New Jaecoo 5 2025 review: latest Chinese SUV majors in space and value

Verdict

The Jaecoo 5 should, and likely will, find love from the kind of buyer that appreciates the equipment and space it offers for the money. Both are top-notch, while the interior quality and tech are at a higher level than you’d expect at this price point. But the driving experience, especially the petrol engine, really lets things down in terms of performance, refinement and efficiency, which is where the top European competition such as the Skoda Kamiq and the Nissan Juke, offer better options. But there’s no arguing with the 5’s value and practicality. 

Yes, it’s another of the many incoming Chinese brands offering a confusing array of new names and numbers, but Jaecoo is one that’s worth paying attention to. 

Along with sister firm Omoda, and forthcoming third arm, Chery, Jaecoo is making serious inroads into the UK, with the Jaecoo 7 SUV – its launch model – having even hit the top 10 in the new-car sales league in August.

Now the company’s range is expanding with the Jaecoo 5, which is basically a more SUV-shaped version of the Omoda 5 crossover, which is already on sale. 

Coming either in full-electric E5 form or with the 1.6-litre 143bhp petrol driven here, the 5 sits neatly between rivals in terms of size: bigger than a Nissan Juke or Skoda Kamiq, but not as big as their respective Nissan Qashqai or Skoda Karoq brothers. 

On paper, things look impressive. As well as that extra space, the top-spec £28,000 Jaecoo 5 Luxury costs only a touch more than a mid-spec Juke N-Connecta and undercuts the Kamiq SE L by almost £3,000. More confusingly, the Jaecoo is priced very close to its Omoda 5 sister car, with which it shares its underpinnings and powertrain, so picking between the two comes down to whether you want the Omoda’s more swooping crossover styling or the more upright traditional SUV look of the Jaecoo. 

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The Jaecoo 5 also offers the Pure entry-level trim at just £24,505 if you can do without niceties such as the panoramic glass roof, powered tailgate, powered, heated and cooled seats, and full eco-leather interior. Although even at this lower price, you still get 18-inch alloys, a 13.2-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a whole suite of safety kit. 

The styling of Jaecoo’s first model, the 7, has been compared to Range Rover’s Evoque and Velar from some angles, particularly the side and rear, and the smaller 5 very much keeps things in the family. The petrol model also retains the huge toothy grille, which is certainly distinctive on the road, and is also the main differentiation between the petrol and electric version, with the latter getting a more subtle, panelled front end. 

The cabin is dominated by the huge 13.2-inch vertical touchscreen, but is otherwise clean and neat, with pleasingly comfortable leather seats in the higher-spec Luxury trim level. The Jaecoo 5 does what many mainstream cars do, where quality in the eyeline is good, but lower down, the glovebox and door bins betray the lower-cost reality. 

Power comes from a 1.6-litre petrol engine without any sort of hybrid help, which means the Jaecoo 5 is a bit off the pace for efficiency. Its 143bhp engine can’t break 10 seconds for the 0-62mph time, and fuel economy is well away from what Nissan’s Juke can offer with its 58.9mpg hybrid powertrain. On our mixed test drive we experienced around 35mpg. 

But that’s not the end of the bad news from an engine that’s unrefined and not helped by the various drive modes. In Normal, the throttle response is way too eager, resulting in a surge as you come on and off the accelerator. Switch to Eco and it becomes a touch too lethargic, but it’s definitely more pleasant when you’re not in a hurry. Sport mode doesn't seem to add much to the mix over the rather abrupt Normal setting. 
The ride is also a little choppy, although inoffensive enough, and there’s a bit of tyre noise at higher speed from the 18-inch wheels. Meanwhile, the steering reacts quickly enough, but is pretty devoid of feel.

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Jaecoo says it’s been working on the driver-assistance systems after criticism of their intrusiveness in previous models, and in the 5 there is certainly less immediate binging and bonging. A swipe in the corner of the touchscreen gives access to the assistance settings so you can engage or disengage them easily, but if the lane-keep assist, for example, is switched on, it’s less keen to loudly intervene. 

The touchscreen itself controls everything, and it’s well laid out, although it doesn’t always respond to the first prod of a finger. Fans of physical buttons will be disappointed to see a cabin devoid of such old-fashioned adornments, but at least the climate control is only ever one upward swipe away, and there are plenty of voice-activated commands if you want to use them. 

Rear-seat passengers have plenty of headroom, and we found that a pair of six-foot adults can comfortably sit behind equally tall front-seat occupants - something that not many cars in this segment can boast. Boot space is also good, with the 480-litre area out-pointing the Juke’s 422 litres and the Omoda 5’s 380. 

Fundamentally this is a car that will be bought on price, spec and styling, rather than how it behaves on the road. The driving experience is far from the Jaecoo 5’s strongest suit, but it’s not bad enough to provoke the sort of buyer’s regret that would outweigh the positives. 

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