- The Jaecoo 8 flagship SUV offers a choice of six or seven seats and PHEV power.
- Super Hybrid System delivers 422 hp and up to 700 miles of combined range.
- Luxury and Executive trims add massaging seats, Sony audio, and serious kit.
Britain’s newest success story isn’t slowing down. Less than a year after arriving in the country and shooting up to sixth in the sales charts with its 7 SUV, Chery’s Jaecoo brand is adding a big new flagship called the Jaecoo 8, and it promises more space, more luxury, and a lot more power.
The smaller Jaecoo 7 made waves by looking like a well-known British SUV, earning itself the ‘Temu Range Rover‘ nickname, and the new 8 turns that formula up a notch while throwing in some premium German influences. It’s bigger, more plush, and offers three rows of seating for the first time, pushing the brand into more premium territory while still keeping prices surprisingly reasonable.
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Buyers can choose between two personalities. The Luxury model comes with seven seats and is aimed squarely at families hauling kids, luggage, and the occasional sports kit. The Executive version swaps that layout for six seats and adds four heated, ventilated, and massaging captain’s chairs wrapped in Nappa leather.
Small engine, big power
Under the skin sits Chery’s Super Hybrid System, which pairs a 1.5-liter turbo petrol engine with all-wheel drive. The combined output is 422 hp (428 PS) and 428 lb-ft (580 Nm), enough to push this chunky SUV from 0 to 62 mph (100 kmh) in 5.8 seconds. That’s the kind of pace that will embarrass a few hot hatchbacks, never mind three-row family SUVs.
Massive range
Efficiency looks equally impressive on paper. Jaecoo claims an electric-only range of up to 83 miles (134 km) and a total range exceeding 700 miles (1,127 km) with a full tank and battery. DC charging up to 40 kW means a top-up from 30 to 80 percent can take about 20 minutes, which should keep long road trips relatively painless.
The equipment list is generous, too. Every Jaecoo 8 comes with dual 12.3-inch screens, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, cooled wireless charging pads, and a 14-speaker Sony sound system. There are even headrest speakers for a private listening experience if you’d rather not share your music taste with everyone on board.
Jaecoo also wants you to believe this SUV is ready for adventure, not just school runs. Lockable differentials and an adaptive terrain system appear for the first time on a Jaecoo model, while adaptive suspension aims to keep things comfortable whether you’re cruising on the motorway or exploring muddy tracks.
Undercuts every rival
Prices start at £45,500 for the seven-seat Luxury and rise to £47,500 for the six-seat Executive, which looks like great value. A smaller, less luxurious Land Rover Discovery Sport PHEV starts at £51,000, but you can’t get the cramped third-row option with the plug-in powertrain, only with the slow, rattly diesels.
And while Hyundai’s stylish Sante Fe plug-in costs from £49,000 in seven-seat form, its 9-second 62 mph time and 33-mile (53 km) electric range are way off the Jaecoo’s pace. In fact, the most similar rival we can see in terms of size, looks, and performance is the Mercedes GLS, and one of those in the UK will set you back over £110,000, and still doesn’t come with a plug-in powertrain.
With value like the 8 on the table, it’s no wonder more than one in 10 new cars sold in the UK is now Chinese.
