2025 Jaecoo J8 review

The Jaecoo J8 brings unheard-of value to the large SUV space – but does it deliver on a premium experience or is it just dollar-shop luxury?

With Chery’s Tiggo models reshaping the Australian SUV sales charts, it only made sense for the company to introduce its more luxury-focused Jaecoo nameplate to our shores. When a budget brand attempts to go down the luxury route, however, things often don’t start out smoothly (it took Hyundai many years to get the Genesis recipe right). With its scarcely credible $50k entry point, the Jaecoo J8 large SUV is sure to draw attention – but is Chery just indulging in premium cosplay, or does the J8 provide genuine competition to the established luxury brands?

How much does the Jaecoo J8 cost?

It’s wise to debut an unknown brand with a simple range, and the Jaecoo J8 is available in just two specifications: the Track 2WD for $49,990 drive away and the Ridge AWD for $54,990 drive away.

The Jaecoo J8’s warranty was initially promoted as eight-year/unlimited kilometre, but the latest information on its website revises this to eight-year/120,000km. The capped price servicing plan over eight years adds up to $2952 for the 2WD Track and $3452 for the AWD Ridge.

This positioning means the Ridge costs about the same as a base-model Hyundai Santa Fe ($53,000 plus on road costs) or Ford Everest RWD ($54,240 plus ORC), and the best part of $10k less than the cheapest Toyota Kluger ($62,410 plus ORC).

Positioning the J8 as a luxury brand also opens it to myriad other competitors, the most logical being the Genesis GV80 large SUV, which kicks off at $128,914 before on roads. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Lexus and BMW all have similar (or much more expensive) models, so on price, Jaecoo appears to have everyone licked.

But whether the J8 deserves to be in the same category as these latter brands is a matter for conjecture.

1/7

What is the Jaecoo J8 like inside?

The first impression upon sliding into the J8 is a promising sense of luxury. Thick quilted leather seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, panoramic touchscreen, panoramic sunroof, and generally agreeable aesthetics add up to an inviting cabin space.

Jaecoo has clearly styled itself on Mercedes – a logical template for a marque seeking validation in the luxury space – and the J8’s gear selector stalk, air vents and some of its switchgear are obvious imitations of Merc articles. Hard surfaces are few, even in the Track model, and the addition of suede headlining in the Ridge elevates the premium feel another notch.

The imitation glass (it’s actually plastic) drive mode selector in the Ridge looks okay but feels light and chintzy to the touch. The textured faux-aluminium dial in the Track better suits the interior.

The front seats are well bolstered and solid, while also speaking to the J8’s Euro design sensibilities in being firmer than most found in Japanese and Korean makes. Ergonomics and instrument placement are sound, while the rear seats are plush and offer generous leg and foot room. Two adults and a child can easily fit across the second row; three adults will be cosy but achievable.

The centre space also doubles as a fold-down armrest with cup holders. While there’s almost no transmission tunnel hump to contend with, even in the AWD model, the high floor could become a comfort issue over a long distance.

2025 Jaecoo J8 rear seats

Extremes of climate won’t make rear passengers uncomfortable, however, as they get their own rear air conditioning vents and controls for temperature and fan speed.

In the Ridge, back seat passengers in are also treated to seat heaters. A second set of adjustment controls is built into the side of the front passenger seat so rear occupants can adjust the seat’s position if it’s unoccupied (or, presumably, if they feel like annoying the person sitting in it).

Both front and rear doors in the Ridge open at the press of an electric button, which doesn’t harm the J8’s upmarket credentials. Single USB-A and USB-C ports service the rear, although you could be forgiven for missing them – they’re unmarked and almost invisible at the bottom of the centre console.

The J8’s rear seats split/fold but don’t slide, so what you see is what you get for cargo space. The quoted 738-litre volume sounds impressive but there’s only 970mm from seat back to boot lip and just 700mm from the cargo floor to the top of the door aperture – measurements that preclude bulkier objects. Under the floor is a full-size spare wheel, which ups the J8’s touring credentials. The plastic used for the cargo floor handle and luggage hooks feels downmarket – a pedantic criticism, perhaps, but in the luxury space everything comes under fierce scrutiny and small details make a difference.

Some markets have a seven-seat option for the J8 (hence the reading lights where the third row would be), but in Australia it’s a five-seat configuration only at this point.

1/10

What equipment does the Jaecoo J8 come with?

In a phrase, just about everything. For that smidge under $50,000 the J8 Track comes standard with dual 12.3-inch LCD displays, a 14-speaker Sony sound system, satellite navigation, wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, voice commands, leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats with massage function, LED interior lighting, a surround-view camera, 20-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a powered tailgate and second row air conditioning controls.

The extra $5000 for the Ridge buys an all-wheel drive system with torque vectoring and damping control, additional drive modes (snow/mud/sand/off-road), an automatic parking function, heated and ventilated seats in the second row, colour-selectable ambient lighting, second row side airbags, privacy glass for the rear windows, a fragrance system and black suede headlining.

How safe is the Jaecoo J8?

At the time of writing ANCAP hadn’t crash tested the Jaecoo J8, although its little brother, the J7, was awarded five stars in May 2025.

The J8’s extensive list of safety equipment includes every active and passive safety acronym imaginable, plus eight airbags in the Track and 10 in the Ridge (which also enjoys side parking sensors and the above-mentioned automatic parking function).

What powers the Jaecoo J8?

There is just the one engine and transmission package: a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

This powertrain produces 183kW and 385Nm, which is directed to the front wheels in the 2WD Track and split between front and rear in the AWD Ridge.

Claimed combined fuel consumption is 8.3L/100km for the Track and 8.6L/100km for the Ridge. Expect to see around 10-11L/100km in typical suburban driving.

2025 Jaecoo J8 engine

What is the Jaecoo J8 like to drive?

As you approach the Jaecoo J8 its flush door handles pop out and at night puddle lamps project brand iconography onto the ground – an appropriately premium welcome.

The two touchscreens are essentially one large panoramic screen split into two sections and there’s a nice logic and cohesiveness to the entire dashboard design; nothing looks like an afterthought. The driver has two digital speedo options (information display and head-up display) and it’s easy to scroll through other data, such as the trip meters, with buttons on the steering wheel.

A daytime colour scheme on the driver’s information screen leaves something to be desired – the background is light grey, which means anything in light green (indicator arrows, vehicle information icons such as lane-keeping assistance activation) are all but invisible.

Another questionable decision is putting the USB ports (one A and one C connection) low down on the left side of the centre console – they’re almost completely inaccessible from the driver’s seat.

The 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine has a fair amount of grunt, but every request to deploy it seems to come as a surprise to the J8’s gearbox. 

— Kris Ashton

The J8’s gear selector might as well have come off the Mercedes-Benz shelf and it operates in exactly the same way – up for reverse, down for drive, push in the button on the end of the stalk for park. The stalk is located where a great many right-hand drive cars have an indicator, but it doesn’t operate when the car is in motion and once you become acclimated to its use it does have a certain economy of movement that appeals.

The 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine possesses a fair amount of grunt, but every request to deploy it seems to come as a surprise to the J8’s gearbox, which is forever shifting up and down as it tries to reconcile performance with economy.

It’s jerky too (something especially noticeable if you choose to leave the maddening stop-start fuel saving system on) while also allowing the vehicle to roll forward if it’s on a mild downhill slope, such as your correspondent’s driveway.

The Track is prone to wheelspin if you give it the beans, the AWD Ridge less so. Frankly, the whole drivetrain feels like yesterday’s tech compared to the smooth and slick combinations seen in the Ford Everest and Hyundai Santa Fe – never mind anything from the premium brands the J8 presumes to trade blows with.

More in keeping with a premium contender is the J8’s quiet cabin and plush ride. Both models have Macpherson struts at the front and multi-link suspension at the rear, which soak up everything from Grand Canyon potholes to Mount Everest speed humps. This cloud-like ride does come at a price, however, with the Track in particular a bit roly-poly in corners. The Ridge, with its AWD system, has a firmer ride and better on-road manners, but not even the damper control tech can completely offset the J8’s jumping castle dynamics.

Most large SUVs that exhibit such characteristics – the Ford Everest RWD, for example – do so because they run on the same underpinnings as a legitimate 4x4 off-roader. But there’s not so much as a diff lock on the AWD J8; terrain settings are as rugged as it gets. Opting for a lower ride height and more car-like handling should have been a no-brainer.

2025 Jaecoo J8

The Jaecoo J8’s remaining trump card, then, would appear to be technology. First, the good news: the technology employed in service of comfort and convenience works exceedingly well. The car unlocks/locks when you want it to. The automatic windscreen defogger comes on at the right time and shuts itself off when its job is done. The ventilated seats acknowledge that this is Australia and that, for eight or nine months of the year, seat heaters are useless. The centre console storage has a cooling function, too. The vehicle’s more irritating safety and eco features can be switched off and don’t come back on again. It all adds up to a relaxing and (dare we say it) premium driving experience.

But once you get into the infotainment system, things become decidedly less relaxing – words like ‘fiddly’ and ‘unintuitive’ come more readily to mind.

Analogue controls for the air conditioning are non-existent and accessing them via the digital screen means pressing tiny icons – not exactly safe or convenient if you’re a driver alone and on the go. Then there’s trying to switch from radio to Bluetooth audio. What should be a single press under the audio icon is instead a counter-intuitive mission through menus that we still couldn’t memorise after multiple attempts.

Voice commands or Apple CarPlay, therefore, are more essential than optional. Poking yet another hole in the J8’s shiny premium façade is the odd syntax clunker – the trip meter, for example, reads ‘After the start’ and ‘After the reset’ rather than ‘Since start’ or ‘This trip’.

One final disappointment worth mentioning is the Sony audio system. Yes, it boasts 14 speakers, but as any aural aficionado will tell you quantity doesn’t equal quality, and the sound produced is strangely shallow for something so elaborate. Fewer speakers of superior quality would have been a better alternative. A more appealing trait is the speaker built into the driver’s headrest, which makes it sound as if the person on the phone is sitting right behind you.

Open Road’s take on the Jaecoo J8

Despite what all the foregoing criticisms might suggest, the J8 isn’t that far off the mark. It’s reminiscent of the Hyundai Genesis circa-2015 – an admirable albeit flawed attempt at a luxury vehicle.

If you’d love an SUV with all the trimmings but your budget precludes it, the Jaecoo J8 provides an acceptable substitute for the genuine article at a fraction of the price.

Just understand that the materials and technology lack the final polish offered in proper luxury vehicles and you’re not getting a Mercedes (or even a Genesis) for your $50,000.