The lineup is shifting again.
Chinese brand Omoda Jaecao dropped another plug-in hybrid (PHEV) onto local shores today. It is the Jaecoo J8. Their biggest SUV yet.
Here is the number: $59,990. That is before you add on-road costs. You can actually buy this thing this month. Showrooms are stocking up.
But here is the catch. It is a single variant. Highly specified. Called the SHS Summit. And if you have paid attention to the Australian car scene recently, you will notice it feels familiar. It shares its tri-motor all-wheel drive heart with the Chery Tiggo 9.
The Tiggo 9 Ultimate sits at the exact same price tag. So does the powertrain.
Then there is the Omoda 9. Also three motors, hybrid power, AWD. But it costs $61,990. Which makes the Jaecoo look like a deal on paper, assuming you can get past the badge confusion.
Why does Omoda have two cars that are essentially the same under the skin? Brand dilution? Market segmentation?
The differences between the J8 SHS Summit and the Chery Tiggo9 are minor, almost cosmetic in how they play with customer expectations.
The J8 gets a better driver’s seat. Eight-way adjustment instead of six. It also has adaptive dampers for a smoother ride over imperfect tarmac and a built-in fragrance system. Yes. A scent diffuser in your dashboard.
But you lose the semi-autonomous parking. The Tiggo keeps it.
Everything else in the Jaecoo family sticks to the old ways. A turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol four. No batteries. No plugs. Just five seats and a traditional combustion engine. Which separates it from the hybrid brother in the showroom.
Specs that actually matter
Dimensions dictate who fits inside. The J8 is large. You get a choice: five seats for cargo space or seven seats for maximum human capacity. The PHEV is locked to the seven-seater configuration.
Servicing? Capped price for eight years.
The warranty is heavy. Eight years unlimited kilometre coverage on the car itself. The battery gets the same treatment. Add another twelve months of roadside assist, stretch it to eight years if you stay loyal to the dealership for servicing.
Safety wise. No ANCAP score yet. None at all.
You have to trust the kit.
The standard list is long. Adaptive cruise, blind-spot monitoring, lane centering, emergency braking. Front, side, curtain, and center airbags. A surround-view camera helps with parking. Traffic Jam Assist does the heavy lifting in congestion.
Ridge and SHS trims add side airbags in the second row. Only the Ridge gets rear parking sensors. Funny how that works.
The trim ladder
Three levels. Let us look at the base first. The Track.
It is loaded. Even the cheapest model does not feel cheap.
- 20-inch alloys wrapped in 245 width tyres.
- A full-size spare. Real steel in the boot.
- Heated mirrors. Power tailgate. Rain-sensing wipers.
- Panoramic sunroof with a shade that closes on its own.
- Sony sound system with twelve speakers. Including ones in the headrest. For the driver. Because your head matters more than anyone else’s.
- Leather seats. Quilted. Heated. Ventilated. Massaging.
The Ridge builds on this.
Michelin tyres now. Continuous damping control. Off-road modes for sand, mud, snow. Rear privacy glass. Ambient lighting that changes colour.
The Ridge also includes that fragrance system mentioned earlier. Black suede on the ceiling. An auto-dimming mirror. And second-row seats that heat and vent.
But the SHS Summit? That is a different animal.
No rear cargo blind. But you gain the third row of seats. Electronic locking rear differential. And that hybrid power.
Colours are simple. Ocean Blue is standard.
If you want to look distinct:
- Iridium Silver
- Arctic White
- Carbon Black
We pick the paint. Then we wonder why we needed another Chery sibling.
