Urban off-road SUV vehicle brand Jaecoo is still relatively new in South Africa, however the love in the
market is overflowing. The downright sophisticated Jaecoo J7 is leading the sales drive by the sister
brand of Chery and Omoda after its launch in SA in April 2024.
The J7, a highly capable SUV with a modern yet classic design aesthetic, has taken the local market by
storm with its entry-level price of just R549 900.
The Jaecoo J7 has landed; the Chinese marque is the sister brand to Chery. It is aimed towards the
premium lifestyle segment and aims to take on the established with its European styling, well-equipped
cabins, premium trim, safety equipment and attractive pricing. But will it tick all the right boxes? We get
behind the wheel of a J7 in the 1.6T Glacier guise to find out.
Styling
From the front, the Jaecoo sports an imposing grille with verticle strides, unlike the mesh designs of
Chery and Omoda. Flanking the striking grille are LED daytime running lights with a modern pixel-like
design. Lower down are the fog lights, sunken into the bumper and styled to resemble sporty air vents.
The 19-inch alloy wheels give the J7 a confident, standout appearance. The body is very smooth and
nice to the touch, with door handles sunken into the doors avoiding disruption of the clean design lines.
The back has a single light bar stretching across the vehicle’s width. At the corners, however, the brake,
indicator and reverse lights are clumped together in a similar pixel-block design, just as the daytime
running lights.
Space & Interior
The interior has a different meaning to different people as it is both minimalist and technically hectic.
Overall, it is nicely glossy with nice textures and brushed metal finishings in the cabin. But it is done
subtly and is very easy on the eyes. The interior retains the rectangular theme of the exterior design, with
the horizontally styled dashboard. This is broken up by a large vertically oriented infotainment screen.
Comfort & Convenience
Comfort is the name of the game for the Jaecoo J7 , with cozy seats boasting several elements for
convenience, a far-back retreat when the need arises. The boot takes up to 412 liters, which can
stretched to 1335 litres when the rear bench is folded flat.
The touchscreen infotainment display in the Glacier and Inferno trims sizes up to 14.8-inch, which is
massive to soak in all sorts of entertainment and for clear navigation through applications such as
Google Maps and Waze. The infotainment system also offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
functionality.
Further comforts include the dual-zone automatic climate control and heated and ventilated front seats
and, for those keen of quality sound, an 8-speaker Sony sound system.
Performance
The 1.6-litre turbocharged, four-cylinder petrol engine sounds a bit small for the car of J7 size, but the
145 kW and 290 Nm are powerful enough, though certainly, not for racing. The motor is paired with a 7-
speed dual-clutch automatic and gives a sufficient kick to a strong, speedy overtaking maneuver.
The fuel economy is also reasonable, at anything between 7 and 7.5-litres/100km, largely depending on
how hard one pushes the car during driving.
Safety
The J7 proudly boasts a 5-star rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program’s crash tests
on it, thanks to several standard safety features the car possesses, such as airbags among others. In the
Glacier trim, there are eight airbags in total, covering the safety of everyone in the car in case of an
accident. Further safety features are in the form of ABS brakes with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, a
Brake Assist System, a Brake Override System, an Automatic Emergency Braking system, and an
Electronic Park Brake with auto hold. Added on top of all that are stability control, hill descent control, and
a tyre pressure monitoring system.
Safety is also ensured through driver benefits such as Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure
Warning, Lane Keeping Assistance, Lane Change Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Multi-collision Brake,
Speed Assist Systems, Traffic Jam Assist, High Beam Assist, Traffic Sign recognition, Blind Spot
Detection, Rear Traffic Alert, Rear Cross Traffic Assist with Braking and Emergency Lane Keeping. The
list does not end here, even if we can mention the 360-degree parking camera, which activates when you
start reversing and when going around tight bends at slow speeds. This helps to minimise the chances of
the wheels being scratched by any side barriers such as curbs.
Pricing
Jaecoo J7 1.6T Vortex R549 900
Jaecoo J7 1.6T Glacier R599 900
Jaecoo J7 1.6T Inferno AWD R679 900
Included in the purchase price of the Jaecoo J7 is a 5-year / 150 000 km vehicle warranty, a 10-year / 1
000 000 km engine warranty for the first owner and a 5-year / 70 000 km service plan with service
intervals happening every 15 000 km.
