Jaecoo J8 vs Volvo V90

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 V90 Cross Country is a carefully considered, hugely practical, and sleek full-size wagon. It has power to shift a family and all that goes with it, along with leading edge safety for maximum protection. The engine could be quieter, the ride smoother, and the warranty longer. But if you're thinking about a premium five-seat SUV, we suggest checking out the passenger car driveability this Volvo offers.

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.

Three people have led Volvo's drive towards its current ultra-cool design look and feel. Thomas Ingenlath is Volvo's long-time chief design officer (and CEO of the brand's performance car subsidiary, Polestar), Robin Page is head of Volvo design, and Maximilian Missoni oversees exterior design.

In a rare case of healthy designer egos not getting in the way of a positive outcome, this trio has developed a classically simple, Scandinavian approach combining echoes of Volvos past, like the large grille, complete with 'Iron Mark' logo, and current signature elements including the dramatic 'Thor's Hammer' LED headlights and lengthy tail-light clusters.

The Cross Country off-roady bit comes courtesy of black wheelarch over-fenders, with the same shade applied to the window glass surrounds, front air vents, side skirts and lower section of the rear bumper.

Inside, the look is cool and sophisticated, with clean form working hand-in-hand with straight-forward function. The colour palette runs from brushed metal highlights, through grey, to black.

Our test vehicle featured three option packages, with two impacting interior presentation. All the details are listed in the price and value section below, but in terms of the cabin, the 'Premium Pack' adds a panoramic glass sunroof, and tinted rear glass, while the 'Luxury Pack' brings ventilated 'Perforated Comfort Seats' trimmed in (partial) nappa leather (the standard trim is nappa leather 'accented'... without the perforations).

The overall feel is composed and serene, with a layered approach to the dash including a mix of soft-touch materials and 'metal mesh' highlight elements.

A 9.0-inch centre touchscreen is portrait oriented with large vertical vents either side, and a 12.3-inch digital driver display sits inside a compact instrument binnacle.

The seats look inviting with raised stitching defining neatly sculpted panels, the curved head restraints another characteristic Volvo touch.

Overall, the V90's design is carefully considered and understated, but far from boring. It's great to look at on the outside, while the interior is as calming as it is efficient.

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.

At just over 4.9m long, more than 2.0m wide, and a touch taller than 1.5m the V90 CC is a substantial wagon providing seating for five, ample cargo space, and lots of thoughtful touches to help ease the daily grind.

Those in front enjoy heaps of space as well as a centre console incorporating two cupholders, an oddments tray, two USB ports (one to enable Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connection and one for charging only) and a 12-volt socket, all able to be hidden by an elegant, roll-top cover. A similar, smaller cover rolls over a coin tray near the gearshift.

There's also a decent (cooled) glovebox, generous door bins with room for large bottles, and a small lidded box on the lower dash to the right of the steering wheel.

Switch to the rear and the 'roomy' theme continues. Sitting behind the driver's seat set for my 183cm (6.0ft) position I had plenty of leg and headroom, and the width of the car means three average-sized adults can populate the back seat without resorting to uncomfortable contortion.

A centre flip-down armrest houses a pair of pop-put cupholders, an oddments tray and a lidded storage box. But the modest door bins are too narrow for normal size bottles. On the upside, though, parents of small children everywhere will welcome the standard perforated pull-up blinds for each rear door window.

There are also netted map pockets on the back of the front seats, plus adjustable air vents at the back of the centre console and supplementary vents in the B-pillars. Our car's Versatility Pack option added a three-pin 220-volt power outlet at the base of the tunnel console, too.

Then, there's the business end, with the V90 coughing up 560 litres of boot space with the rear seats upright. More than enough to swallow our three-piece hard suitcase set (35, 68 and 105 litres) or the jumbo-size CarsGuide pram, or various combinations of the two.

With the second row 60/40 split-folding rear seat (with through port) down that grows to a substantial 913 litres. And that's measured to top of seat height. If you're loading up to the headlining those numbers stretch out to 723L/1526L.

Plus, there's a 12-volt outlet, bright lighting, a stretchy retaining strap on the right-hand wall, strategically placed shopping bag hooks and tie-down anchors at each corner of the floor.

The Versatility Pack option also adds a 'grocery bag holder' which is a piece of pure Nordic genius. It's essentially a flip-up board that pops out from the cargo floor with two bag hooks at the top and pair of elasticised retaining straps across its width. For small shopping loads it keeps things secure without the need to bring in a full cargo retaining net.

And to make lowering the rear seat and opening up that extra volume easier, the Versatility Pack also brings a pair of power control buttons for rear seat folding located near the rear door.

The space-saver spare is located under the floor, and if you're hitching things to the back, maximum tow weight for a braked trailer is 2500kg and 750kg unbraked.

Icing on the practicality cake is a handsfree power operated tailgate, which combines foot-under-the-rear-bumper auto opening with buttons in the door's lower edge to close it and lock the car.

The question of value in the V90 Cross Country can't be considered without thinking about competitors, and the all-wheel drive premium wagon concept is available above, below, and in line with the Volvo's $80,990 (before on-road costs) price tag.

For $112,800 the Mercedes-Benz E220 All-Terrain offers a similar size package, also powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine. It's a well-equipped, luxury-focused offering, but can't match the Volvo for power and torque.

Audi's A4 allroad 45 TFSI is comparable at $74,800, but smaller than the Volvo in every key measure, and its petrol engine can't match the V90's grunt.

Then the Volkswagen Passat Alltrack 140TDI is yet another Euro all-wheel drive 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four, but this time the cost of entry is 'just' $51,290. Appreciably smaller than the Volvo it's a less powerful but neatly resolved option.

So, in terms of standard equipment we'll cover active and passive safety in the safety section below, but aside from that the features list includes: nappa leather accented trim, power-adjustable and heated front seats (with memory and adjustable lumbar support), a leather accented steering wheel and gear selector, four-zone climate control, satellite navigation, and 10-speaker high-performance audio (with digital radio plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity). A voice control function enables hands-free management of media, phone, nav and climate.

There's also keyless entry and start, the handsfree power operated tailgate, a rear sunblind, LED headlights (with 'Active Bending' function), LED tail-lights, rain-sensing wipers, cruise control, 20-inch alloy rims, a 360-degree camera (including reversing camera), 'Park Assist Pilot + Park Assist' (front and rear), plus the 9.0-inch centre touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument display.

Then on top of that lot, our test car was loaded with three option packs. The 'Premium Pack' ($5500) adds a power panoramic sunroof, tinted rear glass, and Bowers & Wilkins 15-speaker premium audio.

The 'Versatility Pack' ($3100) adds the grocery bag holder in the boot, a compass in the rear view mirror, the power folding rear backrest, a power outlet in the tunnel console, and rear air suspension.

Plus, the 'Luxury Pack' ($2000) tips in power side support and a massage function in the front seats, a heated steering wheel, and ventilated 'Comfort Seats' with perforated nappa leather accented upholstery.

Squeeze in 'Crystal White' metallic paint ($1900), and you're looking at an 'as-tested' price of $93,490 before on-road costs.

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 V90 Cross Country is powered by Volvo's (D4204T23) 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, twin-turbo diesel engine.

It's an all-alloy, direct-injection unit producing 173kW at 4000rpm and 480Nm from 1750-2250rpm.

Drive goes to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and Volvo's fifth-generation, electronically-controlled all-wheel drive system (including off-road mode).

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.

Claimed fuel economy for the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 5.7L/100km, the V90 CC emitting 149g/km of CO2 in the process.

Despite an standard auto stop-start system, after close to 300km of city, suburban and freeway driving, the on-board read-out settled on an average of 8.8L/100km. Using that number, the 60-litre tank provides a theoretical range of 680km.

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.

From the minute you hit the starter button there's no doubt a diesel engine resides under the V90's bonnet. This iteration of the 2.0-litre twin-turbo hasn't been around all that long, so its rather noisy character comes as a surprise. But once you get past that first impression, selecting D and extending your right ankle results in spirited acceleration.

Volvo claims 0-100km/h in 7.5sec, which is especially quick for a 1.9-tonne wagon, and with a grunty 480Nm of peak torque on tap in the suburban sweet spot - just 1750-2250rpm (with much of it hanging around beyond that), plenty of urge is always available. Continue pressing on and peak power (173kW) arrives at 4000rpm.

Add in slick changes from the eight-speed auto and this Volvo is a sleeper for the traffic light grand prix.

But once you've calmed down and settled into the urban crawl, the V90 CC's relatively patchy ride quality starts to make its presence felt.

It's the smaller bumps, holes and joins that typify urban Aussie roads that upset the V90. Suspension is double wishbone front, with an integral link and transverse leaf spring set-up at the back, and even with the optional air suspension fitted to the rear of our example, the car doesn't lead the pack for ride comfort.

Part of that could be down to the standard 20-inch rims shod with 245/45 Pirelli P Zero rubber. There's plenty of grip available with the variable all-wheel drive system obviously doing its bit to put the power where it's most useful. The electrically-assisted steering points nicely and delivers excellent road feel, but that niggling jiggling is always there. Interesting to note 19-inch alloys are a no-cost option.

Other than the engine sticking its nose in, the cabin is calm and relaxed. The seats feel super firm on first contact, but provide brilliant comfort over lengthy stretches. The brakes are disc all around, ventilated at the front (345mm fr/320mm rr) and the pedal is progressive and confidence inspiring.

Ergonomics are excellent, with the V90's dash and console controls and dials striking a user-friendly balance between screens and conventional buttons. The configurable digital instrument cluster is a stand-out.

Volvo and safety are words that mesh like finely machined gears, and the C90 doesn't disappoint in terms of standard active and passive safety tech.

The car hasn't been assessed by ANCAP, but Euro NCAP gave it a maximum five-star score in 2017, in the process the V90 becoming the first car ever to score a full six points in the Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) for Pedestrians test.

As well as AEB (pedestrian, city, and inter-urban) the list of crash-avoidance features includes, ABS, EBA, 'Emergency Brake Light' (EBL), stability and traction controls, 'Intellisafe Surround' ('Blind Spot Information' with 'Cross Traffic Alert' and 'Collision Warning' front and rear with mitigation support), adaptive cruise control (including Pilot Assist lane guidance), 'Distance Alert', 360-degree camera (including rear parking camera), 'Park Assist Pilot + Park Assist' (front and rear), 'Hill Start Assist', 'Hill Descent Control', rain-sensing wipers, 'Steering Support', 'Oncoming Lane Mitigation', and 'Intersection Collision and Oncoming Mitigation' (with 'Brake Support'). Phew...

But if an impact is unavoidable you're supported by seven airbags (front, front side, curtain and driver's knee), Volvo's 'Side Impact Protection System' (energy absorbing body frame system working in concert with side and curtain airbags), neatly integrated child booster cushions (x2), a 'Whiplash Protection System' (seat and head restraint impact absorption), an active bonnet to minimise pedestrian injuries, as well as three top-tether points across the rear seat back with ISOFIX anchors on the two outer positions for child seats and baby capsules.

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.

Volvo offers a three year/unlimited km warranty across its new car model range, including roadside assistance for the duration. Not outstanding when you consider the majority of mainstream brands are now at five years/unlimited km.

But, on the upside, once the warranty runs out, if you have your car serviced at an authorised Volvo dealer each year you receive a 12-month extension to the roadside assist coverage.

Service is recommended every 12 months/15,000km (whichever comes first) with a Volvo Service Plan covering scheduled servicing for the V90 over the first three years or 45,000km for $1895 (inc GST).