REVIEW | Jaecoo 7 SHS
A Highland Jaunt
Being plonked in the wilds of Scotland primes you for an adventure, of sorts. The hulking mountains, the brooding moors, it’s a land once stalked by packs of wolves, but with time, comes change, and new species arrive – big ones, man-made ones, ones that you can hop into and drive. Taking routes less travelled in the Cairngorms National Park, I joined a convoy of journalists to test the Jaecoo 7 SHS on some twisty roads. Its name is a portmanteau of the German word, Jäger, meaning hunter, and the English word, cool, I expected epicness – because what you call a car projects intent – but as an SUV for the budget-conscious, the epic setting was about as epic as it could get.
JAE-What?
The 7 is Jaceoo’s UK debut so this was my first foray with them too. A challenger sub-brand of the state-owned Chinese car maker Chery – which claims to be the country's largest automotive exporter – Jaecoo enters the Range Rover lookalike market with the 7; a mid-sized SUV. On a mission to embed itself into the consciousness of the nation, it has over 70 forecourts across the country, with one as far north as Aberdeen.
So What?
Jaceoo is counting on continuing demand for petrol cars in the UK, and if you don’t mind compromising on drivability and ride comfort, this 4.5 metre SUV could wipe out pricier competition. If you’re not a badge snob, that is. Driving front wheels at the bottom of the range, the petrol model, which has a 145bhp 1.6-litre engine is priced from £29,435. Its official 0-62mph time is 10.3 seconds. The same engine is offered with all-wheel drive, and with a wading depth of 600mm, seven driving modes – including Sand, Mud and Snow – and an approach angle of 21 degrees, it teases off-road ability. TBC when there’s an opportunity to be the judge of that.
The range peaks with the 201bhp front-wheel-drive 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid, or Super Hybrid System (SHS), as Jaecoo would like it to be known. Combining a turbocharged petrol engine with an 18.7kWh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery, it hits 0-62mph in 8.5 seconds. The price tag? From £35k.
Ideal for a long-distance road trip, the SHS has a combined range of 745 miles, and according to the datasheet, electric power provides 56 of those. Knock that back to around 50 in the real world. To maximise efficiency, the self-charging hybrid powertrain is designed to ensure the battery never runs out. When it’s low, it’ll only switch to electric for fleeting stints, and once plugged into a fast charger, it’ll zap from 30 to 80% in 20 minutes.
It’s Got Form
With no off-road aptitude, the SHS is out of place in true wilderness, but I have to say, it wears its rough-luxe looks well. It's remindful of Toyota’s Land Cruiser, and tows up to 1500kg. The front-end design is distinctive, it’s purposeful and heavyset, while the slim, checkerboard follow-me-home headlights give it some funk. In contrast, the waterfall grille is gappy and a tad gigantic, but doesn’t look out of proportion. At the back, the SHS packs an ample 412-litre boot.
In the soft grey light offered by a misty Scottish morning, the 7’s pearlescent Pearl Silver paint job – one of five shades on offer at launch – did it for me, but the Amazonite Blue looked lush too. During my visit to rural Aberdeenshire, the climate kindly hovered above zero, but had a chill set in, the 7’s flush, hidden door handles are designed to break through thick ice; reputedly they’ll function in temperatures as low as -30ºC.
Opening up to a spacious cabin, the SHS has a different interior layout to its siblings, but the whole family is fitted with a sweeping 1.1m sunroof as standard, making them a great place to count clouds, or even stargaze, if the weather allows.
The 14.8-inch touchscreen provides a natural focal point, but the software is glitchy and not particularly intuitive or easy to use. Adjusting settings, such as the climate, becomes a game of swipe-and-tap hide-and-seek. The voice-activated software needs tweaking as well. Handy features include four USB sockets as well as a self-cooling wireless charging pad in the centre console – the 7 supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay out of the box. Add the 12.3in driver display, head-up display and air purification system to the list of gadgets too.
As for the aesthetic? Faux leather and lots of plastic – it is what it is – but it’s comfy and there’s lots of storage, including a huge bucket between the front occupants’ legs. For a full-on immersive experience, I synched the ambient lighting so that it would pulse and change colour in time with my tunes. With a playlist provided by the team at Jaecoo, which included a remix of the Scottish folk song, Loch Lomond, I blasted an eclectic mix through the eight-speaker Sony setup.
Range Roamer
The ride height and upright windscreen set me up to survey everything on the road ahead – I could even see over the bonnet! – and to compensate for the claustrophobically shallow rear window, the 540-degree camera provided an almost bird's-eye view of the vehicle's surroundings.
Out on the range though, the ride did little to filter out the harshness of lumpy roads. To save a pain in your derriere, I’d advise avoiding farm tracks at all costs. Be wary of the wayward handling, the body roll will make you feel slightly ill at ease, and be aware that it might take some time to get used to the brakes. They're not dangerous, they're just not particularly smooth. It's on the motorway that the Jaecoo calms down, but it’s quite vocal under acceleration, and be sure to switch off the driver drowsiness detection system to save yourself from its incessant pings.
In Conclusion
Tested on a journey from Scotland to London, I did a lot of miles over the course of two days, and although flawed, I still expect the Jaecoo 7 SHS to attract a fair amount of attention. For most, this is an SUV that'll do the job, and it's reasonably priced, but I’m holding out for the AWD. I've got high hopes that it'll be capable of far more epic things.
words: Charlotte Vowden
pictures: JAECOO