Jaecoo J7 Ridge AWD 2025 Review

Starting at a drive-away price of $34,990 for the base Core version, the four-model Jaecoo J7 range extends to the $47,990 Summit PHEV. The $37,990 Track and $42,990 Ridge all-wheel drive (tested here) lie in between.

The J7 is a sort of extension, pricewise, of the more mainstream and family-oriented two-model Chery Tiggo 7 Pro range, comprising SE and SE+ variants at $29,990 drive away and $33,990 drive away respectively.

Jaecoo’s $42,990 drive-away pricing for the Ridge-spec J7 cements an advantage over similarly sized but allegedly downmarket AWD rivals. The list includes the Toyota RAV4 GX eFour, priced at $45,260 plus on-road costs (ORCs), Mazda’s CX-5 Touring at $45,100 plus ORCs, and the SX+ version of Kia’s strong-selling Sportage at $44,050 plus ORCs.

So although the Jaecoo J7 might be promoted as premium class and is costlier than its proletarian Chery counterparts, by regular standards it’s still a relatively inexpensive buy.

Fittingly, given its aspirations, the Jaecoo J7 Ridge AWD piles on the standard goodies. It’s the only AWD version in the J7 range and is set off nicely by multi-spoke 19-inch wheels wearing 235/50 Continental PremiumContact tyres.

In our case the multi-hued Lunar Silver paintwork, depending on the viewing angle, was difficult to describe, but it generally presented as a blue-ish light metallic with brown-ish highlights in the creases and folds of the wedgy, squared-off sheet metal – all set off nicely by pop-out door handles. Other colours available include Arctic White, Forest Green, Ocean Blue and Carbon Black.

Inside, leather-look seats, power-adjusted in the front (although our review car lacked the claimed-to-be-standard driver’s memory function), help maintain the premium vibe, while there is more than your average application of soft-touch surfacing and the sky above can be viewed through an expansive panoramic sunroof. An auto-dimming rearview mirror reflects what’s visible through an almost-diminutive back window.

The Jaecoo J7 scores big points with its eight-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and its industry-standard 12-month, 15,000km servicing schedule.

The J7 also brings capped-price servicing, the Ridge AWD and front-drive PHEV versions calculating out to $3372 for the full eight years and the base front-drive Track to $2453. Single service pricing varies between $299, $399 and $499, with the maximum eight-year service priced at $779 for PHEV and AWD models, and $599 for the Track.

Jaecoo’s credibility is enhanced by a collaboration with Swedish accessory-maker Thule to offer a selection of branded products available through its dealer network.

While plug-in hybrid variants of the Jaecoo J7 were recently awarded a five-star ANCAP safety rating, petrol variants, including the model tested here, currently remain unrated.

That said, our test vehicle is equipped with the full gamut of essential safety tech including (low-speed) autonomous emergency braking in forward and reverse, pedestrian avoidance, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring with active assist, rear (but not front) cross traffic alert, driver attention detection, speed sign recognition, self-dipping LED headlights, tyre pressure monitoring and a brace of three parking cameras, which enable full 360-degree viewing on the massive portrait-format centre screen.

There are eight airbags including a driver’s kneebag as well as a front-centre bag to prevent front passengers from coming into contact in a side collision.

The J7’s driver-assist systems are comprehensive and well-intended but their functions, including lane tracking and lane keep assist, are overly intrusive and potentially hazardous. As we have also experienced in Chery products, there’s a sort of self-righteousness about the way the Jaecoo J7’s steering will either forcefully veer away from a too-close white line on the side of the road or, due to uncertainties in the lane-centring system, wander erratically from side to side of its lane on a straight section of freeway.

Most of the interference tends to go away if the adaptive cruise control is switched off. So guess what we did.

Showcased by the portrait-oriented 14.8-inch super-sized touchscreen, the J7’s infotainment systems take a minimalist approach to driver controls, with most functions reliant on drilling-down through various screen layers.

To a certain extent it all works okay but the driver is often left punching blindly at an unresponsive screen (in one case attempting to find the calculated fuel consumption) before finally giving up to spend time perusing the owner’s handbook. It is also difficult to decipher the spidery graphics for the fuel tank readout, particularly when the screen is set in bright mode. The only option is the dark mode that, though still not perfect, makes it easier to read.

A big win is the crisply-clear screen resolution that pays big dividends when manoeuvring in tight parking spaces or using the inbuilt GPS – although the LCD refresh rate is often jerky. As would be expected, a colour head-up display is standard.

The J7 Ridge offers four USB-C points, two in the front and two in the back, plus front-passenger seat adjustment that can be accessed from the back seat (which is sometimes an invitation to mischievousness). Wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, and a wireless smartphone charging pad, are standard, as is a clean-sounding Sony sound system with a full complement of eight speakers.

The Jaecoo J7’s powerplant is the same 1.6-ilitre turbo-petrol four-cylinder seen in the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro, producing a solid 137kW and 274Nm The outputs are not dissimilar to the 2.5-litre normally aspirated Mazda CX-5 Touring (140kW/252Nm) and the 1.6-litre turbo Kia Sportage SX+ (132kW/265Nm) but it’s slightly in arrears on fuel consumption with an official combined average claim of 7.8L/100km.

The 2.5-litre Touring Mazda CX-5 quotes 7.4L/100km and the Kia Sportage SX+ 7.2L/100km. Toyota’s eFour RAV4 hybrid naturally creams them all with a combined power output of 163kW and 4.8L/100km fuel economy.

Our (RON 95 unleaded or E10-dependent) review Jaecoo J7 returned 8.3L/100km during our normal mixed-use, one-week on-road routine.

Jaecoo has developed the J7 to suit the expectations of its target market with a reasonably balanced mix of ride and handling qualities. The Ridge variant’s front-biased on-demand AWD system is a source of added confidence in slippery conditions and can be adjusted through seven drive modes: Economy, Standard, Sport, Sand, Mud, Snow or all-encompassing Off-Road.

The suspension on both front-drive and AWD models is all-independent, comprising MacPherson struts at the front and a coil-spring multi-link system at the rear.

Neither the ride nor the handling are spectacular but, within limits, they both meet the mid-size SUV brief.

Although the J7’s ride is comfortable enough, the shock absorbers don’t always feel up to the task and struggle to damp the odd challenging bump. Under pressure, the J7’s handling, even though the light-ish steering is quick enough at 2.6 turns from lock to lock, feels a little tentative. The on-demand AWD, with its seven drive modes and the 235/50R19 Continental PremiumContact tyres helping in the overall scheme of things, is constrained to a degree by the suspension’s limitations.

The J7 is quick enough off the mark. The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, though undoubtedly efficient, is hampered by a slightly reluctant step-off followed by an almost-sudden power surge. This misbehaviour can be traced to the manufacturer’s over-eager accelerator calibration and takes some getting used to. Slip into Eco mode and the J7 is slightly smoother.

The all-disc braking system – ventilated at the front, solid at the rear – is slightly compromised by a spongy, slow to react brake-pedal feel that contrasts with the over-reactive accelerator to bring an omnipresent sense of driving imbalance.

Another beef concerns the J7’s fuel-saving idle-stop. When stationary in uphill traffic the J7 is more prone than most cars to unexpectedly rolling back as the engine cut-off kicks in – which can be a concern for vehicles travelling behind.

Jaecoo has taken a quietly premium approach to the J7’s interior design. Only the Tesla-style centre screen makes a strong statement; otherwise it’s up to the finer design points, the choice of trim materials and the overall functionality to get the message across.

The Jaecoo J7 Ridge does a pretty thorough job of doing that, with more soft-touch padding than even some premium brands, unexpectedly generous passenger space throughout and some thoughtful attention to detail that helps bring an appropriate sense of occasion.

Due mainly to the space-grabbing full-size alloy spare, the Ridge version’s power tailgate-accessed boot is slightly smaller than the space-saver-equipped front-drive Core and Track PHEV models, down from an only reasonable 424 litres to 340 litres. But with the full-size spare it’s a worthwhile sacrifice that is largely compensated by the total seats-folded capacity of 1,265 litres (front drive versions quote 1,340 litres).

Judged entirely on its approaching-premium showroom presence, its cabin space, equipment levels, on-paper safety credentials and, most significantly, its razor-sharp driveaway pricing, the Jaecoo J7 Ridge is simply impossible to ignore.

Equally, although no ANCAP safety rating has been announced, the Jaecoo J7 looks as if it will be awarded the same five stars as its Chery Tiggo 7 Pro equivalent.

The only caveat is the unresolved shortcomings in the J7’s safety-related driver-intervention systems.

If the Jaecoo J7 is to be taken seriously as a premium mid-size SUV contender, there is an issue here that requires attention. Sooner, rather than later.

2025 Jaecoo J7 Ridge AWD at a glance:
Price: $42,990 driveaway
Available: Now
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 137kW/274Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 7.8L/100km
CO2: 181g/km
Safety rating: Unrated

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