Jaecoo’s J8 looks to take on Hyundai Santa Fe and Mazda CX-60 with premium fitout and tantalizing price

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Jaecoo has priced its new premium five-seat SUV, with a June launch date locked in by the Chery sub-brand. The 2025 Jaecoo J8 continues to push the brands agenda as a luxury subdivision of Chery, sharing mechanical underpinnings with the Tiggo 8 Pro Max. 

Despite six- and seven-seat variations of Jaecoo’s J8 being offered in overseas markets, the Australian version will be sold exclusively with five seats. A Chery Spokesperson revealed to Chasing Cars that they were “disappointed” to miss out on Jaecoo’s grandiose six-seat captains chairs. 

The Jaecoo J8 will initially be offered in two trim levels, with drive-away pricing starting from $49,990. Both variants of J8 will be sold with an eight-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and 12-month complimentary roadside assist package. 

All variants of Jaecoo J8 also come with a suite of driver safety enhancements, including:

• Adaptive cruise control (ACC)
• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
• Blind spot detection (BSD)
• Lane departure prevention (LDP)
• Emergency lane keeping (ELK)
• Driver monitoring system (DMS)
• Eight airbags (10 on Ridge models)
• 360-degree view camera 
• Tyre pressure monitoring

Jaecoo’s introductory Track model is undoubtedly marketed towards uncompromising value, rather than off-road prowess. A front-wheel driver, the Track is propelled by a 183kW/385Nm two-litre turbocharged four-cylinder and conventional eight-speed transmission. Jaecoo claims a combined fuel consumption of 8.3L/100km. 

Jaecoo’s range topping J8 Ridge starts at $54,990 drive-away. It utilises the same 183kW four cylinder and eight-speed automatic as the Track, but features a trick torque-vectoring AWD system, which bumps fuel consumption to a claimed 8.6L/100km. 

Jaecoo has pushed a premium off-road agenda for the J8 Ridge, which gains rugged drive modes (snow, mud, sand, off-road) as well as continuous damping control (CDC), which Jaecoo claims will continuously adapt to provide optimal comfort and control on any terrain.

The Jaecoo J8 is likely to measure the same as its Chery Tiggo 9 twin, at 4810mm long, 1925mm wide and 1699mm tall, with a 2800mm wheelbase. 

A monocoque soft-roader, the J8 rivals the $44,190 (MSRP) Subaru Outback, $50,240 (MSRP) Mazda CX-60 and $53,000 (MSRP) Hyundai Santa Fe. 

Whilst no official statement has been made by Jaecoo, there is a possibility that the J8 could be offered as a plug-in hybrid. In May 2024, Chery revealed the Tiggo 9 PHEV, an extremely close relative of the J8 built on the same Chery derived T1X platform. The plug-in J8 would likely feature a 1.5-litre engine and P2 mounted electric motor with a claimed 5.2L/100km (WLTC) fuel efficiency and a combined range of up to 1400km (WLTC). 

J8 paint offerings

• Arctic White
• Carbon Black
• Ocean Blue
• Iridium Silver

$49,990 driveaway J8 Track 2WD  

• Dual 12.3-inch LCD displays
• 14-speaker sound system
• Inbuilt GPS navigation
• Apple CarPlay & Android Auto (wired + wireless)
• Intelligent voice command (Hello Jaecoo)
• Leather seat trim
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• LED interior lighting
• Surround view camera
• 20-inch alloy wheels
• Full size-spare wheel
• LED daytime running lights (DRLs)
• LED headlights (projector type)
• Tyre pressure monitoring system with display
• Eight Airbags
• Massaging seats
• Power tailgate
• Second-row A/C controls

$54,990 drive-away J8 Ridge AWD 

Adds or replaces:

• Additional drive modes (snow/mud/sand/off-road)
• Torque vectoring AWD system
• Continuous damping control (CDC)
• Automatic parking function (APA)
• Heated and ventilated seats (2nd Row)
• Colour selectable ambient lighting (1st & 2nd Row)
• Second row side airbags
• Privacy glass (Rear)
• In-built fragrance system
• Auto dimming rear view mirror
• Suede headliner (black)