It’s impossible to ignore the runaway success of the Jaecoo 7 – this good-value SUV looks a bit like a Range Rover, comes with a genuinely excellent plug-in hybrid engine and has loads of standard equipment for the money. Those qualities mean it has attracted enough buyers to make it one of the UK’s best-selling cars. Not bad for a brand that’s barely a year old.
But there are other Jaecoo models worth considering, and one of those is the Jaecoo 8. This is the 7’s bigger and more impressive brother. It comes with six or seven seats, four-wheel drive and a hugely powerful engine, plus a more luxurious interior and even more equipment.
But the Jaecoo 8 costs £15,000 more than the basic petrol-powered Jaecoo 7, or around £10,000 more than the plug-in hybrid model. Is it worth paying the extra for the posh Jaecoo 8, or should you stick with the smaller, cheaper Jaecoo 7?
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Jaecoo 7 vs Jaecoo 8: engines and driving
The Jaecoo 7 comes with three engine options – a petrol, a self-charging hybrid or a plug-in hybrid – but we’re going to focus on the latter because it’s by far the best of the three and would be our recommendation to anybody considering a 7.
It uses a 1.5-litre petrol engine paired with a battery and electric motor, making 204hp. The 18.3kWh battery means you get up to 56 miles of all-electric range, too.
The Jaecoo 8 also uses a 1.5-litre petrol engine but it has a massive 34.5kWh battery and three electric motors. That means four-wheel drive and a whopping 428hp, plus up to 83 miles of electric range.
When it comes to driving the two, there’s no competition – the Jaecoo 8 is far better, but not because it’s more powerful. The truth is, the Jaecoo 7’s suspension is just really poor – it thuds and shimmies over bumps in the road, but it also leans loads in the corners. It’s like Jaecoo couldn’t decide whether to make it comfortable or sporty, so it settled on ‘neither’.
The Jaecoo 8 is far better in this regard. It’s generally comfortable around town, even over big potholes and speed bumps. And it’s far more pleasant on a twisty road, because the body stays mostly flat in the corners. The steering is also way more direct and accurate than the Jaecoo 7’s.
Jaecoo 7 vs Jaecoo 8: practicality
You might think that the Jaecoo 8 is the clear winner of this comparison – after all, it’s a much larger car, and gets a third row of seats. The truth is a bit murkier.
You see, the Jaecoo 8’s third row of seats really are puny. You won’t want adults sat back there for more than a few minutes at a time, and even children will be quite cramped. Access is also really poor – on the seven-seat model, only one of the middle-row seats slides forward for access. On the six-seater, neither one moves at all – you have to get back there by squeezing yourself between the two captain’s chairs.
That means that for the most part, the Jaecoo 8 is better off as a four- or five-seater with a large, 738-litre boot. The Jaecoo 7 may have a smaller load area at 410 litres, but it has bags of rear legroom – so in reality, passenger accommodation is about the same.
If you don’t need a gigantic boot, then chances are the Jaecoo 7 will serve you just fine – and if you really need a third row of seats, you’d be better off with a Chery Tiggo 8 or MG S9 PHEV.
Jaecoo 7 vs Jaecoo 8: interior and tech
Here the cheaper car takes an early lead once again, because the Jaecoo 7 has a larger, more intuitive touchscreen than the Jaecoo 8. The large, 14.8-inch display is portrait-oriented and falls quite nicely under your hand. By contrast, the Jaecoo 8 has a 12.3-inch screen that’s set high up on the dashboard and is quite a reach away.
The 7 also features an easier-to-use interface, though the 8’s isn’t dreadful. Neither lives up to the ease-of-use of a Hyundai Tucson or Santa Fe, or the Google-based system you get in a Nissan Qashqai or X-Trail, but they both feature Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity plus a wireless charger so you can bypass it easily with your phone.
Otherwise, the Jaecoo 8 definitely has the nicer interior. It looks a lot like a bootleg Mercedes with its squared-off air vents and continuous screen running across the top of the dash. It’s also available with quite a nice ‘Cognac’ leather finish which brightens up the cabin a lot, though it does cost extra.
The ‘Luxury’ trim of the Jaecoo 7 comes standard with the PHEV (there are cheaper ‘Deluxe’ and ‘Pure’ models available with different engines) and so you get a decent level of standard equipment – electrically-adjustable front seats, seat heating and ventilation for the front row and heating in the rear, an eight-speaker Sony stereo, a big panoramic roof, and artificial leather upholstery.
The 8 basically takes the 7’s kit list and upgrades it a bit – for example, the seats get a massage function, the stereo has 14 speakers, the sunroof is a bit bigger. But both models are very well-equipped and there’s very little you’d find yourself missing on the Jaecoo 7.
Jaecoo 7 vs Jaecoo 8: price and running costs
The version of the Jaecoo 7 we’ve been looking at here is the plug-in hybrid in its Luxury trim – which comes in at just over £35,000 list price. That’s about £10,000 cheaper than the £45,500 Jaecoo 8. In both cases, you can save yourself a couple more grand when you buy through Carwow.
Want to lease your car? Well, there’s much less of a difference. At the time of writing, you could lease a Jaecoo 7 for £300 a month with £3,900 initial payment, over a 36-month term with a 5,000 miles per year limit. That works out at a total cost just under £14,400.
Meanwhile, a Jaecoo 8 could be yours for £392 per month after a £5,020 initial payment – working out at around £18,750 over the same three-year period.
As for running costs, you might expect the more powerful Jaecoo 8 to be way thirstier, but as both cars are plug-in hybrids, your own usage really matters. The 8 has a much larger battery and an 83-mile range, which means in theory if you charge it up regularly and make the most of cheap night rate electricity, you could do many more of your journeys on electric power alone versus the Jaecoo 7 with its 56-mile range.
If you rarely (or never) charge up, then the difference comes down – you can expect around 50mpg over long journeys in the Jaecoo 7 with a discharged battery, or around 45mpg in the Jaecoo 8.
Alternatives to the Jaecoo 7 and Jaecoo 8
Both of these cars have numerous close challengers that you should definitely consider. For the Jaecoo 7, take a look at other Chinese SUVs – both the Geely Starray and MG HS are very good plug-in hybrid options. European options for a similar price include the Citroen C5 Aircross or Dacia Bigster, all of which are well worth putting on your shortlist.
Geely Starray
Has a very plush interior and up to 84 miles of electric range in the ‘Ultra’, but looks rather anonymous.
MG HS
Roomy and comfortable to drive with up to 75 miles of EV range, but MG’s reliability record is poor.
Citroen C5 Aircross
More expensive than the Jaecoo, but very comfortable and practical.
Dacia Bigster
Cheaper, with loads of space, but it’s not a plug-in hybrid.
The Jaecoo 8 is the sister car to the Omoda 9 and Chery Tiggo 9, so consider both of those – especially if they’re a better deal. You could also look at the MG S9 PHEV, which is a much better seven-seater. Otherwise, you’ll need to spend more on something like a Hyundai Santa Fe or Peugeot 5008 to get a similar level of size and luxury.
Chery Tiggo 9
Similar under the skin, but has even more EV range and more space in the third row.
MG S9 PHEV
A roomier third row, but feels quite cheap inside.
Hyundai Santa Fe
A fantastic large SUV, but much more expensive than the Jaecoo.
Peugeot 5008
PHEV models are similar in price, but lack standard equipment.
Jaecoo 7 vs Jaecoo 8: verdict
So which model should you buy? Well, that depends on your priorities. For me, as someone who does a lot of long journeys and really values having a car that’s nice to drive, it’s a no-brainer – I’d take the Jaecoo 8. The price difference for me is worth it for a car that’s so much better on the road.
But if your mileage is lower or you do more of your trips at low speeds around town, where there’s less of a noticeable difference, then the Jaecoo 7 makes a lot of sense – it’s usefully cheaper, almost as practical in the real world, and feels pretty luxurious for the price.
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