Jaecoo 7 SHS - long-term review 2025
To be honest, right now I'm unsure how to answer that question. Not least because I'm not certain of the pronunciation of 'Jaecoo'. (Jai-coo? Jay-coo? J'atchoo?)
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Google 'Jaecoo 7 rivals' and you'll find reference to everything from the Dacia Bigster to a Range Rover, which is quite the spread. So what does the 7 rival? And whatever it does rival, does it… outrival them? That's what it's here to answer.
What the Jaecoo 7 isn't – to the surprise of my many interrogators – is an EV. Though, yes, it's a new Chinese arrival (Jaecoo is a sub-brand of state-owned Chery, and arrives in the UK alongside sister brand Omoda), no, this one's not electric. At least not fully electric: the 7 comes in either pure petrol or plug-in hybrid guise.
We've gone for the latter, grandly dubbed the Super Hybrid System (SHS). This sees a 1.5-litre turbo petrol supplemented by an additional e-motor on the front wheels fed from an 18kWh battery, offering a total output of 201bhp and an official 56 miles of electric-only driving. That's a more substantial e-range than many PHEVs. Could come in handy. Could just be an even-heavier second powertrain to lug around.
The 7 also isn't, despite the name, a seven-seater. Room for five only here, within an SUV similar in footprint to the Hyundai Tucson, VW Tiguan and BMW X1. Judged by the attention it's garnering, the 7 is more visually distinctive than any of that crew. Wearing optional Amazonite Blue paint, first impressions are… it looks tidy, right? The merits of that cheese-slicer grille will be, I suspect, a matter of personal taste, but the surfacing is smart and the detailing is neat. There's more than a hint of Evoque and Velar about its straight-edged profile. It looks, to me, quite expensive.
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It isn't. At least not by modern SUV standards. The 7 range starts at a smidge over 30 grand, with this plug-in hybrid weighing in at £35,000 with all the trimmings. That looks like strong value if the 7 can mix it with premium offerings like the Audi Q3 and X1, fair value if it's up there with the Hyundai Tucson, Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage… and a bit on the pricey side if it's playing in the Bigster/MG HS ballpool. We shall see.
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