Whats the vibe?
The Jaecoo J7 was obviously made for people with Range Rover taste but not the Range Rover budget. No shade, it takes one to know one.
For some background, because it's helpful when you have so many new brands popping up in Australia: Jaecoo is the “premium” sub-brand of Chery, another Chinese car maker you might know. Chery’s whole schtick is affordable cars that look good on the inside and come packed with tech. The Tiggo 4 Pro even has a couple of awards to its name from other outlets, but we’re not other outlets, so let’s cut the crap.
The J7’s vibe is clear: it’s techy, boxy, and borderline bougie in parts, but it also cuts corners in a few places to keep the price down. That compromise is easier to swallow when you’re getting things like a Tesla-sized screen and a sunroof that is basically bigger than your windscreen.
It's a medium SUV, similar in size to the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5, but those cars will cost you the same amount as the most luxe J7 for a base grade with a plastic steering wheel.
Good looking at most angles
Plenty of bougie features
Great value considering what you get
Rear view mirror is plain bad
Not the smoothest or easiest to drive
Driver Monitoring System is annoying
Let’s call the Jaecoo J7 what it is: a budget luxury car. It’s giving you a premium look without the premium price tag, and it mostly delivers. In the top spec we drove, you get a huge centre screen, a giant sunroof, ambient lighting, heated seats, wireless CarPlay, and a boot that fits 13 Woolies bags. All for under 43 grand. That’s seriously impressive.
It undercuts most mainstream mid-size competitors, whose base models start around the same price – and those usually come with cloth seats and a steering wheel made of plastic. It even undercuts a bunch of smaller SUVs from big-name brands. So yes, the value here is kind of ridiculous.
But let’s not kid ourselves, when a car gives you this much for this little, there are going to be trade-offs. And in the J7, you’ll notice where they’ve saved money.
The drive isn’t bad, but it’s not that good. Visibility is not good. Some of the materials feel a bit budget, and while the tech looks incredible, using it can be a bit frustrating.
That said, we see what Jaecoo is doing here, delivering a luxury package at a very competitive price. It’s pretty cool. Our “depends” recommendation comes down to a mix of those small but noticeable flaws, plus the big unknown: how well this thing will hold up over time. I guess we'll find out.
Overall, we would recommend this car if:
You love your creature comforts
You're comfortable taking a chance on a new brand
You want to be the only Jaecoo in the carpark
