MG, BYD, Xpeng, GWM Ora, Leapmotor, Haval, Omoda, Maxus, Skywell… The list of Chinese car marques sold in Britain grows by the month, and now Jaecoo has joined them. A combination of the German word ‘Jäger’, meaning ‘hunter’, and the English word ‘cool’ (it says here), the Jaecoo brand is wholly owned by Chery – a Chinese state-owned conglomerate that is virtually unknown in Europe, yet sold 2.6 million cars worldwide in 2024: more than Mercedes-Benz or the BMW Group.
Clearly, then, this hunter has an entire army waiting in the wings. Its first incursion into British territory is the Jaecoo 7, a mid-size SUV offering a choice of petrol or plug-in hybrid powertrains. The 147hp 1.6-litre petrol is available with front- or four-wheel drive and costs from £30,115. The 204hp 1.5 SHS (‘Super Hybrid System’) has 4WD as standard and is priced at £35,165. It’s the SHS on test here.
Rivals in this hard-fought corner of the market include the MG HS, Dacia Bigster, Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Karoq, BYD Seal U and Citroen C5 Aircross. And if ‘luxury focused’ Jaecoo has its way, the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and Range Rover Evoque. This two-year-old company certainly doesn’t lack ambition.
Majoring on value for money
Speaking of the Evoque, there are strong hints of the smallest Range Rover in the Jaecoo’s styling, particularly its tapering glasshouse, strong shoulder line and rear light bar. Overall, it’s a rather generic, SUV-by-numbers design, although the chintzy ‘waterfall’ grille does afford it some rear-view-mirror presence.
You get a lot of car for your money, though. Standard equipment on the entry-level Deluxe version includes 19-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats, a 13.2-inch central touchscreen, satellite navigation, a six-speaker audio system, automatic headlights and wipers, front and rear parking sensors, surround-view cameras and a full suite of active safety systems.
Four-wheel-drive petrol models and the SHS hybrid are only available in fully loaded Luxury spec, This adds a head-up display, heated rear seats, tinted windows, an eight-speaker Sony sound system and a larger 14.8-inch touchscreen. The Jaecoo’s simple dashboard is dominated by the huge, portrait-oriented screen, which controls the majority of its functions. The vibe is one of Tesla-style minimalism.
There’s no seven-seat option, but three adults can get comfortable in the second row. You also get a smattering of USB-A and USB-C sockets, plus a wireless charging pad on the centre console. However, while the petrol model has a 500-litre boot, the hybrid’s underfloor batteries reduce this to 412 litres – little better than a Volkswagen Golf hatchback. The MG HS hybrid, for comparison, can swallow 507 litres of luggage.
Diesel range, electric attitude
Teaming up a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine with an 18.3kWh battery results in 204hp, 0-62mph in 8.5 seconds and a maximum speed of 109mph. All perfectly acceptable stats for a family SUV.
The really impressive numbers, though, relate to efficiency. Thanks to an electric-only range of 56 miles, the SHS ekes out 403 miles per gallon in the official WLTP test, and emits just 25g/km of CO2. That will be tough to replicate in daily driving (you’d need to begin every journey with a fully charged battery, for starters), but the low emissions mean sizable tax savings. First-year road tax (VED) is £110, while company car drivers will pay Benefit-in-Kind tax of just three percent in 2025-26. Those low prices also mean you avoid the ‘expensive car tax’ supplement for vehicles costing more than £40,000.
As for the battery, it can recharge at up to 40kW, which boosts it from 30 to 80 percent capacity in 20 minutes. Plug into your home wallbox and a fill-up from empty takes six-and-a-half hours. If you have a modest commute, you could potentially use the SHS as an EV during the week, saving its petrol engine for longer weekend trips. Combine the battery and 60-litre fuel tank and Jaecoo claims a total range of 745 miles – comparable to a large, very economical diesel car.
Inside the Jaecoo 7 SHS
Inside, the 7 looks smart and feels well made, an impression backed up by a seven-year/100,000-mile warranty with no mileage limit in the first three years. Its lofty driving position seems more ‘SUV’ than ‘crossover’, too.
Start using the screen, though, and that sense of wellbeing begins to ebb away. Aside from a small row of buttons near your left elbow, everything is controlled via the giant tablet, right down to the door mirror adjustment. That means navigating several sub-menus instead of simply twisting a knob or pressing a switch. To make matters worse, an ever-vigilant camera atop the steering column detects your eyes looking away from the road at the screen, then angrily bleeps at you to pay attention.
There is a ‘swipe down’ shortcut to switch off many of the assistance systems, but the screen still isn’t straightforward to use. Connect your phone via Apple CarPlay, for instance, and you must close it again to adjust the heating or air-con. Having to download an app and register your data to use the navigation seems unnecessary, too.
The Jaecoo isn’t the only offender in this counter-intuitive (but cost-saving) obsession with do-it-all touchscreens, of course; the Volvo EX30 was recently criticised for the same issue. Perhaps for younger drivers weaned on smartphones it won’t be such an issue, but it proved a constant annoyance during my week with the car.
Fine-tuned in Frankfurt
The Jaecoo is fairly forgettable to drive. It always starts in EV mode, with the 1.5-litre engine joining in unobtrusively when needed. Acceleration is brisk, even if switching to Sport mode doesn’t seem to make much difference. The regenerative braking also works smoothly.
Rather less smooth is the car’s ride – tuned for European customers at Jaecoo’s European R&D centre in Frankfurt – which feels quite abrupt for a family SUV. Throttle response is also poorly calibrated, leading to jerky progress in stop-start traffic. And when you reach faster, more undulating roads, the car quickly runs out of grip and enthusiasm. In truth, the Jaecoo feels happiest on motorways, where its refinement, calm steering and long-striding range come to the fore.
Interestingly, if you occasionally venture into the wilds beyond the M25, the four-wheel-drive petrol Jaecoo 7 is more capable off-road than you might think. Additional drive modes include Sand, Mud and Snow, while the brake booster can simulate a locking differential. A wading depth of 600mm could be useful on flooded roads as well. With the market for family-friendly pick-up trucks in decline, it could be a credible budget workhorse.
Verdict: Jaecoo 7 SHS
The first Jaecoo to be sold in the UK definitely has some plus points, including a long warranty, five-star Euro NCAP safety rating and sheer value for money. You might also like how it looks, both inside and out.
Personally, I’d happily forgo some of the extra equipment for a nicer driving experience and better user interface. Jaecoo and its sister brand Omoda are moving fast and they won’t be playing catch-up for long. But this particular Chinese car isn’t up to the standards of its European and Korean competitors.
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