Jaecoo J8 2025 Review

Sharp drive-away pricing that kicks off below $50K makes the 2025 Jaecoo J8 large SUV look like a downright bargain compared to established rivals like the Toyota Kluger (from $62,410 plus on-road costs) and Hyundai Santa Fe (from $53,000 plus ORCs).

On sale now in two guises – Track FWD ($49,990 drive away) or Ridge AWD ($54,990 drive away) – about the only caveat to the J8’s considerably low cost is the fact it only comes with five seats, while most other large family SUVs offer seating options for seven or eight.

It’s also a petrol-only affair but the Chinese brand says it’s looking into electrification – more specifically plug-in hybrid power – along with three-row layouts.

Every version of the J8 comes powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine mated to an eight-speed automatic. It’s a combination that serves up a decent 183kW and 385Nm, sent to either the front wheels or all four, the latter of which adds a torque vectoring system.

There’s a long list of standard equipment here, too, not to mention impressive warranty and aftersales credentials provided by the Chery-owned car maker: eight years and unlimited kilometres, with roadside assistance and capped-price servicing over the same period.

The first eight years of servicing – due every 15,000km or 12 months, whichever comes first – will cost $2952 for the Track FWD, while the Ridge AWD costs $3452 over the same period.

That’s an average of $369 and $431 per service, respectively.

All J8 SUVs ride on 20-inch alloy wheels. They also boast a pair of 12.3-inch digital displays, a 14-speaker sound system (including in-built headrest speakers for the driver), wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, navigation, and leather seats with heating, ventilation and massage up front.

Also standard are LED daytime running lights and projector headlights, tyre pressure monitoring, a surround-view camera, eight airbags, and a powered tailgate.

The top-spec Ridge AWD adds Jaecoo’s ‘CDC’ (continuous damping control) suspension, an in-built fragrance system, suede headliner, ambient interior lighting, tinted rear windows, a heated steering wheel, and heating/ventilation for the outboard seats in the second row.

The range-topper also adds an extra two side airbags for the second row, to make 10 in total, along with a hands-free park-assist feature.

Other standard safety gear includes autonomous emergency braking, lane-departure warning with emergency lane keep, blind-spot monitoring, forward collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, driver monitoring system, and more.

Meanwhile, four exterior colour options include the hero Ocean Blue hue, which comes at no cost, while three premium colour options include Carbon Black, Arctic White and Iridium Silver, each of which commands a $500 premium.

Black is the only interior colour option for now.

Not only is the 2025 Jaecoo J8 loaded with equipment and priced to please, its smart-looking exterior and upmarket interior makes it a standout in terms of value.

Local brand execs say they expect the sales split to follow a similar trend to the mid-size Jaecoo J7 SUV, where the top-spec AWD variant will likely account for the majority of sales when the J8 arrives in local showrooms this month.

But it’s behind the wheel where the J8 delivers one of its most impressive features: the calibration of its driver-assistance aids.

Unlike our initial experience with the 2023 Chery Omoda 5 – which arrived Down Under with horrendous safety aids when the Chinese brand re-launched in Oz, causing Chery to re-assess the SUV’s safety systems – the J8 sports much-improved systems, proving the brand is listening to and acting upon feedback.

We’ll need to spend more time in the new J8 to make a full judgement, but our initial impressions were positive, with the safety systems in the Ridge AWD either working so well they were all but imperceptible, or so poorly they weren’t working at all. Again, that’s something we’ll test in future.

Only once – when using Traffic Jam Assist (TJA) and Integrated Cruise Assist (ICA) to test the lane keep and cruise control function – did the J8 display annoyingly intrusive behaviour, tugging the steering wheel and incessantly beeping and displaying a “Keep your hands on the wheel” warning.

That was even despite our hands being firmly on the wheel, which seemingly had a mind of its own, overpowering most of our inputs to keep the car in the dead centre of the lane. It was quickly turned off.

Happily, the J8 saves your driver aid/ADAS settings – bar the emergency lane-keep assist feature, which must revert to ‘on’ every time the vehicle starts – meaning you don’t need to go rifling through the touchscreen every time you get in the car.

A 738-litre boot also bodes well for family buyers needing space, extending to a whopping 2021L with the second row folded flat (and it does fold flat).

Even better is the addition of a full-size spare tyre under the boot floor of every variant, along with a nifty safety triangle and an emergency hammer/seatbelt cutter in the centre console.

The cabin feels proper luxe, with real leather seat upholstery, along with heating and massage functions that both work well.

Once you’re familiar with the J8’s size – a lengthy 4.8m in length and 1.93m wide – the big SUV is easy to punt around in, with a quiet ride courtesy of excellent sound deadening.

There are a few things missing in the 2025 Jaecoo J8.

For starters, it comes exclusively as a five-seater (for now), meaning family buyers that might need a third row of seats will need to look elsewhere. A six-seat version (with captain’s chairs in the middle row) is available in China and the brand says it’s investigating the desire for a three-row SUV here in Oz (even one with seven seats).

It also hasn’t been legally approved to tow and therefore doesn’t come with an official tow rating (or towbar).

There are a few omissions on the Track FWD – including key passive safety gear – that mean the $5000 jump to the Ridge AWD make a lot of sense.

For example, both grades ride on 20-inch alloy wheels but while the flagship Ridge wears Michelin Primacy tyres, the Track gets cheaper Maxxis rubber.

More importantly, the Track FWD misses out on the Ridge AWD’s full set of airbags, the latter adding side airbags to the second row to protect the mid-section of rear seat occupants, making a total of 10 over the Track’s eight.

In better news, curtain airbags that extend to the second row feature across the range.

The door handles are also worth mentioning.

Only the top-spec J8 gets fancy electronic door release buttons inside the cabin and importantly, each door is fitted with a manual door release handle in case the vehicle loses 12-volt power. However, the labelling of the releases could be made more obvious with red or yellow print; instead, they’re embossed with a picture of an open car door. At least they’re in a visible spot that’s easy to reach.

Meanwhile the Track FWD gets conventional pull handles inside the cabin, while both variants use the same flush exterior handles, which pop out when you unlock the vehicle.

In terms of driving, power is commendable and the J8’s turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine provides plenty of poke off the line, but its eight-speed automatic lets it down at times.

We noticed it more so on inclines, where moments of hesitation, perhaps even confusion, resulted in the transmission hunting for gears, shuffling between several before settling on one. Unfortunately there’s no way to take control of gear selection yourself; there’s no manual mode and/or shift paddles.

Another annoyance comes with the gear selector itself, which is mounted behind the steering wheel on a stalk a la Mercedes-Benz (and, more recently, Hyundai/Kia) to free up space in the centre console.

But if, like a car reviewer, you shuffle between different vehicles and sometimes forget which side the indicator stalk is on, bumping it in the J8 will see it happily shift to N (neutral) on the move when (accidentally) trying to indicate left.

I could be mistaken but I don’t recall that happening in any other vehicle when I’ve done the same accidental flick of the gear stick instead of the indicator stalk, because the car had seemingly ‘locked’ the selection and remained in D (drive) due to the speed.

Of course, you’d get used to the vehicle controls if it was your only vehicle but the fact it can shift into neutral on the move could present somewhat of a safety issue if the driver doesn’t notice and tries to enter traffic without motive power, for example.

The 2025 Jaecoo J8 represents very good value and, as a first taste, it feels like a great family hauler. It looks good on the outside, feels premium on the inside, comes loaded with standard equipment, and it’s laden with tech.

Catch is, only the range-topping Ridge AWD benefits from the full suite of gear. Still, it’s a more affordable option compared to established rivals in the large SUV segment and even if it doesn’t have the same brand awareness as the competition, it comes backed by a more generous eight-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty.

Some omissions could prove a sticking point for family buyers and there are certain elements that could use more attention, such as the lack of towing ability, the (at times) muddled gearing, and the missing airbags in the Track FWD variant, which could contribute to a mixed ANCAP safety score in the future.

We look forward to spending more time in the Jaecoo J8 and think it’s worth a look for large SUV buyers who don’t need three rows of seats.

2025 Jaecoo J8 AWD Ridge at a glance:
Price: $54,990 (drive away)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 183kW/385Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 204g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

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