Kia Ev4 vs Jaecoo J7

What's the difference?

An electric sedan is really shrinking the buyer pool, which is why Kia has such gentle expectations for the EV4 in Australia. But it's a lovely driving EV with plenty of perks, and the design alone will brighten up Australia's roadways. For my money, I'd either be going for the cheapest one that's sharp value with plenty of kit, or the flagship GT-Line that gets the big battery and the works in terms of equipment. The Earth for me sits in no-man's land.

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

Note: The author, Andrew Chesterton, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number of automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics, and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

The Jaecoo J7 SHS Track enters the medium SUV segment with a sharp drive-away price and generous equipment list. The ongoing ownership benefits add strong value but the on-road driving experience needs some finessing and the cabin doesn't quite hit every mark for practicality. Although it's ‘on track’ to make waves in this corner of the market, it hasn't yet carved out an iron-clad niche for itself. It's worth a look but it's not class-leading.

The slippery-looking unit that adorns this page is the EV4 sedan. There’s also a hatch, but it comes out of Europe, while this one comes out of Korea, and that would likely make the hatch far more expensive than this bad boy. It's under study, apparently, but yet to be confirmed.

Anyway, to steal a hackneyed football analogy, for mine this is a game of two halves. I actually really like the front end. It looks sleek and slippery and there’s a real presence from the swollen arches.

I am, however, a little less sold on this rear end, which looks sharp and blocky and almost like it has been bolted on. Also annoying is the fact that it looks like it should be a liftback, with the boot hinged up above the rear windscreen. But nope, it's hinged below it, so you still get a dinky little opening to squeeze your stuff through.

Kia's international designers are pushing the boat out at the moment, and they deserve credit for making things different. Whether it sinks or swims with the general public, though, will be the real test.

Inside, it's all pretty traditional Kia, with all three models sharing the twin 12.3-inch digital displays, along with the little climate panel in the middle. Kudos to Kia for keeping some physical buttons, too. I'm less sold on the use of some cheap, hard plastics, even in the top-spec cars.

The J7 is, in essence, a scaled-up version of its smaller sibling, the J5 - a car my family affectionately dubbed the “Temu Range Rover” during our week with it. The resemblance remains.

The squared-off proportions, upright grille and slim lighting signatures lean heavily into that premium off-roader aesthetic, and there’s no doubt the look will appeal to buyers chasing presence without the associated price tag.

Compared to the J5, the J7 carries a touch more personality. 

There’s a small racing-flag accent panel along the flanks, flush-fitting door handles and a set of 19-inch aerodynamic alloy wheels that add some visual flair.

Inside, the cabin is cleanly executed with its pared-back styling and the 13.2-inch central display dominates the dashboard. This makes it the visual anchor of the interior as physical buttons are minimal and most functions are accessed via the media screen. That screen-led design will divide opinion, but it does create a modern aesthetic.

The synthetic leather upholstery feels convincingly premium, and the materials do enough to lift the ambience beyond what you might expect at this price point.

At 4730mm long, 1860mm wide and 1480mm tall, the EV4 sits between the Model 3 and the Seal in terms of its outright dimensions. Kia says the EV4's wheelbase and interior packaging has been designed to maximise backseat space, which I must admit, there is plenty of.

Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I had miles and miles of leg room, and enough head room, though there is some kind of optical illusion that occurs in the backseat of the EV4 – even though you definitely have enough space, the dark materials of the GT-Line still leaving me feeling a little claustrophobic somehow.

Something else not to be sneezed at is the inclusion of the household-style power plug in the back. My laptop died while I was taking notes on my test, and I plugged it straight in and powered it up. Super handy.

At the back, there is 490 litres of boot space, which is about middle ground. The Seal is more like 400 litres, but the Model 3 offers more.

Sadly the EV4 is yet another EV that does not have a spare wheel of any kind. Instead you have to make do with a tyre repair kit.

Up front, the J7 Track delivers where it matters. The electric front seats offer heating and ventilation functions and feel supportive over longer drives. There’s enough width and shoulder room to avoid feeling hemmed in.

Access is good with wide door apertures and an easy step-in, step-out height from both rows. In the rear, the available space is generous, and the thick seat padding and supportive backrests will make longer journeys quite comfortable. The flat floor also means the middle seat isn’t automatically the punishment position for an adult.

Storage has been thoughtfully considered. Up front, the large centre console shelves make it easy to keep clutter contained, while the dual-opening middle console is deep enough to swallow a small handbag. There’s also a small side pocket beside the driver that’s ideal for keys or a garage remote.

Rear passengers will enjoy four device pockets, as well as a couple of map pockets. There are two cupholders and drink bottle holders in each row, as well as good-sized bins in each door.

With all rows in use, the boot has up to 500L of capacity, and the flat loading floor makes it easy to slide larger items in and out. Overall, it’s a usable and practical space for gear storage but you'll notice the lack of a powered tailgate as there isn't a dedicated handhold on the outside of the lid to easily open the boot.

There's also no charging ports or power outlets in the boot, which feels unusual for a plug-in hybrid. You have to make do with a tyre repair kit rather than a spare wheel but that's not unusual in this corner of the market.

The individual charging options are functional with a single USB-A and C port offered in each row and a 12-volt socket up front but you miss out on a wireless charging pad in this grade. The multimedia touchscreen is responsive and the layout is fairly intuitive to use. However, the lack of physical controls for simple adjustments like side mirror positioning or climate control can become frustrating. Some functions are just better served by buttons.

The wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto operate smoothly and the CarPlay has maintained a steady connection this week. The built-in sat nav is also easy enough to use.

There are two plug-in hybrid grades in the J7 line-up and we’re testing the entry-level Track here, priced at $43,990 drive-away. It’s a strategic price point because aside from its close relative, the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid, which undercuts it at $39,990 drive-away, the Track is the second-most affordable option among its immediate rivals.

By comparison, the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV lists at $51,990 drive-away, while the MG HS Super Hybrid Excite comes in at $52,696 drive-away. The BYD Sealion 5 undercuts them all as the most affordable plug-in hybrid in the country right now, starting from $33,990 before on-road costs.

It’s worth noting that the H6 GT is offered in a single, well-specified grade, and its higher price reflects that broader equipment list. Even so, the J7 starts from a strong position before you get into its features.

For a base variant, the Track gets some good stuff like electric front seats with heating and ventilation, synthetic leather upholstery, remote start with pre-entry climate control and a full suite of LED exterior lighting. That’s the sort of kit you’d expect to climb trim levels for.

Practical touches are scattered throughout. The centre console is air-cooled, the driver’s seat has a memory function, there are steering wheel-mounted controls and dual-zone climate control comes as standard. Then there’s the built-in karaoke app. Entirely unnecessary, but mildly amusing, however, you will need to supply your own microphone!

Technology feels well-considered as there’s wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, built-in satellite navigation, a large 13.2-inch multimedia display and a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster. The 360-degree camera system is clear and complemented by front and rear parking sensors.

You do miss out on a powered tailgate and some charging options as there’s no internal vehicle-to-load (V2L) AC outlet and no charging ports in the boot. Still, as a base offering, the J7 Track presents as a neat package.

All EV4 models are front-wheel drive, with a single front-mounted motor producing 150kW and 283Nm, fed through a single-speed gearbox. That’s enough, Kia says, to knock off the sprint to 100km/h in around 7.5 seconds. The Air is the fastest, at 7.4s, while the heavier Earth and GT-Line claim 7.8s. Top speed is a claimed 170km/h.

Both plug-in hybrid grades of the J7 share the same powertrain, pairing a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a single electric motor. Combined outputs sit at a healthy 255kW and 525Nm which is the same as its Chery cousin and makes it more powerful than its MG rival but the GWM Haval H6 GT has bigger outputs.

However, once the EV battery is depleted and the system leans more heavily on the petrol engine, the outputs drop significantly to 105kW and 215Nm. This shifts the J7 from feeling spritely to serviceable on the open road.

Power is sent exclusively to the front wheels, and towing capacity is rated at 750kg unbraked. That’s enough for a small box trailer but it won’t be hauling any serious weekend toys.

Let’s talk about range for a moment, because it's bloody impressive. Not quite the best out there, but the furthest any electric Kia has ever travelled between charges.

There are two battery options, a 58.3kWh NCM battery in the Standard Range, and a 81.4kWh unit in Long Range models. The Standard will deliver 456kms in driving range, but the Long Range ups that to 612kms, both on the WLTP cycle. 

The EV4’s 400-volt architecture does slow down charging a little, though, with DC fast charging capped at 128kW. That means going from 10 to 80 per cent in around 30 mins when using the fastest chargers. If you’re using a 50kW charger, it’s up to almost an hour and 20 minutes for the bigger battery, which is a long coffee stop.

Plugged in at home, provided you have an 11kW wallbox, it’ll take just under five and a half hours, or just over seven hours, to go from 10 per cent to fully charged, so an overnight charge no matter the battery size.

The J7 Track has a Type 2 CCS charging port and accepts up to 6.6kW on AC power and up to 40kW on fast DC power. On that type of DC charger you can go from 30 - 80 per cent in as little as 20 minutes which is great for when you’re on the go. You can shop and charge without much fuss.

The 18.3kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery supports an electric-only driving range of up 90km (WLTP). That sits below its Haval and MG rivals with their respective WLTP ranges of 153km and 120km. Overall though, the J7 has a theoretical driving range over around 1200km, which is great. Of course, you will only see that type of range if you regularly charge it.

Jaecoo claims a combined fuel cycle usage (urban/extra-urban) of 1.0L/100km but my real-world usage has come out at 5.0L/100km even after regularly charging it. However, it's worth noting that I do a lot of longer, highway driving which is where plug-in hybrids are typically less efficient.

Jaecoo recommends a minimum 91 RON unleaded petrol to be used for the J7.

I learned something new and exciting (well, to me, at least. You might be very bored) from Kia's ride and handling guru on this launch. And that is that the tuning frequency for common city road imperfections, like bridge expanders, is actually the same as for the bigger, bouncier undulations you get on country roads. And so you can tune to prioritise one or the other, not both.

In real terms, it means a car that feels custom-built for the city, gliding over urban roads with mega comfort (which is exactly what the EV4 does), feels slightly less at home out of town, where there is more obvious movement in the cabin.

Bored yet? Ok, the point is that, while never uncomfortable, the EV4 feels right at home in the city, which is where it's expected to spend most of its time, but weirdly firmer on longer adventures. 

This really is easy, city EV motoring, done well. There's no alienating floatiness to the ride, no lifeless lightness to the steering, it's comfortable, quiet and – despite no headline-grabbing power figures – more than potent enough to get you up and moving.

There's nice weight to the steering, and though the front tyres gave up their grip a couple of times when pushed with some steering lock on, there isn't much in the way of aggressive body roll, and it all feels pretty confidence inspiring. 

The power is most effective from around 10km/h to 80km/h, before the urgency starts to fall away – it's slower to respond at freeway speeds – but that too just leans into its city credentials.

There's really not much to complain about here. It feels well sorted, and quite fun to drive. There is nothing that really stands out as spectacular about the drive experience, but nor is there anything to complain about. It's just really solid motoring, which isn't always guaranteed these days.

This is where the J7 Track feels less resolved. It's not fundamentally flawed by any means but it's not as polished as it could be.

With a charged battery, acceleration is strong and immediate, and there’s enough punch for hills and confident overtaking. Even when the battery is running low, the drop in output doesn’t feel as dramatic in real-world conditions as the standalone engine figures might suggest. You won't win any drag races but it remains competent. It just loses some of the initial punch when accelerating.

Steering is light, which makes urban manoeuvring easy, and the suspension leans toward the softer side. Around town, that translates to a comfortable and compliant ride. Push it harder through bends, though, and the body control starts to feel a little loose.

Highway refinement is another area where there’s room for improvement. Road noise becomes noticeably more present at open-road speeds, although it remains quiet around town.

Visibility out the front and sides is good, and the driving position gives you a fairly commanding view of the road. I don’t feel like there are any large blind spots from my driving position.

There are three levels of regenerative braking, and running it in the strongest setting does a good job of harvesting energy. However, even on the lowest setting, the braking response feels abrupt. At low speeds when the system tends to remain in EV mode, the transition can feel lurchy.

The 360-degree camera system is clear and outside of the heavy-handed regen braking, the J7 is straightforward to park. Just be prepared for passengers, especially opinionated children, to comment on the body movement.

The J7 plug-in hybrid variant has a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing done in 2025 and scored well across its individual criteria with an 81 per cent for its adult protection, 85 per cent for child protection, 80 per cent for vulnerable road user and 84 per cent for its safety assist.

Passive safety items include eight airbags including a front centre airbag and drivers’ knee airbag. Families will like that there are two ISOFIX child seat mounts and three top-tether anchor points but realistically, two child seats will fit best. There are also manual child-safety locks on the doors, powered locks for the rear windows and intelligent seatbelt reminders for all five seats. Parking is easy with the front and rear parking sensors and 360-degree view camera system.

Active safety includes forward and rear collision warning, lane keeping aids, lane departure warning and prevention, blind-spot detection, side exit assist and a relatively unobtrusive driver monitoring system.

Other highlights include emergency lane keeping, which will activate when there’s no response from the driver and the rear cross-traffic alert also gets assisted braking. The lane keeping can oversteer at times and the adaptive cruise control is best without the assisted steering on. The J7 misses out on emergency call capability but otherwise, the safety equipment feels pretty robust.

There’s autonomous emergency braking with car, pedestrian and motorcyclist detection and is operational from 4.0 – 85km/h and up to 134km/h for car detection but it is more typical to see that top figure closer to 180km/h.

Kia ownership proposition is simple, and pretty strong. You get a seven-year warranty no matter how far you travel, an eight-year warranty for the high-voltage systems, again no matter how far you travel, and capped-price servicing. Pre-paying your service costs will set you back $688 for three years, just over $1300 for five years, or just under $2000 for seven years.

The Chinese lucky number '8' is heavily featured in the ownership as the J7 is offered with an eight-year/unlimited km warranty, eight years of battery cover and roadside assistance, plus eight years of capped-price servicing where services average just $422 per visit. That's an impressive suite of terms for the class.

Servicing is well-spaced at every 12 months or 15,000 kilometres and for now the service network is still fairly small, with around 50 centres nationwide.