Jaecoo 7 Review 2025

Over the next couple of years British car buyers will see a glut of unfamiliar Chinese brands launching their wares, including 2025’s first newcomer — the Jaecoo 7.

Jaecoo is a sibling brand to Omoda. ‘Who?’, you may ask. It was another new-to-Britain nameplate which arrived in autumn 2024. Together they are part of a large car manufacturing company called Chery, which has a suite of other marques which may eventually head to these shores.

Size-wise Jaecoo has pitched the 7 straight into the heartland of family SUVs although its chunkier styling suggests it’s larger and — dare we say it? — more upmarket than it really is.

At 4500mm long the Jaecoo 7 will go toe-to-toe with established and popular models such as the Ford Kuga and the soon-to-be-facelifted Kia Sportage.

Many upmarket brands also sell luxury SUVs of this size making the 7 a potential alternative to the likes of the BMW X1 and Range Rover Evoque.

That’s until the Jaecoo 7’s price tag is noticed, because then it immediately becomes clear that it’s more of a direct rival to value-focused models. With prices starting at under £30,000 both the Dacia Duster and MG HS are very clearly in Jaecoo’s sights.

Perhaps surprisingly for a Chinese brand entering the UK, there’s no fully electric version of the Jaecoo 7 available. Instead, there’s a choice of a 147PS 1.6-litre petrol with front- and all-wheel drive as well as a 1.5-litre petrol plug-in hybrid (PHEV) with a total output of 204PS delivered to its front wheels. All versions are turbocharged and fitted with automatic gearboxes.

Jaecoo claims the 7 PHEV can travel up to 56 miles on electric power alone thanks to its 18.3kWh battery, with a total hybrid range of close to 750 miles when the engine’s operating.

Its CO2 emissions are attractively low for company car drivers at 23g/km — for reference the 1.6T AWD version is rated at 182g/km.

Two trim levels are offered in the Jaecoo 7 hierarchy, with the slightly old-fashioned sounding Deluxe specification restricted to the front-wheel drive 1.6T engine. Choose the AWD or PHEV version and they only come in Luxury guise.

Whichever version you choose, all Jaecoo 7s come with heated seats, a glazed panoramic roof, front and rear parking sensors and a surround-view camera system as part of the standard kit. For additional customer peace of mind all Jaecoos come with a Kia-esque seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

Practicality seems to be one of the Jaecoo 7’s key attractions with all versions boasting a 500-litre capacity boot with all five seats in use. Both of the 1.6T models are rated for towing up to 1865kg, with the 1.5 PHEV notably lower at 1500kg.

It also seems there’s purpose behind the Jaecoo 7’s rugged styling beyond superficial image bolstering with all versions — not just the all-wheel drive model — quoted as having a wading depth of 600mm.

Where the AWD further benefits is by virtue of seven selectable driving modes for different kinds of terrain, as well as some Bosch-developed electronic trickery to simulate a differential lock by using the brakes.

Prices for the Jaecoo 7 were announced in November 2024, starting at £29,435 for the front-wheel drive petrol-engined Deluxe version and climbing to £35,065 if you fancy the PHEV in Luxury trim. First customer deliveries are expected from January 2025.

Bookmark this page to read our comprehensive Jaecoo 7 review when we’ve driven it.