Jaecoo J8 vs Isuzu MU-X

What's the difference?

It is hard to argue with the sheer amount of stuff you get in the J8 for the price. And that long warranty and capped price servicing program remove the stress of buying into a new brand.

The J8 might be more car than most people need due to its size and lack of third row seating.

It’s okay to drive but isn’t class leading and no hybrid option will count it out for the ever increasing number of Aussies looking to petrol-electric power.

The J8 is a solid machine and well worth a look if you are after glitz and glamour on a budget.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

The MU-X has always had plenty of appeal as a daily driver – dependable, not dynamic – and it’s a proven 4WD wagon.

Some people don't like the noisy, sluggish engine, but I don't mind it because it delivers off-road.

There was already a lot to like about the seven-seater wagon in terms of its off-road capability, driver-assist tech, standard features, and simple all-round driveability, and the X-Terrain – which encompasses all of that AND adds some polish to the mix – is an impressive top-shelf addition to the MU-X line-up. Even if it's so pricey...

The J8 looks familiar but it's hard to remember where you’ve seen it before. There are shades of Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and Range Rover scattered throughout.

The J8 looks more native Jaecoo than the smaller J7, but either way it's a handsome machine in the metal.

Its large, prominent front grille with thick vertical slats gives it presence on the road. This is paired with a big JAECOO badge on the grille and dynamic LED headlights and DRLs.

It has a sleek side profile and does away with gaudy panel creases and sharp edges, which helps project its premium persona. This design is highlighted by its hidden door handles, well integrated roof rails and rear spoiler.

There is a rear light bar, which is the current must have styling item, and connects the tail-lights

Inside is where the action is.

It looks proper luxe, with soft touch and textured inserts all over. We spent the majority of our time in the Ridge AWD and on top of the dash is a type of soft synthetic suede and there are wood veneer-type inserts that give it a touch of class as well as some piano black highlights and plenty of premium feeling materials.

Even in the back seat, where some brands can cut costs, the J8 has a quality feel to it.

It is an impressive space for circa-$50,000.

As I’ve said before, the MU-X has never been particularly exciting or boring in terms of design, just comfortably adopting a low-key, middle-of-the-road type design – sales gold, in other words.

But the X-Terrain has distinctive ‘X’ branding here and there – inside and out – and that adds a subtle class to this variant.

The X-Terrain is 4860mm long (with a 2855mm wheelbase), 1870mm wide (excluding mirrors), 1825mm high and has a listed kerb weight of 2195kg.

It has a wheel track of 1570mm and an 11.6m turning circle. 

Our test vehicle has the exclusive X-Terrain paint – slate grey metallic – which matches well with the X badging, bigger grille design, new headlights, three-tier LED tail-lights, and redesigned wheels.

The interior strikes a stylish note as well with red stitching on the dash, centre console and leather-accented seat trim.

Having only five seats in a car this big feels like a waste of space, and in reality it is. You’re now driving a very big and bulky car without the people carrying pros.

Very rarely will you need to use the giant 738-litre boot, but the ability to carry children’s friends or extended family is probably a more useful and regular scenario.

Up front there are plenty of storage options with lots of nooks and crannies in the centre console, including a sizeable and deep bin and good size pockets on the doors. Cupholders for both rows are a plus, too.

USB charging points for both rows are great. If you like to connect to Apple CarPlay via a cord and not wirelessly the port is down near the front seat passengers right foot, which is hard to access.

Additionally the wireless device charger is on the passenger side of the console. Both are hallmarks of a car originally designed to be driven on the other side of the road.

The back seat is huge, there is ample leg, shoulder and head room and it can easily accommodate adults or large teenagers.

The interior has a pleasant, familiar and practical feel about it and this is an easy space in which to swiftly become comfortable. 

Controls are easy to locate and operate and charging options are numerous – a mix of USB-A, USB-C and 12V up front, and USB-A for the second row.

Storage places include recesses for your everyday carry gear, a suitably deep centre console, as well as dual cupholders up front, cupholders in the rear fold-down centre armrest and bottle holders in the doors.

There are cupholders either side of the third row in the MU-X for passengers riding back there.

The MU-X has physical-button options to activate some functions (including to switch on the audio system, to adjust volume, access sat nav etc).

Seats are adequately comfortable and supportive through all three rows – yes, even the third row is roomy enough to prevent whining from whoever is stuck back there.

The cargo area is 311 litres with all three rows in use, 1119L with the third row flat and 2138L with the second and third rows folded.

The rear cargo area has a cargo cover, tie-down points, a 12V power outlet, a storage space under the rear cargo area floor and a space for tools inside the driver’s side rear cargo wall.

The MU-X X-Terrain 3.0L 4x4 is priced at $74,400 before on-road costs, or $73,990 drive-away for now.

Standard features include a 9.0-inch multimedia touchscreen system with sat-nav, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an eight-speaker sound system, eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat (four-way power-adjustable front passenger seat), remote engine start, smart entry and start, and 20-inch machined-alloy gloss-black wheels on 265/60R20 Bridgestone 684II HT tyres.

As part of the X-Terrain package, it has XT badging in the grille mesh, on fender and tailgate, leather-accented seats with red stitching, gloss-black fender flares and fender garnish.

It also has 265/50R20 highway terrain tyres, red ambient interior lighting with footwell lamp 360-degree, surround-view monitor, and a red-themed 7.0-inch multi-information-display.

Exterior paint jobs on the MU-X X-Terrain include four achromatic finishes: Moonstone White pearl, Mercury Silver metallic, Basalt Black mica and the new X-Terrain exclusive colour, Slate Grey metallic. 

All premium paints (pearl, metallic and mica) cost an extra $695. 

Power comes from a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine that makes 183kW and 385Nm, which is matched to an eight-speed automatic driving either the front or all four wheels.

That’s a decent amount of grunt and is on par with a Volkswagen Golf GTI, but the J8 weights about 1800kg in 2WD guise with AWD adding 100kg.

Those numbers are also short of the 206kW/422Nm delivered by the Santa Fe’s turbo-petrol motor but are better than the 200kW and 333Nm made by the Sorento’s non-turbo V6.

The lack of a hybrid option at launch, which is popular in rival machines, could prove to be a misstep.

Jaecoo said a plug-in hybrid version was under consideration, but is likely to come at a decent premium.

The MU-X has a 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, producing 140kW and 450Nm and it’s matched to a six-speed auto.

These form part of a proven powertrain and while the MU-X may not be the most dynamic vehicle to drive – it’s acceleration is sluggish rather than punchy – it has a real tractability that nullifies any other niggles.

It has part-time 4WD, with high- and low-range as well as various drive modes, rough terrain mode, and a rear diff lock.

Jaecoo claims on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle the J8 Track 2WD will drink 8.3L/100km and the Ridge AWD will gulp 8.6L/100km, which is better than its similar sized rivals. But those rivals also have hybrid options that are more powerful and drink less fuel.

It also requires premium unleaded fuel, while the others drink the cheaper stuff.

A 65-litre fuel tank gives it a theoretical driving range of 755km in its thirstiest guise.

We didn’t get to spend enough time behind the wheel to do a thorough real-world test, and the majority of our drive was spent on high-speed arterial roads or motorways where petrol cars are at their most efficient. So we’ll reserve judgement until we undertake a more comprehensive test drive.

Official fuel consumption for this MU-X is 8.3L/100km and that's on a combined cycle. 

On this test I recorded 10.2L/100km. I did a lot of high and low-range four-wheel driving, so that fuel consumption is not too shabby.

The MU-X has an 80-litre fuel tank, so going by my on-test fuel consumption figures you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 784km from a full tank. 

There is a clear line of demarcation between the Chery brand and Jaecoo, and the J8 drives substantially better than Chery’s line of budget-friendly Tiggo SUVs.

We spent most of our time in the Ridge AWD and the fancy active suspension makes a huge impact. It keeps the vehicle in check through corners, exerting excellent body control. It's a bit unnerving how flat the car sits through the bends with next to no body roll.

Despite riding on giant 20-inch wheels the J8 soaks up bumps and road imperfections with ease.

The Track 2WD falls off noticeably in this regard without the active damping.

The steering is light and a bit floaty, which saps confidence when entering corners as there isn’t a lot of feedback on what is happening underneath you.

The steering ratio seems a bit wide of the mark, the wheel needing more input than we'd like.

The engine delivers decent grunt and it's tuned for leisurely acceleration rather than performance. 

There was the odd occasion when the transmission and the motor weren't quite in sync and you might get a bit of hesitation and then too much oomph all at once.

It has no problems getting up to speed on the motorway and handles overtaking with ease. 

Jaecoo, and its parent company Chery, have worked hard on the safety tech calibration and it's much less intrusive on the J8 than some earlier models. This applies especially to the lane keep assist, which only steps in when needed. There are far fewer bings and bongs than before.

You sit up nice and high in the J8, which gives you a good view of the road ahead, but the sloped rear window restricts vision out the back compared to boxier shaped SUVs.

It is a big rig and you feel that on the road, even the Jaecoo team said you’d notice the width of the J8 on the road, which might be an issue if you live in compact inner city areas or deal with cramped car spaces.

In previous tests, the MU-X has been fine on road and more than adequate on gravel, dirt tracks, and during low-range 4WDing. But it’s been a jarring, skippy ride on irregular surfaces rather than as composed as it could – and should – have been. The culprit? Firm suspension, over-inflated tyres, too-tight trousers, who knows?

The good news is it seems like Isuzu has ironed out any issues in the suspension, minor or otherwise, because the MU-X is now is a lot better in terms of ride and handling than ever before. 

Off-road, the MU-X has always been a proven combination of its 3.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, clever six-speed automatic transmission, and an off-road traction control system that's been increasingly well recalibrated through a number of generations. 

The engine is tractable and gruff, it has plenty of grunt and, as long as you're not driving like a complete hoon, you can usually get through most obstacles without a lot of fuss.

It's this mix of mechanicals and driver-assist tech that make the MU-X such an effective 4WD package. And there are a number of reasons for that. 

For one, that engine delivers plenty of torque down low and in the mid-range torque and that's crucial for four-wheel driving. 

And another thing, Rough Terrain Mode – like a beefed-up and fine-tuned off-road traction control – proves very effective because it punches torque to the wheel with the most traction – while wheel spin on tyres that aren't touching dirt is minimised – and that way it keeps the vehicle moving through obstacles with safe and controlled momentum. 

As I’ve noted before though, Rough Terrain Mode is not a magic all-conquering solution, but it is another handy addition to the MU-X’s off-road toolbox.

And the MU-X also has a rear diff lock to back you up – and that's another valuable component. 

The MU-X has approach, departure and ramp-over angles of 29.2, 26.4 and 23.1 respectively.

A listed 235mm of ground clearance is about standard for this kind of wagon but, as I’ve said before, it seems vulnerable in the underbody, side steps and its plastic mud guards. So the underbody may touch dirt, depending on how challenging the terrain is. 

Wading depth is listed as 800mm.

But, as always, with focused driving, you’ll have lots of fun and you'll minimise any superficial damage or scuff marks to the MU-X.

The MU-X has plenty of potential as a touring platform, but, if you’re planning to do any off-roading beyond well-maintained tracks, then get rid of its road-biased tyres and replace them with all-terrain tyres.

The showroom-standard tyres on this MU-X – 265/50R20 Bridgestone Dueler HTs – are okay, but not really up to scratch if tough 4WDing is what you’re keen to do. I’d prefer an 18-inch wheel and tyre package with decent all-terrains.

The MU-X has a full-sized underslung spare and in terms of packability, the MU-X X-Terrain has a listed payload of 605kg, GVM is 2800kg and GCM is 5900kg.

If you are considering using your MUX as a tow vehicle, it's handy to know that it can legally tow 750kg (unbraked) and 3500kg (braked), which is the standard for large four-wheel-drive wagons. 

Be aware though that, as with any other vehicles, once you're towing anywhere near the maximum weight, your payload is greatly reduced.

The MU-X has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing in July 2022.

Standard safety features include eight airbags (dual front, dual seat side, dual full-length curtain, front knee and centre, far-side), and a comprehensive suite of driver-assist tech including forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and a tyre-pressure monitoring system.

New gear onboard includes new hardware for the auto emergency braking ( AEB), like improved vehicle detection, periphery and depth perception, new digital reversing camera with a hydrophobic coating to prevent water and dirt build-up (better visibility off-road), new rear cross traffic brake (detects and reacts to approaching vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians when reversing), as well as updated lane-keep assist ( smoother steering correction).

Jaecoo backs its cars for eight years and unlimited km, which is one of the most comprehensive in the business. MG, Mitsubishi and Nissan all have 10 year warranties but are not unlimited km and Mitsubishi and Nissan need you to only service at their dealerships.

Jaecoo backs this up with an eight-year capped priced servicing program, which costs $2952 for the Track 2WD and $3452 for the Ridge AWD. That’s slightly on the expensive side but better than being at the whim of the mechanic after five years.

Keep in mind the fourth and eight year services are biggies, costing $699 and $799 in the Ridge AWD and $499 and $599 in the Track 2WD.

You also get eight years of roadside assistance if you service your car at the dealership.

The MU-X has a six-year/150,000km warranty and seven years of roadside assistance. That warranty is okay in terms of years, but unlimited kilometres would be welcome.

Service intervals are scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs soonest. 

Capped-price servicing covers the first five scheduled services for 24MY and later vehicle models (up to five years/75,000km, whichever occurs first) – at a cost of $469 for each service.