Jaecoo J5 EV Summit 2026 review

Chery and its upmarket, now-separated Omoda-Jaecoo sub-brand are finding plenty of love in Australia with astronomical sales growth driven by affordable, entry-level products such as the Tiggo 4 and Jaecoo J5.

Problem is, while these brands’ cars major on showroom appeal, most have failed to back-up forecourt wow-factor with real-world excellence. For reference Chasing Cars awarded the over-priced Chery Tiggo 4 hybrid a score of 3.5/10 and the petrol J5 Track a 5.5/10. Not a stellar record.

And yet there was serious promise for the electric J5 EV Summit on test. Many aspects of this car are good, with genuinely surprising improvements considering it uses the same T1x platform that’s been around since 2017.

The J5 EV is quieter, rides okay, has swagger in the looks department, is priced right (currently $36,990 driveaway) and almost had us singing its praises from the roof tops.

If only Jaecoo had put a little more effort into finessing its medium-speed drivability. So close, but so far — at least for discerning buyers.

What are the J5 EV Summit’s features and options for the price?

For showroom appeal the J5 EV is pretty stunning, managing the most convincing ‘Temu Range Rover’ impression in Australia to date.

Jaecoo was running an introductory offer on the J5 EV at $36,990 driveaway against its list price of $35,990 before on-road costs, which is competitive among rivals that are slightly smaller.

Key electric cross-shops would be the BYD Atto 2 Premium ($35,990 list), MG4 EV Urban Essence 54 ($34,990 DA), GAC Aion UT Luxury ($35,990 list) and the much-smaller Hyundai Inster (from $38,990 DA).

Not to mention the J5 is also cheaper than base model hybrid small SUVs such as the Hyundai Kona ($39,990 DA) and Toyota Corolla Cross GX (from $41,500 DA).

Unlike the petrol J5, which starts at $25,990 in lower-grade Trade trim, the electric-powered J5 EV only comes in top-spec Summit guise.

The sole J5 EV Summit variant fits the following standard features:

• 18-inch ‘aero’ alloy wheels
• LED headlights and DRLs
• LED tail-lights
• Glass roof with power sunshade
• Vehicle-to-load function
• Power tailgate
• Coloured ambient lighting
• 13.2-inch portrait multimedia touchscreen
• 8.8-inch digital driver’s display
• Wireless/wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Eight-speaker sound system
• Six-way power adjust front seats
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• ‘Pet-friendly’ synthetic leather upholstery
• 50-watt wireless charging pad
• Voice control
• 360-degree camera system

The only no-cost paint colour is Stone Grey, with all other hues — including pictured Stormy Blue — incurring a $600 premium. Your choice of black or white interior is free of charge.

As a point of difference, Jaecoo offers a host of pet accessories including carry-boxes and even a J5-shaped cat scratcher.

How does the J5 EV Summit drive?

Continuing the value equation, the J5 EV’s specifications suggest it should be quite good, for the price, on the road.

The make-up comprises struts with coil springs at the front and a multi-link rear suspension layout where you might expect to find a cheaper, easier-to-package torsion beam in a front-drive EV at this price.

Unlike the brittle combustion-engined J5, the EV absorbs bumps quite well with fluid damper movement and acceptable body control.

Power and torque are adequate, at 155kW and 288Nm matching the Omoda E5. Think 0-100km/h in about 8.0 seconds.

Thanks to the equipment of quality Continental EcoContact 7 tyres and improved chassis calibration the J5 EV doesn’t spin its front tyres as eagerly as others Chinese-built EVs like the BYD Atto 2.

Tip the J5 into a corner and it rolls a lot but not in an alarming way, with a predictable understeer bias. Not exciting or rewarding, but safe enough.

The steering and front suspension geometry could do with some work as the J5’s lacks feel and self centring — it’s way better than the petrol version, though, which feels downright broken.

Road noise is another major complaint in the J5 EV which requires raised voices for conversation on broken tarmac, such as Sydney’s M5 motorway.

What really grates in the J5 EV is the powertrain calibration. You can drive it smoothly under 50km/h, though the regenerative braking (low, medium or high) is not strong enough for one-pedal driving and the brake pedal is squishy and unpleasant.

But at 60-80km/h on a main road? The J5 is downright sickness inducing.

It’s to do with the accelerator calibration — the slightest movement of your big toe is the difference between -10% regen’ and +10% acceleration, so you end up stuck in this see-saw, spew-inducing, cabbie-foot rock.

It’s almost as if the car is gas-lighting you into thinking you’re a bad driver.

For whatever reason this drivability issue isn’t apparent at or above 100km/h, so the J5 smoothes out again at motorway speeds. The workaround was to engage the quite-good adaptive cruise control to hold a steady velocity, but this isn’t always practical.

What is the J5 EV Summit’s interior and tech like?

Back to the good stuff and, wow, the J5 EV’s interior does a helluva lot. Soft and squidgy dash top, cleverly-angled armrest that means the driver gets a squidgy elbow pad and perfect coffee cup placement, minimal aesthetics, it’s rather enticing.

Okay, the five-ish spoke steering wheel with carbon-fibre effect trim isn’t the last word in contemporary design chic but that Polestar-like touchscreen placement is pretty sleek.

The build is solid and practicalities are good, with a deep centre bin and mezzanine-arrangement centre console with a lower shelf perfect for small bags or tissue boxes.

The seats aren’t bad either, with power adjustment, three-stage heating and ventilation, though they could do with more lumbar support.

Jaecoo’s chosen USP is the pet friendliness of its synthetic leather upholstery, claiming it’s scratch-resistant. The TÜV certification mainly concerns itself with “chemical requirements”, and certifies that “any harmful substances present in the product complied with or remained under the relevant limits”.

When it comes time to interact with technology is where the J5 EV falls down somewhat. There are no hard shortcut buttons for the home screen, media volume (save for on the steering wheel), customisable short cuts, or HVAC controls — it’s all in the screen, and much of it buried in sub menus.

Jaecoo has tried to solve this with a climate control panel you can swipe up to access when mirrorlessly mirroring Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

There’s also a pull-down shortcut menu, which you can customise to feature seat heating, driver-assistance systems, volume, etcetera. but even that requires some accuracy as it’s only accessed from the top left of the screen; a top right swipe frustratingly brings down a notifications tab.

This would be more forgivable if the screen was more responsive, better laid-out or the J5’s voice control system was more functional. At least the eight-speaker sound system is passable.

The digital driver’s display is big enough with large fonts for key information such as speed. The secondary fonts, used to display information on road signs, warnings and other information are small and difficult to read.

Moving out of the driver’s seat it’s clear that’s the best place in the J5. The rear bench lacks support, there’s only one air vent and headroom is tight under the sunroof for adults. It may be a small SUV but the MG4 Urban offers a better second row in a smaller package.

The same is true of the J5’s boot which is cheaply finished and does not pack a spare tyre. Instead there’s a puncture repair kit unceremoniously dumped in the cavity beneath the carpeted boot floor where you’ll find exposed metal. Suppose one has to save costs somewhere.

Space is fine for the class, at 384 litres beneath the included luggage cover. The second row folds quite-flat in a 60/40 split.

Is the J5 EV Summit a safe car?

The Jaecoo J5 EV isn’t rated by independent safety organisation ANCAP.

The related Chery Tiggo 4 has a five-star rating date-stamped 2023, though the small SUV’s safety rating is based on the medium-sized Tiggo 7 through ANCAP’s partner program.

The J5 EV Summit is equipped with nine airbags, including a front centre airbag. Active safety systems include.

Features such as audible over-speed warning can be permanently disabled, the lane-keep assist is middling and the driver-attention monitoring was over-sensitive leading to it being turned off every drive.

What are the J5 EV Summit’s ownership costs?

The J5 EV is a budget-friendly electric car and its statistics reflect that. From a well-sized 58.9kWh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack the J5’s rated range is 402km — worse than the equal-batteried Omoda E5.

That’s also based on achieving 14.7kWh/100km, we found the J5 to be much thirstier in real-world Australian conditions consuming 17.5kWh/100km for a much-reduced real-world range of 337km.

It isn’t very fast to charge either, despite Jaecoo’s 130kW DC peak claim 10-80 percent takes 33 minutes.

Jaecoo offers a competitive warranty guarantee, promising eight years and unlimited kilometres. That’s better than Kia, MG and BYD’s standard guarantees.

Servicing is due every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever comes first, and will cost a thrifty $915 for the first five years.

The honest verdict

It’s hard not to be impressed by the Jaecoo J5 Summit at first glance. From the clean exterior styling, uncluttered interior and quite-smooth initial driving experience this electric car majors on showroom appeal.

Like a budget McMansion, though, the J5’s talents are just skin deep. It will definitely impress for the first 30 minutes, after that it comes down to your level of sensitivity, and what you’re willing to overlook for what is a very sharp price.

There’s one unforgivable aspect though, the jerky medium-speed operation. Fixing this should be as simple as a software flash — hopefully Jaecoo puts in the effort to resolve this particular shortcoming soon.

Our recommendation? Absolutely take one for a test drive, but make sure it’s as long as you can possibly swing.

Over a weekend if possible. And make sure to drive rivals like the BYD Atto 2, MG4 EV Urban, GAC Aion UT and others before making a final decision.