Jaecoo J7 Track 2025 review

Just as the Chery brand starts to hit its stride sales-wise in Australia – it shifted 1837 units in January ’25 and 12,603 units across 2024 (up 114 percent on the previous 12 months) – along comes Chery’s so-called ‘premium’ sub-brand Jaecoo to further flesh-out its portfolio.

Already on sale in other right-hand-drive markets (the UK and South Africa) and set for a full-range launch here in May, Jaecoo previewed its medium-sized J7 SUV to Aussie media in front-wheel-drive form – a mid-spec Track variant featuring a 137kW/275Nm 1.6-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine with seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, as per the J7’s mechanically related Chery Tiggo 7 Pro stablemate.

Indeed, in its Chinese home market the Jaecoo J7 is branded as a Chery – called the Tansuo 06, or Fulwin T6 for the plug-in hybrid – so it should be no surprise that the J7 is essentially a Chery Tiggo 7 in classier drag.

Measuring a compact 4500mm long and riding on a 2672mm wheelbase, the Jaecoo J7 is one of the smaller medium SUVs out there, and (not surprisingly) a close match to its Tiggo 7 cousin dimensionally.

Yet that’s actually a good thing because the J7 looks impressively trim and taut – clearly inspired by a Range Rover Velar – and offers plenty of cabin space, surprisingly comfortable seating (on well-stitched faux-leather upholstery) and a decent boot (because it doesn’t have a full-size spare).

Visually, the Velar inspiration works well for the J7. The Jaecoo has its own, rather unique chequered-graphic daytime running lights, sitting above vertically stacked main lights, and a large waterfall grille with prominent ‘Jaecoo’ branding.

But there’s Velar inspiration in its smooth retractable door handles, neat shoulder line leading into subtle rear hips, and the horizontal light band spanning its (electric) tailgate.

Yet the J7 doesn’t look like a knock-off. The chequered lighting re-appears at the rear, bookended by two vertical reflectors peering from boxed rear wheelarches. And the handsome 18-inch alloys fitted to the base Core and mid-spec Track – clad with surprisingly decent Cooper Evolution CTT 235/55R18 tyres – suit the J7’s body shape well.

Further to the J7 Core and Track FWDs – starting in the $35-$40K driveaway bracket for the base Core – Jaecoo plans to introduce several AWD variants. The flagship J7 will be called Ridge and is expected to feature 19-inch alloys and a panoramic sunroof, in addition to the generous equipment of the Track variant.

Jaecoo will also offer a ‘Super Hybrid’ J7 – a front-wheel-drive 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder plug-in hybrid with a 150kW electric motor, a promising 0-100km/h claim of 8.5sec and up to 90km of electric-only WLTP range.

The only J7 on offer at Jaecoo’s preview drive was the front-drive Track – a one-up-from-base variant expected to be priced in the low-$40,000 driveaway.

Beyond the entry-level Core, the Track brings an electric tailgate, front parking sensors, a 360-degree camera, a driver’s knee airbag, heated front seats, illuminated vanity mirrors, ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, eight-speaker Sony audio, a 50W wireless phone charger, rain-sensing wipers, and an acoustic-glass windscreen.

All of this is in addition to the Core’s 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine with dual-clutch transmission, 18-inch machined-finished alloys, LED headlights and DRLs, 10.25-inch driver’s LCD cluster, 13.2-inch portrait touchscreen with embedded navigation, six-speaker audio with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, electric front seats, voice control, a centre-front airbag and an extensive active-safety suite.

First impressions of the J7 Track are promising. Its pop-out door handles operate with oiled smoothness; its dashboard and door trims feature interesting, layered textures; and its fake-leather seats are generously padded and neatly stitched.

It’s minimalist but with several nice details – even though most of them don’t look expensive.

The front passenger’s seat only gets four-way electric adjustment, meaning it’s mounted too high and looks oddly out of alignment with the driver’s bucket.

But comfort is good (providing the weather isn’t too intense – there’s no seat ventilation) and the rear bench is generously accommodating, combined with an almost-flat floor, plenty of legroom and proper door grab handles.

On the move, the J7’s 137kW 1.6-litre turbo donk feels and sounds spirited, with a decent amount of verve when kicked along via a seven-speed dual-clutch ’box, though a degree of hesitancy when accelerating from a standing start.

Combined with a baseline torque figure of 275Nm from 2000-4000rpm, it’s better calibrated than expected, and better than we remember the Tiggo 7’s drivetrain, yet there’s still room for improvement in terms of finessed smoothness.

Jaecoo’s combined consumption claim is 7.0L/100km (drinking 95RON premium unleaded) and we averaged a respectable 9.2L/100km during our preview drive.

As for the J7’s dynamics, it’s quite a bit better than expected. Urban ride quality is actually quite decent, with respectable absorbency combined with average road-noise suppression. And its steering is reasonably precise too, if lacking the desired consistency in its weighting – it can feel a little ‘sticky’, rather than ‘creamy’.

But it’s in corners where the J7 proves a cut above its Chinese contemporaries.

Add more lock mid-corner and the Jaecoo simply tucks its nose in and goes there – delivering a degree of balance and grip that makes it an easy SUV to drive on a twisty road, even though its steering isn’t as crisp and keen as it could be.

About the only area where the Jaecoo’s dynamics stumble is in rough-road ride quality. Hit a big pothole or lump and the suspension bangs into its bump stops, demonstrating the J7 ultimately doesn’t have enough compression damping to take on Australia’s worst without flinching.

But perhaps Jaecoo is right in suggesting that Australian buyers would probably trade-off its tangible urban ride comfort for a degree of bump-thump out in the country.

The other area where the J7 will need ongoing help is in the safety-electronics department.

While its lane-keep asisstance and driver attention monitoring have had Australian input, the Jaecoo remains a bit snatch-and-grab in its steering assistance, and a bit over-zealous in its desire to intervene – though we’ve driven Chinese SUVs that are much worse.

Reassuringly, however, Chery/Jaecoo says it remains open to feedback and committed to continual improvement.

It should be noted that these intrusive active-safety systems had initially been switched off in our Forest Green test J7 – leading us to comment how wonderfully unobtrusive they were! – though they can be disabled with reasonable ease and simplicity via the car’s portrait touchscreen.

Now that Chery’s MY25 Tiggo 7 Pro line-up has been rationalised and reduced in price to just $30-34K driveaway, there’s room in Chery’s stable for the slightly more upmarket Jaecoo J7.

It’s a handsome, roomy, well-specced, easy-to-drive SUV that essentially provides welcome relief to families that require a new mid-sized SUV but need to monitor every cent spent.

Our first taste suggests it’s a better car than the new MG HS for similar money. Whether Jaecoo can match MG’s warranty is another thing, but we’d hazard a guess that Jaecoo will at least match Chery Australia’s seven-year/unlimited-kilometre coverage.

Perhaps the forthcoming J7 Ridge AWD will be the pick of the range – certainly if it offers ventilated front seats – but if the Jaecoo J7 Core really does kick off at $35,000 driveaway, there’s a lot of quite decent medium SUV on offer for that highly tempting price.