Australia will miss out on the six- and seven-seat version of the new Jaecoo J8 large SUV for now, but pricing of the new premium Chinese model undercuts all rivals.
Jaecoo will double its product portfolio with the introduction of the 2025 J8 large SUV, joining the already on-sale J7, but Australian versions will exclusively be offered with five seats – for now.
Priced from $49,990 drive-away for the front-drive Track variant, the J8 handily undercuts large SUV rivals like the Hyundai Santa Fe (from $53,000 before on-road costs), Kia Sorento (from $50,880), Mazda CX-80 (from $55,200), Nissan Pathfinder (from $59,945), and Toyota Kluger (from $60,920).
Buyers can also have the option of all-wheel drive (AWD) in the top-spec Ridge grade, priced from $54,990 drive-away.
However, differentiating the J8 from those rivals is the fact the new Chinese large SUV will be exclusively a five-seater, as opposed to the three-row rivals.
Overseas, the J8 is also available with seven seats, leaving Jaecoo Australia an opportunity to introduce a three-row J8 down the line.
Regardless, the current two-grade line-up is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine with a 183kW/385Nm output.
Paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, the Track will return a claimed 8.3 litres per 100km fuel economy figure, while the Ridge is pegged at 8.6L/100km.
Standard equipment includes a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 14-speaker sound system, leather seats, heated, cooled and massaging front seats, 20-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, and a powered tailgate.
Handling multimedia is a 12.3-inch touchscreen with functionality for wired Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto, as well as built-in satellite navigation.
In terms of safety, eight airbags, tyre pressure monitoring, adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot detection, lane departure warning, a surround-view monitor, and a driver monitoring system are included as standard.
Stepping up to the Jaecoo J8 Ridge adds a torque-vectoring AWD system, heated and cooled seats for the second row, interior ambient lighting, rear privacy glass, in-cabin fragrance system, suede headliner, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, and second-row airbags.
The 2025 Jaeocoo J8 will go on sale in June, while the brand is also allowing test drives from mid-May.
2025 Jaecoo J8 price in Australia
Note: All prices above are drive-away.
2025 Jaecoo J8 Track 2WD standard features:
2025 Jaecoo J8 Ridge AWD (over Track 2WD):
Available colours include:
Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
