New Jaecoo 7 SUV revealed: upmarket SUV costs less than £30,000
New petrol and plug-in hybrid family SUV combines tech-laden interior with lashings of equipment and off-road ability...
On sale now | Price from £29,435
Newly-created Chinese brand Jaecoo has arrived in the UK with the Jaecoo 7 SUV. The brand is one of two created by Chinese car giant Chery in 2022 to take a slice of the European and UK car market.
The Jaecoo name is a combination of jäeger, the German word for hunter, and the word cool. The Jaecoo 7, and the models which follow, will blend new technologies with traditional off-roading capabilities.
With that in mind, it's perhaps unsurprising that with a premium looking interior and a gently sloping roofline, it's reminiscent of a Range Rover Evoque, which could be a key rival. However, with prices starting as low as £29,435, it’s also taking aim at mainstream models, such as the Kia Sportage and Nissan Qashqai.
At launch, the Jaecoo 7 is available as a petrol and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) with a choice of two and four-wheel drive. The range starts with a two-wheel drive model with a 145bhp 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine that has official economy of 37.7mpg.
This engine is also offered as a four-wheel drive, priced from £32,850. The 4WD variant has seven driving modes, including sand, mud, snow and off-road, and is claimed to have significant off-road capabilities. It has a wading depth of 600mm and a Bosch-developed power brake system that simulates a differential lock.
The Jaecoo 7 PHEV pairs a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine with a 18.3 kW battery to provide a total output of 201bhp. It has an all-electric range of 56 miles and costs from £35,065. The PHEV 7 has an official range of 745 miles and a combined fuel economy figure of 403mpg, and can achieve 47mpg once the battery has been depleted.
Equipment levels on all versions are impressove, with standard kit including an 14.8in infotainment touchscreen alongside a 10.25in driver’s display and a head-up display. Wireless mobile phone charging, an eight-speaker Sony audio system and a panoramic roof are also available.
The Jaecoo 7 has gained a full five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash testing. It has a suite of advanced driver-assistance (ADAS) technologies, and a panoramic camera system that provides a view around and underneath the car, in what Jaecoo describes as a 540-degree view.
Like other new brands to the UK, Jaecoo offers a longer than average new car warranty. The seven-year, 100,000-mile cover matches that of Kia and offers a higher mileage limit than that provided by MG and Dacia.
It’s too early to say what the 7 will be like to drive, but Jaecoo says it has undergone extensive re-engineering at Chery’s R&D centre in Germany to ensure it meets European and UK driving requirements.
The Jaecoo 7 sits on the same platform as the Omoda 5, the first European model launched by the Chery group in May 2024. The Omoda 5 is more of a budget offering than Jaecoo, majoring on practicality and high levels of standard equipment.
For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here
