Jaecoo J7 vs Jaecoo J8

What's the difference?

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Jaecoo J7
Jaecoo J7

$31,990 - $45,990

2025 price

Jaecoo J8
Jaecoo J8

$46,990 - $51,990

2025 price

Summary

2025 Jaecoo J7
2025 Jaecoo J8
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Inline 4, 1.6L

Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

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Fuel Efficiency
7.0L/100km (combined)

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Seating
5

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Dislikes
  • Average driving experience
  • Lack of physical buttons inside
  • No spare for the PHEV

  • So-so drive
  • Servicing kinda expensive
  • No hybrid
2025 Jaecoo J7 Summary

Yep, it’s yet another new brand. And, yes, it’s from China.

You can be forgiven for not keeping up with the influx of new car brands in recent years, even as a professional I can find it challenging at times. But that’s why we’re here, to help you determine which brands to pay attention to and which ones you can probably ignore.

So which one is Jaecoo?

Well, the good news for the brand is that it comes from one of China’s biggest and most successful car companies, Chery, which has been a leading exporter for more than two decades, so it has a reasonable understanding of international markets.

Jaecoo is designed to be a separate, stand-alone brand from Chery, and in Australia will be sold at specific Omoda-Jaecoo dealerships (as the Omoda 5 is also spun-off into yet another ‘new’ brand). The Jaecoo J7 we’re driving here is its first model, a mid-size SUV that will compete directly against the likes of the BYD Sealion 6, Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson and more.

Because despite management referring to Jaecoo as a “luxury” brand and calling the J7 a “premium SUV” that’s all within the context of the Chery universe. Jaecoo is simply a more premium alternative to Chery, not a true luxury brand that will challenge the likes of Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and the rest on quality and, as you’ll soon see, price.

We’ve already sampled the entry-level J7 2WD but now we’re getting to experience the 4WD and range-topping SHS, which stands for Super Hybrid System, but is better known as a plug-in hybrid. The SHS is the model we spent the most time in and that’s what we’ll focus on in this review.

Chery/Jaecoo executives say that what it calls ‘new elites’ - people that are “moving up in the world” and are looking for a “fashionable” and “cool” car - are the target market. But as we’ll explain, the market for the J7 is likely to be much broader than just the fashionable elite and cool kids.

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2025 Jaecoo J8 Summary

The Jaecoo J8 is an odd car.

It’s hard to place exactly where it sits in the market. It’s premium, but very affordable. It's very big but only has five seats. And it’s petrol only, at least for now, in a world that is obsessed with hybrid or electric power.

You’ve probably never heard of Jaecoo. That’s alright it’s only new, but it’s a fresh Chinese brand with big ambitions. A more accurate description is it’s Chery’s premium sub-brand.

And the J8 is its new flagship SUV that has found a little niche that's been left in Australia’s overflowing SUV segment.

It’s about the same size as the Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe family SUVs, but the J8 is five seats only and ditches the third row for a big boot.

The interior wouldn’t look out of place if it had a three-pointed star on the bonnet but the price tag will have you thinking you can buy two for the price of one.

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Deep dive comparison

2025 Jaecoo J7 2025 Jaecoo J8

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