Jaecoo J5 Reviews

Jaecoo is positioning itself as a premium brand - but not an expensive one.The Chery spin-off has just arrived in Australia with its first model, the J7, which will be available at a network of up to 40 specific Omoda-Jaecoo dealers, as Chery’s Omoda 5 and E5 models also become a spin-off.But as the J7 demonstrates, when Chery execs say it’s a ‘premium’ brand it’s in the context of Chery, so rather than being a rival to Lexus and Mercedes-Benz, Jaecoo will simply be a more polished version of what Chery offers.To that end, the J7 range will take direct aim at the heart of the mid-size SUV market, aiming to lure buyers away from the likes of the Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5, BYD Sealion 6 and more. The J7 line-up will consist of four models initially, the 2WD Core, 2WD Track, AWD Ridge and SHS Summit, with the choice of two powertrains.The range will begin at just $34,990 drive-away for the 2WD Core and $37,990 drive-away for the 2WD Track. These are powered by a 137kW/275Nm 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and powering the front wheels.The AWD Ridge is priced from $42,990 and has the same 1.6-litre engine, with the same performance but obviously powering all four wheels.The range is topped by the SHS Summit, priced from $47,990 drive-away. SHS stands for Super Hybrid System, which is Jaecoo’s name for its plug-in hybrid powertrain. The SHS combines a 105kW 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with a 150kW electric motor and a single-speed transmission and drives the front wheels.The SHS has a 18.3kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery to power the electric motor, providing a claimed 90km of electric-only driving range. This helps the J7 SHS achieve a claimed fuel consumption figure of just 1.0L/100km, with the company claiming up to 1200km of theoretical driving range on a single tank/charge.Jaecoo is launching with an even longer warranty than Chery’s seven-year coverage, with the J7 covered by an eight-year warranty, as well as having eight years of capped-price servicing and roadside assistance.Standard equipment on the J7 Core includes 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, LED daytime running lights, a 10.2-inch digital instrument display and a 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen, which incorporates wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Track trim level adds a power tailgate, front parking sensors, 360° surround view monitor, heated front seats, ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, plus a wireless smartphone charger and an eight-speaker Sony sound system.Stepping up to the AWD Ridge model brings torque vectoring all-wheel drive, 19-inch alloy wheels, a full-size spare, a panoramic sunroof, heated and ventilated front seats, in-built dashcam and a 14.8-inch infotainment touchscreen.The SHS Summit matches much of the specification of the Ridge, but gets unique 19-inch ‘aero’ alloy wheels, a head-up display and perforated synthetic leather seats.All models are equipped with ‘Hello Jaecoo’ the brand’s voice-activated assistant.Safety across the range includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning. Notably the 2WD Core is equipped with seven airbags, but the Track, Ridge and SHS models all have an additional driver’s knee airbag.The Jaecoo J7 hasn’t been crash tested by ANCAP but Chery’s previous models have received five stars, so anything less would be a surprising result given the premium positioning of the brand.Jaecoo will add the larger J8 SUV by the end of 2025 and the smaller J5 SUV is believed to be under consideration for the expanding Omoda-Jaecoo showrooms.

The rapid and seemingly unstoppable expansion of Chinese carmakers is something to behold.But is it too far-fetched to think all cars will be Chinese within the next 20 years? Or is it naive not to see it as a strong possibility?For a long time I’ve thought the emergence of new Chinese cars in Australia and globally was the natural progression of the car industry. New brands morph from alternative fledgling brands to mature and established ones. We saw this with Japanese brands such as Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Nissan which gained popularity in the 1960s and ’70s before becoming established go-to brands in the 1980s and ’90s as they fought homegrown heroes Ford and Holden for space in Australia's driveways. And it stayed that way until the first decade of the 2000s ticked over.Holden and Ford’s ranges and sales shrank giving way to the Koreans who filled the gap with Hyundai and Kia which have climbed high into the top 10 thanks to an excellent range of SUVs and EVs.They’re now marching towards the only brands that stand in their way - Mitsubishi, Ford, Mazda and Toyota - which, by the way, have about three EVs between them.And given another five years Kia and Hyundai may have been able to topple Toyota from number one. But it might be too late for that. The presence of a large and fast-growing force is creating major uncertainty for the established brands in the Australian market - the rise and rise of Chinese brands. At the end of 2024 there were 12 Chinese brands operating in Australia and this year we’re expecting at least another seven to arrive. To put that in perspective we currently have a total of 50 car brands in Australia and nine are Japanese. By the end of 2025 the Chinese tally could easily be 20 brands or 30 per cent of Australia's brand make up.Several Chinese brands have been in Australia for years and have already done the hard yards. It took MG a couple of attempts to find a foothold but it was the seventh best-selling brand in 2024, while GWM came in at 10th. LDV is further down but still sold more than 16,000 vehicles here last year.The newer Chinese arrivals show huge promise with most of them offering affordable electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids when the established brands have only a handful among them, usually at higher prices.BYD, Zeekr, Leapmotor, Geely, Deepal, XPeng, Smart, JAC, Aion, Chery and Jaecoo will spend 2025 launching a multitude of new vehicles here. BYD will be one to watch having sold more cars here last year than Mercedes-Benz and it will likely enter the top 10 best sellers next year. Geely, which is the ‘Volkswagen of China’ in terms of its size and how many brands it owns, is another to watch.Chinese car manufacturers' speed of production, the development of new platforms and technology, the low cost of batteries, availability of electronics and the breakthroughs being made in charging systems, plus the sheer amount of money and Chinese government support behind them make competition almost impossible for many other brands.It’s almost certain that some established brands will bow out of Australia, unable to compete with Chinese brands. It’s also feasible that within the next decade more than half the Australian market could be made up of Chinese brands. And surely some Chinese brands won’t be able to cut it here and leave, too.Who could survive? Well, time has shown that even the mighty like Holden have fallen if they don’t make the cars people want to buy. The sheer brute force of Chinese brands being able to offer what people want quickly and at a low price, and at an always improving tech level could be too difficult for many other brands to fight off.In an extreme scenario this could lead to a 100 per cent Chinese brand market within 15 years. Sounds far fetched? Well they’re a third of the way there already.  

Jaecoo is set to launch in Australia imminently, but we've had a little preview steer in its first model, the J7 mid-size SUV. Can it shake up the establishment with premium styling and an expected sharp price?

The premium ‘sibling’ brand to Chery, called Jaecoo, is about to launch in Australia.

Pricing of the Jaecoo J7 has been revealed in the UK ahead of its early 2025 Australian release.

Chery’s luxury sub-brand Jaecoo has revealed a new small SUV to slot in below its mid- and full-sized SUVs coming to Australia.

Chery’s sub-brand Jaecoo will launch in Australia in the second half of next year with its flagship large SUV, the Jaecoo J8.

It’s like playing Whac-A-Mole. Almost weekly there are announcements from new brands promising better technology, longer driving ranges and cheaper prices coming to Australia and a great deal of them hail from China.

Did Chery really just say no to its off-road answer to GWM's Tank range?

Three new plug-in hybrid SUVs have been revealed by Chery and its premium sub-brand Jaecoo at the 2024 Beijing Auto Show, all likely for an Australian launch.