2025 Jaecoo J7: Australian Preview Drive

If you’re finding it hard to keep up with all the new Chinese brands launching in Australia, I have good news and bad news for you.

The good news is the influx of new cars means greater choice and stronger competition, with all these brands doing everything they can to build cars that you want.

The bad news is a lot of these cars are actually pretty decent, so making your final choice is going to take some time. And the car we have today could make that decision harder to make.

The latest kid on the block is Jaecoo, a spin-off brand from Chery – but offering buyers a different flavour to the models on offer under that badge.

Kicking things off is the Jaecoo J7, a smaller mid-size SUV – or a more spacious small SUV, depending on how you look at it – due to launch in Australia in March 2025. But before its official launch, Jaecoo invited CarSauce for a preview drive in one of the first J7s on local soil.

With the official launch happening in the coming weeks, Jaecoo has yet to reveal final pricing and specifications for the J7 range in Australia, so we’re going to reserve final judgement until we know everything.

However, company executives have hinted the model will start from between $35,000 and $40,000 drive-away, making it more expensive than the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro on which it’s based.

Having said that, Jaecoo has packed the J7 with a long list of tech and features. While the sub-$40K pricing isn’t expensive for a mid-size SUV nowadays, what we know of the standard equipment makes the Jaecoo J7 a compelling proposition in this space.

We know there’s going to be two-wheel-drive variants, the entry-level Core, and this – the Jaecoo J7 Track – that we’ve been given early access to.

All-wheel-drive and hybrid models are also just around the corner.

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but to my eye, the Jaecoo J7 is genuinely one of the best looking vehicles to come out of China in recent memory.

At a distance, the J7 could be mistaken for a Range Rover, with its squared-off silhouette, simple but purposeful lines, prominent grille, and that ‘floating’ roof.

Up close, and the details begin to stand out. The chequered daytime-running lights, the pop-out door handles, the ‘micro-USB’ faux exhaust tips. It all works well together, and there’s no styling decision that looks out of place.

However, with the attractive waterfall grille appearing to stick out furthest at the front, we’d recommend paying attention to the parking sensors and cameras.

Dimensionally, the J7 is 4500mm long, 1865mm wide, 1680mm high, and with a wheelbase of 2672mm.

Step inside, and the cabin is arguably even more impressive. Again, of the value brands from China, this is one of the best interiors I’ve seen.

The quality of the materials, the fit and finish, the thoughtful design – it all works really well to deliver a fantastic cabin experience that feels premium without overreaching into try-hard luxury. And just with a slight touch of ruggedness.

I had only two or three minor personal gripes: I wasn’t a huge fan of the piano design detail on the dashboard trim, and every surface across the doors, centre console, and dashboard seemed to have a different material or pattern. A little lack of uniformity. I also worry about the foam rubber on the interior door grab handles will attract grime and have limited longevity.

Having said that, none of those things would stop me from buying a J7, because overall, it’s a great space to be in. The steering wheel is a nice, straight-forward design, the jetfighter-inspired gear selector is kinda fun to use, and I liked the large bolts in the brushed aluminium on the doors.

One thing I couldn’t get over was just how comfortable the front seats are. I’ve sat in Business Class airline seats that weren’t as comfortable as these units. I can forgive the fact that they lack much adjustment beyond the basics, simply due to how nice they are to sit in. Heated, too, in the Track variant.

Also super impressive was the legroom in the back seats. I’m not sure what kind of black magic the Jaecoo designers summoned, but they are masters of packaging. I clock in at 183cm, and with the front seat in my preferred position, I still had football fields of space for my knees and feet when I parked myself in the second row. You could rent the back seat out as a parking space for your neighbour’s Vespa.

There’s also a segment-matching 574 litres of luggage room in the boot, expanding to 1472 litres with the second-row seats down. While those are the kind of numbers you’d expect in a mid-size SUV, the Jaecoo J7 is at the smaller end of that segment, making them all the more impressive.

The 13.2-inch floating tablet in portrait view looks after infotainment and climate control duties well – the menus are easy to navigate, the climate buttons are quick to pull up, the 360-degree cameras work well, the DAB+ digital radio was clear, and the wireless Apple CarPlay was responsive. The eight-speaker Sony sound system on the J7 Track also pumps loud and clear.

For those wanting their own personal disco, there’s an option to have the multi-colour ambient lighting ‘dance’ to the music. But it seems to be mostly bass driven, so the majority of songs seemed to just induce a solid blue in the cabin space with the occasional flickering of rainbow.

There’s also a strange avatar in the corner of the infotainment screen – looking like they just stepped out of Dragon Ball Z – which links you to the ‘Hello Jaecoo’ voice command system, which I didn’t have a lot of luck with. That’s fine, I can deal with pressing buttons.

Ahead of the driver is a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster with a couple of clear and easy-to-read design options.

The Advanced Driver Assist System (ADAS) includes forward collision warning, AEB, emergency lane keeping, lane-departure warning and prevention, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot detection, lane-change assist, rear collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert and braking, door opening warning, and a driver monitoring system.

While I didn’t get a chance to test everything on our preview drive, the safety systems err towards the unobtrusive, rather than being overly meddlesome as can often be the case. Although, the car would occasionally beep at me, but I could never work out why (checking my mirrors or the navigation, perhaps?).

Thankfully, Jaecoo provides a quick-access menu to quickly turn on or off these ADAS features.

The J7 Track variant also gets a powered tailgate, powered child safety locks, front parking sensors (as well as rear sensors in the Core), a driver’s knee airbag, a 12-volt charger in the boot, automatic wipers, and a 50-watt wireless smartphone charger.

Up until now, I’ve avoided talking about the powertrain, because it’s arguably the weakest part of the car. Which isn’t to say it’s bad, but it doesn’t quite rise to the level of impressiveness found elsewhere in the car.

Under the bonnet is a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine sending 137kW and 275Nm to the front wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

I’m firmly of the belief that dual-clutch transmission should be reserved for high-performance sportscars. In fact, if every carmaker besides Porsche could just go back to making conventional automatic transmissions, I think we’d all be a lot happier.

It’s certainly not the worst dual-clutch I’ve experienced, but still suffers from typical lag when trying to find a gear a few beats after you’ve squeezed the throttle.

The engine is reasonably responsive, but feels a little thin – like something you’d expect to have in a smaller city car – and, with that gearbox, feels mismatched to the car. It gets up to speed well enough, has enough performance on call to get you out of trouble, and does an admirable job in heavy traffic with minimal vibrations. But, while not having driven it yet, I suspect the hybrid model will be the one to get.

Suspension is well tuned – certainly leaning on the comfort side – but not too soft or stiff, despite flat handling through corners. It can handle winding roads at speed, but explore beyond socially-acceptable boundaries and the Jaecoo J7 will begin to push into understeer. Over speed bumps and rough patches, it does admirably.

Between Normal, Sports, and Eco modes – changed with a dial behind the gear selector, and announced loudly by the lady behind the dash – I found Sports mode tended to offer the best steering and throttle response, without holding gears too long as can be the case in other cars.

Unfortunately, the brakes are stiff and numb, and the steering is far too light and uncommunicative for my personal liking, and tyre noise was a little too noticeable at speed. But I suspect the vast majority of owners will adjust to the car quickly and will welcome the light steering in car parks. These are minor complaints for what was, generally, a positive driving experience.

While Jaecoo’s marketing is all about adventure and exploration, the J7 really feels like a car more suited for the city and suburbia, with the occasional trip out of town. Best for those buying their first new car, or a family that needs a smaller second vehicle with enough space to transport teenagers or adults. People who don’t want to spend too much, but don’t want to be embarrassed by what’s sitting in their driveway.

Overall, our initial preview drive of the 2025 Jaecoo J7 Track was very encouraging, and has us looking forward to spending some extended time behind the wheel of the full range. Both in terms of design and packaging, Jaecoo have knocked it out of the park. This is an impressive debut for the brand, with promising things on the horizon.