Jaecoo J7 PHEV Review: This Is The Powertrain To Have

Joshua Chin October 26, 2025

0 12,118 7 minutes read

The PHEV powertrain has actually now made the Jaecoo J7 into a halfway-decent SUV.

Now, it might not have escaped anyone’s notice that the Jaecoo J7 has become quite the popular SUV choice over here. A whopping 15,000+ examples of this Sino SUV have after all already been delivered to Malaysians in just a little over a year, with this debut model from Chery’s premium offshoot consistently ranking among the top 20 best-selling cars since its local launch last July.

But while certainly popular with the general masses, this writer has to confess that he wasn’t entirely sold on the J7 initially. In fact, spending a prior weekend with the pure-ICE variant left him concluding that it was pretty much a cheap Land Rover knockoff — and that is really not the compliment most might think it is.

Happily though, there’s now a fix for most of those initial complaints. And really, all Jaecoo had to do was stick the right powertrain under its boxy hood.

The PHEV Powertrain

Now, this might sound a tad harsh, but it is also somewhat fair to say that the Chinese are still half a step behind when it comes to engines, and the 1.6-litre turbo four-banger in the regular Jaecoo J7 is good evidence of that. While it makes the sort of power figures its marketing department loves to shout about, it is unfortunately not the most refined thing in the world, with its overall driving experience made all the more frustrating by a gearbox that isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed as well.

Where a PHEV comes in though is that the silent electric motor in the EV bit of the equation (which this J7 PHEV seems to operate primarily on) naturally pretty much leapfrogs any ICE on the subject of refinement, not to mention adds even more poke when one wants it than any ICE (in a sensible family car anyway) could provide. This is all the while still having the security of petrol propulsion to serve as a backup, which handily alleviates any anxiety and stress that the (already weary) family man/woman for having to find a charger anywhere they go.

In detailing a little bit more about how this PHEV powertrain benefits the J7 here and starting on the power front first, that electric drive pretty much provides effortless step-and-go that one wouldn’t typically associate with this family-friendly SUV segment. While Jaecoo currently claims a 0-100 km/h time of 8.5 seconds, this writer can honestly say that this Sino SUV feels a lot faster than that once the pedal is put to the metal.

On the refinement side of things meanwhile, it is worth repeating that a predominantly electric drive does equate to a smooth delivery of power and no more indecisive hunting of gears. Having the ICE component mostly dormant also means less noise… but let’s park this acoustic thought for a bit and revisit cabin quietness later.

Jaecoo also loves to tout the J7 PHEV’s 1,300 km range on a full tank, and it is admittedly satisfying to see a four-figure range prediction on the cluster after a fill-up. It is nevertheless worth noting however is that this electrified SUV does pack a rather large 60-litre tank, which naturally helped stretch the middling 14 km/l average fuel consumption that this writer managed during his time with it to that impressive range figure.

Elsewhere Under The Skin

One other side bonus from the fitment of its PHEV powertrain is that it added a bit of weight to the J7, which in turn has Jaecoo retune the suspension setup for this SUV. And it does seem like second time’s the charm, because this electrified variant actually has a half-decent ride.

General ride quality is perhaps more towards the European side of the firmness scale (despite Jaecoo saying that it softened it up for the PHEV setup), but it nevertheless remains (for the most part) composed and decently well-damped at all speeds. And really, this is already more than can be said for nearly all other products from the Chery group.

Now while it may ride well though, handling the Jaecoo J7 is a different story. Such is as to put it rather simply, its chassis can’t really handle all that lovely PHEV power.

Those who drive this Jaecoo while their pants are on fire therefore will (quite expectedly) be met with quite a lot of front (it’s somehow just FWD only, this one) wheel spin, in both the corners and straights. All said however, this really isn’t an issue for those who are more mellow with the throttle.

What a gentle right foot doesn’t help all that much though is stopping the brakes from being rather sharp in its bite, to the point that the whole car does pitch forward a fair bit at even the most mellow of declarative manoeuvres. Thankfully, there is a mode to reduce said pitch, but this then begs the question as to why there even is this option in the first place.

Also worth mentioning is that while Jaecoo ditched the dim-witted dual-clutch gearbox, it still manages to annoy with its transmission operation. This is as its column-mounted selector loves to slip into Neutral when switching between Drive and Reverse, which does make parking a slightly more annoying process. (It only goes into either gear directly after the brake pedal is more firmly depressed than strictly necessary.)

Inside The Cabin

Moving along within now, the PHEV actually deviates little from its pure-ICE counterpart. And unfortunately, this is also where some of those critiques from the J7 start to slowly pile up again.

Starting with some positives first though, it would be remissed credit Jaecoo packed to the rafters with kit. From the big-ticket items like the big screens and glass roof to the smaller premium touches like comfort access, it is not too far-fetched to imagine the layman’s first impression of the J7 feeling like they’ve actually stepped into the premium British SUV that this Chinese car is attempting to copy.

Credit where credit is due too, most of the kit does feel properly sorted. The 14.8-inch portrait screen and 10.25-inch digital cluster are sharp and easy to read, while the 8-speaker Sony setup is actually pretty decent too. A touch light on bass maybe, but good enough for the segment.

It is a bit frustrating however that the cabin does come largely devoid of physical buttons (to the point where even side mirror controls are buried within the screen), which is not really what you want in a supposed rugged and tactile off-roader. Also, whose bright idea was it in Jaecoo to have the volume slider hidden in a submenu that swipes down from the top right corner, which is the point furthest away from the front passenger who will be using it the most?

This writer also has to make an (admittedly pointless) point that the general interior material quality doesn’t quite cash the cheques its Land Rover-inspired looks are writing. The main touchpoints feel fine, but poke around a little and it quickly becomes clear why this SUV can be yours for only RM 160,000.

Somewhat unfortunately too, what may feel familiar to actual Land Rover owners is that this Jaecoo also comes with a similar level of build quality as the British SUV it mimics. While it is worth noting that this particular test unit is a well-used media car, but more than a few notable squeaks and rattles have made themselves annoyingly known in just 12,000 km it has covered.

And it has to be said too that those 12,000 km covered might have been quite wearing on the driver, as those with less flesh around their rumps will eventually end up with a numb bum after spending even just a little time in the saddle. Such is as the J7’s seats are about as flat and hard as a church pew, with its pleather upholstery also being quite good at transferring any heat directly back to those seated.

Finally just looping back to the previously alluded topic of driving refinement as well here, while there may not be any noise coming from up front, it has to be said that acoustic insulation from the external elements in the J7 PHEV could be improved. It feels as if the glass itself is too thin to block out all the noise from outside, while the stock Kumho tyres do also emit quite a notable rumble on the highways.

Conclusion

It should go without saying that many J7 buyers got into the showroom because of its macho looks, and placed a purchase because of the perceived value for money it offers. The PHEV however is perhaps the first time (in this writer’s opinion at least) that driving it from day to day will actually be half-decent, especially for those who are a tad more discerning.

And it bears highlighting that the J7 PHEV is the cheapest PHEV on the market (until the Chery Tiggo 7 CSH came along anyway), and by a long shot at that. For those with access to a plug point on the daily, there could be a possible ROI for the extra outlay over its pure ICE counterpart, while still enjoying the security and convenience of petrol power for those longer journeys in what will likely be most families’ only car.

So while the Jaecoo J7 PHEV still isn’t the Land Rover it wants to be, the right powertrain has finally made it into what it should have been from the start: a decent-enough family SUV. And really, for many buyers, that really just is enough.