Jaecoo J8 vs Ram 2500

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 RAM 2500 Laramie 4x4 is designed primarily as an extreme duty tow vehicle, and in that role it excels. So if you've got something really big to tow like a multi-axle caravan, horse float, boat trailer or other type of trailer up to 7.0 tonnes, you'd be hard pressed to find a more effortless and luxurious way to move it than with one of these jiggers.

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.

With a granite-crushing 3577kg kerb weight (by comparison Ford's top-shelf Ranger Wildtrak dual cab ute is 'only' 2250kg) the RAM 2500's architecture is tailor-made for heavy towing with a massive ladder frame chassis and expansive 3797mm wheelbase (Ranger 3220mm) providing rock-solid towing stability.

Front and rear suspension is via multi-link coil-sprung live axles (LSD rear), with four wheel disc brakes inside 18 x 8.0-inch polished alloy wheels and Michelin LT265/70R18E all-purpose tyres. Plus there's a full size spare.

ASV prefers to use the word 're-manufacture' rather than 'conversion' when describing its extensive body-off-frame RHD engineering process. We can vouch for that, having inspected the company's ISO quality-certified Melbourne production line, which turns out about 40 vehicles a month and employs 28 full-time staff in a dedicated factory right next door to HSV in Clayton. The end result is OEM standards in parts supply, engineering quality, standard of finish and driving performance.

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 RAM 2500's payload capacity of 913kg might seem conservative compared to smaller dual cab utes with one-tonne payloads, but drill down further into its huge tow ratings and that 913kg (say 5-6 occupants and all their gear) looks mighty impressive.

Why? Because on a 50mm ball it can tow up to 3500kg with a full payload (7990kg gross combined mass), on a 70mm ball it can tow up to 4500kg with a full payload (8990kg GCM) and with a gooseneck and ring connection (aka pintle) it can tow up to 6989kg – and still with a full payload. That's a whopping 11,479kg GCM or just under 11.5 tonnes. Try doing that with a one-tonne ute!

The heart of this power giant is a Cummins 6.7 litre inline six cylinder turbo-diesel with 276kW at 2800rpm and a towering 1084Nm of torque at only 1600rpm.

The big cargo box, which is protected by a spray-in bedliner, is 511mm deep with a load floor that's 1939mm long and 1687mm wide with 1295mm between the wheel arches. That means it can take a standard 1160mm x 1160mm pallet, or a couple of dirt bikes with the tailgate up and heaps of room left for your gear and tools.

The cabin offers numerous storage options with bottle holders and twin storage pockets in the front doors, a huge centre console (which pivots into an upright position to serve as the centre seat backrest when required) with internal storage and three more cup/bottle holders, twin glove box compartments, rear door storage pockets, a central floor-mounted twin bottle holder and deep in-floor storage bins hidden under the carpet mats on either side. The rear seat can also be quickly reconfigured into a convenient flat-floored cargo area when required.

ASV offers a choice of 2500 and 3500 (larger GVM) models, with the 2500 attracting the vast majority of local sales as it has a higher peak tow rating and can be driven with a standard driver's licence.

Our test vehicle was the RAM 2500 Laramie Dual Cab 4x4 which starts at $139,500. That's a lot of money but not unreasonable when compared to the $120,000-plus you'll pay for Toyota's local towing hero, the 200 Series Land Cruiser in premium Sahara spec, with 'only' a 3.5 tonne tow rating.

The ASV RAM is supplied in top-shelf Laramie grade which includes a sumptuous six-seater leather interior with more features than you could ask for. These include all the usuals like multimedia interface, dual-zone climate control, sunroof, sliding rear window and power everything, plus some not-so-usuals like remote starting using the key-fob (great on cold mornings before you leave the house), a high-mount cargo camera to keep an eye on your payload, a heated steering wheel and power adjustable pedals to name a few on a very long list.

Further proof of its intended role in life is a seven-pin wiring harness, heavy duty receiver hitch and electric trailer brake control. In simple terms, it's fully loaded.

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 heart of this power giant is a Cummins 6.7 litre inline six cylinder turbo-diesel with 276kW at 2800rpm and - most importantly in this context – a towering 1084Nm of torque at only 1600rpm. It's also equipped with a very effective exhaust brake with a choice of settings.

Chrysler's equally robust and well-proven (68RFE) six-speed automatic transmission with driver-adaptive shifting is purpose-built for extreme duty. The 4x4 drivetrain features a dual-range Borg Warner transfer case with electronic shift-on-the-fly control and a 2.64:1 low range reduction, which with the 3.42:1 final drive results in a 29.2:1 crawl ratio. Ideal for towing a heavy load out of a rugged worksite or a campground turned boggy by overnight rain.

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.

We conducted two tests based on fuel bowser and trip meter readings. The first, which mostly comprised heavy towing, resulted in 20.14L/100km compared to 16.6 on its instrument display. The second was a mix of city, suburban and highway driving with no towing which returned 15.08 litres/100km compared to 14.0 displayed.

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.

The strong whiff of leather is a nice way to start each journey. The full-length side steps and grab handles are required for every climb in and out of the elevated cabin which provides a commanding view of the world, even though the outer edges of its vast bonnet and front mudguards disappear from view.

The front seats are wide and comfortable with good lateral support and rear seat passengers have generous head, shoulder and legroom as you would expect. Although it feels huge when you first climb aboard, the RAM starts to shrink around you the more you drive it, aided by front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera for tight parking situations (which is most of the time).

Its height of 1974mm (Ranger 1848mm) will still clear most undercover car parks (usually 2100mm limit) and its 2009mm width is only 150mm wider than a Ranger, so it will also fit within most car parking spaces. The biggest parking handicap is its oil tanker-like 6030mm length which is 675mm longer than the Ranger, so you need plenty of room for reversing.

On the highway it has a remarkably quiet cabin environment thanks to substantial ASV-added sound insulation, low wind noise and minimal tyre roar.

Ride quality when empty is generally good, although you do notice the firmness of the heavy duty spring rates over larger bumps. Acceleration is spirited, too, with an unbridled 1084Nm shoving you in the back and the steering is nicely weighted and relatively direct for an old-school steering box set-up.

The quartet of disc brakes, though, do not have the bite relative to pedal effort one might expect. ASV engineers claim it's the result of pad compounds which have to withstand the heat of up to 7.0 tonne towing loads, so they tend to be relatively hard.

On the highway it has a remarkably quiet cabin environment thanks to substantial ASV-added sound insulation, low wind noise and minimal tyre roar. At 100km/h with no payload, the 6.7 litre Cummins barely ticked over at 1400rpm and that hardly changed when we hooked up a dual axle New Age Caravan with a 3270kg tare weight.

Given that was less than half of its peak towing capacity, the big RAM barely noticed it was there. The engine's massive 1084Nm of torque at only 1600rpm was most impressive on long gradual climbs, allowing the truck and caravan combo to squash each hill in top gear with minimal throttle.

Each time you ease off the accelerator, too, the exhaust brake provides more than enough retardation (and Kenworth sound effects) to ensure you rarely need to push the brake pedal. And when you do, the electric trailer brake control provides powerful and sure-footed stopping power. The door mirrors were also wide enough to see along each side of the van and approaching rear traffic.

Currently no ANCAP rating but ASV subjected one to a full frontal barrier crash under Australian Design Rule 69/00 which it passed, thereby becoming the first locally converted (oops, re-manufactured) vehicle to be crash tested.

It's loaded with passive and active safety features including driver and front passenger airbags, front seat-mounted side airbags and front and rear side curtain airbags, electronic stability control, front and rear parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring display and reversing camera. The rear seat has three headrests and three lap-sash belts plus anchorage points to secure up to three child seats.

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.

RAM Trucks Australia provides a three year/100,000km warranty plus national Roadside Assistance for the duration of the warranty period.

Service intervals of six months/12,000km whichever comes first. ASV has a 30-strong Australian dealership network providing full sales and after-sales service.