New Jaecoo 8 challenges the Hyundai Santa Fe with seven seats, 83-mile EV range and £45k price tag
Flagship seven-seat SUV features 422bhp all-wheel-drive plug-in powertrain, plus Land Rover-style Terrain Response system
Welcome the new Jaecoo 8 SHS-P. It’s the up-and-coming Chinese brand’s flagship SUV, which is hoping to challenge the Skoda Kodiaq and Hyundai Santa Fe by offering seating for seven, plus a plug-in hybrid powertrain with a massive EV range of up to 83 miles, all for just over £45,000.
Some may be disappointed that it isn’t a larger version of the best-selling Jaecoo 7, because the brand has opted for a slightly sleeker, more modern design than its square-jawed sibling. However, there are some shared design elements, like the enormous ‘waterfall’ grille and chunky Jaecoo lettering and a full-width rear lightbar.
The J8 uses the same underpinnings as the Chery Tiggo 9 and the Omoda 9 that arrived here last year, and it’s powered by the same plug-in ‘Super Hybrid System’ set-up that delivers 422bhp, 580Nm of torque, all-wheel drive and that enormous pure-electric range, which neither the Hyundai nor the Skoda can match.
That large zero-emissions range comes courtesy of a 34.5kWh battery, which is bigger than the one used in the original Nissan Leaf EV. That’s used to power two electric motors, which work together with a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine and a three-speed transmission that’s designed for use in hybrid set-ups.
Jaecoo says drivers will also be able to cover more than 700 miles on a single tank of petrol and a full battery, which is enough to get from London to Berlin without stopping. Plus, the car can do 0-62mph in less than six seconds, and its battery can be recharged at up to 40kW. Plug it into any rapid charger, and a 30 to 80 per cent top-up will take about 20 minutes.
Given that Jaecoo is a more rugged brand than siblings Chery and Omoda, the J8 also has lockable differentials, an adaptive all-terrain response system and a wading depth of up to 600mm, which is the same as a Land Rover Discovery Sport. According to Jaecoo, its 4.8-metre-long SUV also offers up to 2,021 litres of luggage capacity.
Like the Santa Fe, the J8 comes as standard with seven seats, for buyers with large families who want the most practicality and flexibility, but the higher-spec Executive model has six seats with four heated, ventilated and massaging captain’s chairs to indulge its passengers. There’s also a ‘Boss Button’ on the side of the front passenger seat, allowing whoever’s behind to move it to give them more legroom.
The Jaecoo 8 is available to order now, with prices starting from £45,500. For comparison, the plug-in hybrid version of the Hyundai Santa Fe is priced from over £53k, and while the equivalent Skoda Kodiaq iV starts from around £42k, it’s only available with five seats.
The same is true for the similarly sized VW Tayron PHEV, which officially starts from a little under £45k – but you can currently save more than £4,000 on one through the Auto Express Buy A Car service.
The base Luxury model comes with dual 12.3-inch displays, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a panoramic sunroof, heated, ventilated and massaging front seats, a 14-speaker Sony sound system including speakers in the front headrests, adaptive suspension, and various driver-assistance systems including adaptive cruise control. The six-seater Executive costs an extra £2,000 and also comes with Nappa leather upholstery.
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