Jaecoo J8 vs Toyota 86

What's the difference?

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.

Cast your mind back to 2012, Carly Rae Jepsen’s super-catchy Call Me Maybe single was at the top of the music charts, the first Avengers movie had just hit movie theatres and Toyota’s 86 sports car finally arrived in Australian showrooms after a lengthy teaser campaign.

Fast-forward eight years to 2020, and Carly Rae Jepsen is still releasing bangers, the Avengers have become the zeitgeist of 2010s popular culture and... the Toyota 86 is still available in local showrooms.

Sure, Toyota has tweaked, fiddled and updated the 86 a little since then, but the formula for an affordable, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive coupe is still the same.

But the 86 now competes in a market that has moved ahead in leaps and bounds, and while direct competitors like the Mazda MX-5 are few and far between, it now has to fend off competition from some light-sized warm hatches.

Does the Toyota 86 manage to hold its own in 2020? Or is it better off relegated to the annals of history?