hard plastic on the dash, doors and beneath your eye line.A lack of physical buttons for controls means you’ll need to jump into the central touchscreen to change simple functions such as the air-con.The cloth-wrapped seats are manually adjustable and reasonably comfortable. If you pony up for the Summit you’ll get power adjustable synthetic leather-wrapped seats with heating and ventilation functions up front.There is a handsome flat-bottomed steering wheel wrapped in synthetic leather with haptic controls.Overall its a fairly spartan cabin with a few wow features, but more than enough to impress at this price point.The higher grade adds a fixed panoramic sunroof, power tailgate, dual-zone air-con and increased storage options.The J5 is roomy. There is decent head, shoulder and legroom in both rows, and a 480-litre boot is generous for this size of car. There are good storage options up front with two cup holders, a covered storage bin and a lower deck on the centre console can hold plenty of knick-knacks. The back row has its own air-con vent and USB-C charging point.There is no spare tyre. There is room for one, but instead the Jaecoo comes with a fiddly tyre repair kit, which is unacceptable in a petrol car that doesn’t have a battery taking up the space.A special mention has to go to the Bluetooth speaker, with multiple phone calls commenting on how bad the audio quality is.Power comes from a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, which makes 108kW and 210Nm. This is matched to an automatic continuously variable transmission (CVT) that drives the front wheels.Fuel use is a claimed 7.5 litres per 100km, which isn’t great for a small turbo-petrol motor, but it does only require the cheapest unleaded petrol. Our short loan showed that figure is achievable, especially if you do a lot of highway kilometres.On the road the J5 is no dynamic masterpiece.The engine-transmission combo looks decent on paper but the two don’t gel well in the real world. The CVT tends to rev to extreme measures when asked to accelerate with little in the way of increased forward momentum, before it finds the right ratio to deliver the oomph required.In stop-start traffic it is also indecisive and noisy. The combo works best when cruising at motorway speeds.The suspension is too firm, and you’ll feel it through your seat as it crashes over bumps and lumps of all sizes. Cabin noise is intrusive.The flip side is a car that holds its weight well through corners with little to no body roll.The steering is light and vague with little feedback, and doesn’t inspire confidence on a tight, twisting road.Jaecoo has ticked all the safety boxes with the J5 packed with active driver aids.There are seven airbags across both rows, and the J5 will automatically apply the brakes if it detects a potential collision. It will warn you if something is in your blind spot and if a car is approaching from the side as you reverse.A variety of sensors will help keep you centred in your lane and tug the steering wheel to keep you in the right spot.Most of it works well in the real world, with a distinct lack of bings and bongs. The driver attention warning is a bit sensitive and the lane keep assist is a bit jerky, but overall a big improvement over earlier Chery group products.One of the J5’s biggest selling points is the eight-year/unlimited kilometre warrant, which is one of the longest in the business. There is an eight-year capped-price servicing program that requires workshop visits every 12 months or 15,000km. Total cost for the eight visits is $3326, and be aware the sixth and eighth visits are about $700 and $600, respectively.

Think hybrid and you'll probably conjure a Toyota in your mind. After all, the Japanese car giant has been nothing short of a petrol-electric pioneer since the first Prius went on sale back in 1997, but now Chery is out to crush Toyota's hybrid dominance with its latest Super Hybrid System Hybrid (SHS-H) tech.Designed to be far more efficient than any of its rivals, while offering more power and higher levels of refinement, the first car to debut the new powertrain in Australia will be the Jaecoo J5, which should land in dealers in a matter of months.Not to be confused with the hybrid already slotted under the bonnet of sister brand Chery's Tiggo 4, the new SHS-H hybrid comes with an advanced 1.5-litre turbo petrol that, with a 44.5 per cent thermal efficiency, is capable of converting more precious fuel into usable energy than all rivals in its class.Combined with a single-speed dedicated hybrid transmission, which is itself 98 per cent efficient, and a small 1.82kWh battery and electric motor, Chery claims that the J5 SHS-H produces an impressive 165kW and 295Nm of torque – far more than the 143kW and 221Nm the latest 2026 Toyota RAV4 manages.For reference, the J5 Hybrid also produces 15kW more than the Chery Tiggo 4 and outpunches other rivals like the GWM Haval Jolion (140kW), MG ZS (158kW) and the small Toyota Corolla Cross (143kW).That's a good start, but actual fuel use for the J5 Hybrid is a claimed 5.3L/100km and a total range of 980km on a full tank, figures that don't exactly set the class alight for efficiency, but the Chinese brand claims a big drop in its thirst in real-world driving.In the metal, the Jaecoo J5 Hybrid looks identical to both the petrol version, which borrows its looks from the Range Rover Evoque.There is one subtle change that helps you tell the new J5 Hybrid apart (other than badging), as the electrified petrol gains a fresh set of 18-inch aerodynamically optimised alloy wheels that are unique to the hybrid.One other minor change worth mentioning is that the J5 Hybrid ditches the button for the electronic handbrake, with the car now automatically applying the rear stoppers at rest and only releasing them when the driver puts their seatbelt on.Inside, like the rest of the J5 range, there is a large 13.2-inch portrait-mounted infotainment that is blended with an 8.0-inch digital instrument cluster.With an opportunity for a brief drive in China following its public launch at the Beijing motor show, the J5 Hybrid feels eager off the line compared with the lacklustre entry petrol, with 0-100km/h now taking 7.9 seconds – a whopping 2.3 seconds quicker than the base model.Without any gears to shuffle, the one-speed transmission is smooth and overall refinement levels high.Quick changes of direction hint at some improvements over the standard J5, but we will need to confirm on road whether the drive and ride have been improved.It is the latter we are most concerned about, as the J5 EV has reportedly been too easily agitated over rougher Aussie bitumen, but our brief spin over mostly smooth roads provided zero red flags.Jaecoo has yet to detail specifications for its new hybrid and it is unknown if the petrol-electric version will be offered in a single model grade, like the EV, or two trims like the entry petrol.The current J5 EV is well-equipped, with a glass sunroof, electric tailgate, dual-zone climate control, 50W wireless charger, synthetic leather six-way adjustable heated and ventilated electric seats, plus 360-degree surround view cameras all standard.Adding extra peace of mind, the latest J5 hybrid will be covered by the carmaker's generous eight-year/unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty, while services are expected to be every 12 months or 20,000km with a capped-price service program likely to be offered.In other markets, like the UK, the new J5 SHS-H commands a price premium over the petrol of around 10-12 per cent, which could see it priced from around $28,500-$29,100 drive-away when it goes on sale. 

Yet another Chinese EV for our shores. How will the Jaecoo J5 EV stand out from the crowded pack?