Every time we blink, a new car-maker from China lands in Australia aiming to disrupt the status quo. One new competitor in what is quite honestly an increasingly crowded market, has its eyes firmly set on the top-selling Toyota RAV4, bringing snazzy street-appeal, loads of gadgets and super-sharp pricing to try and tempt the public away from their firm-faves.
Introducing the 2025 Jaecoo J7 (in Ridge AWD guise for this review), marking the debut of Jaecoo to the Australian Market at a competitive prices of $34,990 for the base J7 Core 2WD, $37,990 for the J7 Track 2WD, $42,990 for this J7 Ridge AWD version and $47,990 for the top-of-the-range plug-in hybrid J7 SHS Summit 2WD.
What is a Jaecoo?
You’d be right in thinking you’d never heard of Jaecoo before, especially with more established brands like MG, LDV and GWM already in the mix. Established only in 2023 it’s a new arm of Chery International, one of China’s largest and most influential automotive manufacturers. The name is a mashup of the words “Jäger” (German for hunter) and “Cool”, a combination which does cause a little bit of head-scratching in the Aussie market.
With the J7 as its first model, Jaecoo is taking its first steps into global markets like Australia, South Africa, and select parts of Europe, aiming to disrupt the established order with highly equipped SUVs at competitive prices.
Now with the origin story in place, onto the review.
First Impressions
Jaecoo is part of Chery’s dual-brand strategy alongside sister sub-brand Omoda, with Omoda targeting younger, style-conscious drivers, and Jaecoo positioned as the more sophisticated, upmarket alternative. As far as first impressions go, from the outside it’s certainly a looker.
The styling is bold with the front end dominated by a large, geometric grille flanked by slim LED headlights, giving it a confident, almost premium European SUV vibe with more than a little bit of inspiration clearly taken from the popular Range Rover Evoque. Our model in black particularly looks striking with chrome accents, sleek taillights, and 19-inch alloy wheels add to its upscale aesthetic, making it look more expensive than it is. In fact this writer was dropping his wife to work when one of her colleagues asked her what I did in order to afford such an expensive car. Big tick there for those looking for street appeal and for a debut model from a new brand, it nails the visual first impression.
Step inside the Jaecoo J7 Ridge AWD and you’re immediately struck by how refined and premium the cabin feels, especially for a vehicle that costs the equivalent of a base-model competitor. It’s clean and modern, with a wide, horizontal dash layout, colour-changable ambient lighting, and a large 13.2-inch central touchscreen (more on this touchscreen later). The materials and most touch-points feel soft and well-chosen, with stitched leather-look surfaces and brushed metallic accents lending a surprisingly upscale vibe. The driver gets a 10.25-inch digital instrument display which is relatively easy to read bar the ridiculously small fuel gauge. The standard panoramic sunroof floods the cabin with light and with thoughtful touches like heated and ventilated seats, a wireless charging pad, and a built-in dashcam; the first impression certainly feels less like a budget SUV and more like something you’d find in a luxury dealership showroom.
The Drive
Out of the showroom and onto the road and our J7 Ridge’s 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine offers smooth, linear power delivery, with 137kW and 275Nm on tap there’s more than enough oomph for city driving and hitting the highway. Initial impressions are pleasing with low levels of road noise, and sufficient sure-footedness from the AWD system. Lane-detection in the wing-mirrors and a fantastic 360 degree camera system more than make up for the letterbox-like rear window. The sound system as well is a Sony one, and while there are others on the market with more oomph, at this price point it’s a very decent addition.
However once you’re on the open road, the drive experience can’t quite deliver the goods quite as much as first appearances would suggest. The first culprit is the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission which shifts cleanly at speed, however around town it can behave dim-wittedly and can occasionally hesitate at low speeds, a common trait of DCT gearboxes but no less irritating..
By far the most infuriating are the driver assistance features. Starting with the aggressive eye monitor pinging at you when it thinks you’ve been ‘distracted’ from the road. It’s a feature even more infuriating due to the fact that the only way you’re able to access the J7’s climate controls is via the central screen, and therefore have to look away from the road in order to do so. You can turn this feature off thankfully, but it resets each time you turn the car off.
The beautiful 13.2-inch screen itself is good, with no lag experienced at all and seamless Apple Carplay integration (Android Auto is also available but not tested in this review). Once you get the hang of digging through the menus, it becomes easier to use. There’s also a little AI system that you can wake with a “Hey Jaecoo” which will open the sunroom or adjust the temp for you, however it does have a tendency to ignore commands, and didn’t work while Apple Carplay was connected.
The aforementioned AWD system was great in the wet (and Sydney has had plenty of days to test this), and active safety features such as Autonomous braking come in handy and contribute to its 5-star ANCAP rating (in Hybrid only, petrol models are yet to be tested). It’s a road-biased system however so I wouldn’t want to venture too far off the beaten trail with those low profile tires and glossy rims.
The Practicality
The J7’s cabin offers pretty generous space for both front-seat passengers, with plenty of headroom and legroom even for taller occupants. The rear seats comfortably accommodate two adults or a combination of kids and child seats, however a high window line may lead some kiddies to being a little claustrophobic and unable to see out. Storage is well thought out, with large door bins, a deep centre console, and a handy wireless charging tray beneath the infotainment screen. Weirdly the USB plug is on the passenger side of the footwell, which took a bit of searching to find.
The boot offers an okay 340 litres of cargo space with the rear seats up, less than a Mazda CX5 (522L) and Honda CRV (589L) expanding significantly when folded flat to more than enough for prams, groceries, or weekend gear. In the AWD model we have the boot space is smaller than its 2WD sibling due to the inclusion of a full-size spare wheel that adds to its appeal for long-distance touring. Our model also came with thule roof racks, which really looked the part.
How much does it cost to run?
No all-wheel-drive SUV will be as miserly on fuel as say a traditional hatchback, however the J7 AWD model impressed with it’s fuel consumption. Showing over 700km on the tank at full, we averaged about 8L per 100km (claimed 7.8L) on our two week test run. Impressive seeing as though that was largely inner-city stop-start traffic. The 1.6L turbo 4 takes only 95 octane premium unleaded which may hurt the hip-pocket of some.
The J7 is covered by an eight-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty with 12 months of roadside assistance as standard. If you service at Omoda Jaecoo dealers when required, free roadside assistance can even be extended for an additional seven years.
The Verdict
There’s not much around that packs a value punch quite like the new Jaecoo J7, and at less than a VW Golf for a fully-packed medium SUV most people will be blown away. Once you hit the open road, and are made aware of the irritating and invasive driver aids, hesitant gearbox and slightly vague steering you start to notice where corners were cut. That being said, our time in the J7 AWD Ridge was trouble-free, and pleasant, and with competitors offering the same equipment levels at almost $20K more, it’s almost a no-brainer.
What we are Addicted to?: Competitive pricing and packed with features. Strong warranty and capped-price servicing. Cool, modern design with premium interior materials. Advanced safety and driver-assist features for the money. Comfortable ride and quiet on the highway
What we need to be more Addicted?: Brand recognition is still growing in Australia. Voice control functionality may need improvement. Why does everything have to be buried in a touchscreen? Limited off-road capabilities despite AWD setup
Resale value and long-term reliability are yet to be established
Jaecoo J7 Ridge AWD
J7 Core 2WD $34,990
J7 Track 2WD $37,990
J7 Ridge AWD $42,990
J7 SHS Summit 2WD $47,990