Jaecoo J7 PHEV AWD revealed – 354 PS, 490 Nm, 80 km NEDC EV range; Australia first, priced at RM139k

It seems that Geely and Chery share the same brain cell – on the same day the former introduced the Starray EM-i AWD, Jaecoo revealed its own all-paw version of its plug-in hybrid C-segment SUV, the J7 PHEV. Again, the car will make its debut in Australia first, entering showrooms this month.

The all-wheel-drive version differs from the also-AWD J8 and Omoda C9 PHEVs in that it retains the less powerful Super Hybrid System-Plug-in Hybrid (SHS-P, and yes, that is actually what it’s called). That means it has a single-speed dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT) instead of the three-speed unit of the other two.

Here, the 103 PS/215 Nm 1.5 litre turbo four-cylinder engine and 204 PS/210 Nm electric motor are joined by a second 154 PS/210 Nm motor to drive the rear wheels. Total system output thus climbs to 354 PS and 490 Nm of torque, 75 PS and 125 Nm more than the regular front-wheel-drive model.

Juicing the motors is an unchanged 18.4 kWh BYD LFP battery, but the increased performance and traction comes at the expense of efficiency, so pure electric range drops from 100 km to 80 km on the outdated NEDC cycle. Expect closer to 70 km on the WLTP cycle; as reference, the FWD PHEV is able to travel up to 88 km on a single charge on the WLTP cycle.

The rest of the car is unchanged, with support for up to 40 kW of DC fast charging topping up the battery from 30 to 80% in 20 minutes. As for AC charging, that remains capped at 6.6 kW, so a charge from 25 to 100% takes 2.6 hours. In Australia, the AWD model is offered in the top Summit trim, retaining full LED exterior lighting, 19-inch aero turbine-style alloy wheels and the PHEV’s sleeker door mirrors.

Inside, you get a 10.25-inch instrument display, a larger 14.8-inch portrait infotainment touchscreen, a head-up display, a heated steering wheel, powered, heated and ventilated front seats, faux leather, an eight-speaker Sony sound system, a built-in dash cam, customisable ambient lighting, a panoramic sunroof, a 360-degree camera and a powered tailgate.

Safety-wise, the J7 comes as standard Down Under with eight airbags and a full suite of driver assists, including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop and go and lane centring assist. The Summit AWD will be priced at AU$47,990 (RM138,500), which is quite a bit more expensive than both the Summit 2WD and the Starray EM-i Inspire AWD at AU$44,990 (RM129,900). Would you like to see the AWD version in Malaysia?

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