Jaecoo 8 Review 2026: Prices, specs & verdict

What is the Jaecoo 8?

If you’ve got even a vague interest in new cars, you’ll have probably heard of Jaecoo by now. If you haven’t, they’re a Chinese brand under the Chery Group that makes one of the UK’s best-selling new cars: the Jaecoo 7.

The 7, often dubbed the ‘Temu Range Rover’ because of its Evoque-like design and (like the Amazon-rivalling Temu) bargain pricing. It only arrived in the UK in February 2025, but there’s already 42,000 on our roads.

Jaecoo also has the smaller 5 and E5 SUVs, but this new model, the Jaecoo 8, pushes the brand to new levels of price and performance

The Jaecoo 8 is a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) seven-seat SUV that’s priced in line with cheaper versions of the Skoda Kodiaq iV and Peugeot 5008 PHEV. But the Chinese offering has a huge equipment tally, over 400hp, all-wheel drive and a long range on a charge. It's closely related to the Omoda 9 and Chery Tiggo 9.

Is the Jaecoo 8 worthy of consideration alongside established plug-in SUV rivals? Our in-depth review tells you everything you need to know.

Verdict: is the Jaecoo 8 a good car?

Overall, the Jaecoo 8 is a more convincing product than its cheaper siblings, with a genuinely upmarket interior, smooth and (mostly) comfortable driving experience and decent practicality. It also comes loaded with posh features that are usually optional extra in traditional rivals.

It’s a shame that the seven-seat versatility isn’t better, though, while some elements of the driving experience lack finesse. Complex technology is still an issue, too, but for those willing to accept some compromises for a top value large SUV shouldn’t be disappointed.

Pricing, specs & rivals

Prices for the Jaecoo 8 kick off at £45,500 for the seven-seat Luxury variant and £47,500 for the six-seat Executive model. That's slightly more expensive than the Omoda 9 and Chery Tiggo 9.

While that might sound like a lot by the brand’s budget standards, bear in mind the sheer amount of car on offer. This is three-row plug-in hybrid with well over 400hp, a very long range, loads of luxury features and clever tech.

By comparison you’ll pay considerably more for a similarly equipped Land Rover Discovery Sport, Hyundai Santa Fe or Kia Sorento. Cars like the Peugeot 5008 PHEV and Skoda Kodiaq iV are available for less but with nowhere near as much kit, while the Skoda and the related Volkswagen Tayron only get five seats as a plug-in hybrid.

As with the Omoda 9, the Jaecoo 8 has an astounding list of standard equipment. Luxury trim gets kit such as heated, ventilated, massaging and electrically adjustable front seats, heated and ventilated rear seats, an electrically adjustable and heated steering wheel, 20in alloys, a panoramic sunroof, adaptive dampers, multi-zone ambient lighting, a surround-view camera system and wireless phone charging.

As well as six seats with ‘captains chairs’ in the middle row, Executive trim adds Nappa leather and suede headlining along with massaging rear seats. Both versions also get a Sony 14-speaker sound system, double layer acoustic glass and active noise cancellation, too.

Rivals

Chief among the Jaecoo 8’s rivals are its Chery Group siblings: the Chery Tiggo 9 and Omoda 9. The Chery is more family-focused and the Omoda 9 is a sportier, more coupe-like five-seater, so the Jaecoo occupies the middle ground.

Other alternatives include the Volkswagen Tayron and Skoda Kodiaq, Mazda CX-80, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Mercedes-Benz GLB, Nissan X-Trail and Peugeot 5008, while you might consider the BMW X3, Volvo XC60 and Audi Q5 if seven seats aren’t a dealbreaker.

Interior comfort, quality & technology

The interior of the Jaecoo 8 looks like a big upgrade over the brand’s smaller models. Indeed, the only thing shared with the Jaecoo 7 is the steering wheel, with a completely different dashboard look and more imposing, cocooning centre console.

It’s an attractive, convincingly upmarket cabin – particularly with the posh ‘Cognac’ Nappa leather in these images. Alright, so there’s more than a few details (like the air vents, speaker grilles and gear selector) that look to have been lifted straight out of a Mercedes-Benz, but at this price point we’d say that’s a positive.

Overall fit and finish seems a step above other Jaecoo products, too. Every surface is either covered in soft-touch leatherette or suede, with wood-effect finishes and convincing enough metallic bits. We reckon it gives a VW Tayron a real run for its money in that department.

But the Jaecoo 8 isn’t perfect inside. I’m 6ft 3 with long legs and found that the steering wheel wouldn’t adjust close enough for a truly comfortable driving position, while my knee kept banging against the wide centre console. This won’t be an issue for anyone who isn’t tall, but it’s not usually an issue in such a big car.

Similarly, visibility could be better. The forward view is fine, but the rear window is absolutely tiny, meaning you’re very reliant on the cameras and sensors to give you a clear view rearward.

Infotainment, sat-nav, stereo and connectivity

Just like most Chery Group models, the Jaecoo 8 features a pair of 12.3in displays mounted in a single bezel on top of the dash. One is a touchscreen, the other the digital dial display.

Like we experienced in the Omoda 9, the Jaecoo 8’s touchscreen has slick graphics and a plethora of functions and features – some useful, some gimmicky. It’s a decently responsive screen, too, but thanks to its extensive menus hiding key functions and small fonts it’s easier to operate while stationary than on the move.

A lack of any physical shortcut buttons (bar a couple for demisting the windows) again robs you of an opportunity to quickly access key functions. Happily, the voice control is fairly good. I used it to ask for lane keeping aids and the speed warning bong to be turned off, and it obliged – something many voice assistants are unable to do.

Of course you get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, along with a 50-watt wireless phone charging pad with an air vent to cool your phone. A head-up display is standard too, which is useful because the information-packed digital dials may be a bit confusing for some.

The clarity and configurability of Jaecoo’s surround-view camera system, which makes the car graphic transparent for a better view, is excellent. We also rate the standard 14-speaker Sony sound system, which has headrest speakers for the driver to feed navigation directions or phone calls only through their ears while passengers listen to music. The audio quality is pretty good, too.

How practical is the Jaecoo 8?

The Jaecoo 8’s dimensions of 4,820mm in length, 1,930mm in width (excluding mirrors) and 1,710mm in height make it longer, wider and taller than a Skoda Kodiaq and close to the Hyundai Santa Fe.

There’s certainly no shortage of space up front. You get a light an airy feel, extensive headroom and a wide cabin meaning plenty of room on the centre armrest for elbows. Only the large centre console impeding on knee space is a minor drawback.

In the rear things are also very good, with plenty of space even for six-footers to get comfortable with head and legroom to spare. Fitting three adults side-by-side isn’t too bad either, while the outer two seats recline and slide forward and back to juggle room with the third row of seats.

Speaking of that third row, things take a turn there. The main issue is that you can only fold the seat behind the driver forward to get in (the other seat doesn’t fold forward). That’s fine in left-hand drive markets, but it means those in the third row will need to get out into passing traffic if you’re parallel parked.

Opting for the six-seat ‘Executive’ model is even worse because you can’t fold down either seat to get in the back. Jaecoo expects you to try to squeeze back there via the space between the two middle seats, which small children may be able to do but adults will find very difficult.

Even once you have clambered back there, the space on offer is nothing to write home about. Headroom is tolerable if you’re well below six-foot, but legroom is tight and you’re squatting on the seat because of the high floor.

It’s clear the Jaecoo 8’s rearmost seats suffer due to the plug-in hybrid’s battery underneath the floor. But kids will be okay, and at least you have the option unlike the Omoda 9. The VW Tayron and Skoda Kodiaq also lose the third row of seats in PHEV form, but the Santa Fe or Sorento are roomier than the Jaecoo for six or seven.

Storage and boot space

There’s plenty of oddment storage in the front of the Jaecoo 8’s cabin, including a big glovebox, chunky door bins, two lidded cupholders, two phone storage trays and a deep centre armrest cubby. There’s also a further space underneath the centre console itself, between the seat bases.

In the rear you’ll find a pair of smaller (but still usable) door bins, some map pockets in the front seatbacks and a neat pair of flip-out cupholders in the centre armrest. Even the third row of seats has cupholders on each side. What’s more, the middle row also has fold-out sunblinds for the side windows.

As for the boot? Well that’s huge, as you might expect. Jaecoo doesn’t quote a boot space figure with all three rows of seats in place, but there’s enough for a few carry-on suitcases or some shopping bags.

Fold the third row down and you get 738 litres of capacity, which is more than a Tayron eHybrid and only a fraction less than a Kodiaq iV. That expands to 2,021 litres with the middle row of seats folded.

The only gripes are that the middle seats only fold in a 60/40 split, whereas many rivals give you the flexibility of 40/20/40 split folding. You also don’t have enough underfloor storage for charging cables.

Performance & drive: What is the Jaecoo 8 like on the road?

While other markets get a pure petrol Jaecoo 8, the UK only gets the same ‘SHS-P’ plug-in hybrid system as the Chery Tiggo 9 and Omoda 9 (albeit in a lower state of tune than the latter).

This hybrid mates a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine to a pair of electric motors, a battery pack and a three-speed ‘dedicated hybrid transmission. Power goes through all four wheels depending on which mode you’re in.

The combined system output is 428hp. While that’s a little down on the Omoda 9, it’s still a lot in an unassuming family SUV, and it means the Jaecoo 8 is much faster than most rivals. 0-62mph takes 5.8 seconds, way less than any alternative from Kia, Hyundai, Nissan and Peugeot. It’s only beaten by the Volvo XC60 T8.

On the road, the Jaecoo 8 might not accelerate with quite the force its output suggests, but it’s still very fast and effortless in any on-road situation. It also spends most of its time acting like an electric car, and you can make decent progress without hearing the engine. Only in sustained full throttle does it switch gears and hold engine revs unnaturally high.

On my test route I found the odd occasion when, even under full throttle, the engine wouldn’t join in to deliver full performance. But overall, this is one of the fastest and smoothest hybrid SUVs around at this price level.

The brake pedal also delivers a good, natural response to inputs, unlike some hybrids. We would like more easy control over the regenerative braking settings though, which are buried within menu layers and tricky to find.

Power, 0-62mph times

• Jaecoo 8: 428hp/ 5.8 secs

Ride and handling

Despite the performance Jaecoo has resisted trying to make the 8 feel sporty on the road. Depending on what you want from a car such as this, that might be a relief or a disappointment.

The adaptive suspension seems relatively soft and relaxing most of the time, feeling quite plush over smoother motorways and some tarmac. It thumps over potholes less than a Mazda CX-80, but you’ll still notice it fidgeting over rougher surfaces which can grate after a while.

There’s a fair amount of body lean in the corners, too, which is fine for a big SUV. Grip levels are good (the 8 doesn’t use budget tyres like some cheaper Chinese models) but the steering isn’t a highlight: it’s quite artificial feeling whichever mode you’re, with a dead spot around the straight ahead inspiring less confidence behind the wheel than a Tayron or Kodiaq.

Jaecoo did let me take the 8 on a dedicated off-road course, which it handled quite well given a clear on-road bias and no off-road tyre option. Even without switching the to the terrain-specific drive modes it never struggled for grip or ground clearance, while a wading depth of 600mm is the same as a Land Rover Discovery Sport. You even get a locking differential and hill descent control, although most owners are unlikely to need either.

Noise and refinement

The hybrid system in the Jaecoo 8 impresses when it comes to refinement, feeling very smooth whether you’re running on electric or petrol power. There are no noisy engine revs or clunky gearchanges (unlike the Peugeot 5008 PHEV) and progress is very EV-like. Only under sustained full throttle is the engine even audible.

Wind and road noise also seemed well suppressed on my UK test drive, meaning motorway drives should be relaxing.

Euro NCAP: is the Jaecoo 8 a safe car?

At the time of writing, the Jaecoo 8 hasn’t been crash tested by safety experts Euro NCAP. Neither has the Chery Tiggo 9, but the Omoda 9 did receive the maximum five-star rating when it was put through its paces in 2025.

Given the Chery Group’s track record in Euro NCAP testing, and this car’s flagship position in the Jaecoo range, we’d be surprised if it didn’t achieve the highest rating (Jaecoo is targeting it). For starters, it has no fewer than 10 airbags inside – one more than the top-rated VW Tayron.

The Jaecoo 8 also has no fewer than 19 ADAS functions, including autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assistance, driver monitoring, speed assistance, blind spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert.

Running costs and fuel economy

For now, the Jaecoo 8 is only available in PHEV form. Jaecoo claims it can manage a total range of over 700 miles if you combine the petrol tank and a fully charged battery.

As is usually the case with PHEVs, the official fuel economy figure is in triple digits. This is because the car is always fully charged before completing the WLTP testing process, so the engine only comes on sparingly to use a bit of fuel.

The Jaecoo 8’s official figure is around 200mpg. That’s way off the 625mpg a VW Tayron e-Hybrid 272 promises, but that is a far less powerful SUV, while it’s difficult to draw complete conclusions on how either will fare in the real world.

What matters most for business users is the Jaecoo 8’s low CO2 emissions of just 14g/km. Combined with the car’s long electric range it sits in a low 7% Benefit-in-Kind tax band – potentially saving thousands over a pure petrol or diesel alternative.

For private buyers, peace-of-mind comes in the form of a Kia-rivalling seven-year or 100,000-mile warranty, alongside an eight-year battery warranty with the same mileage.

Electric range and charging

Sitting alongside the Jaecoo 8’s modest 1.5-litre petrol engine is a massive 34.5kWh battery pack – bigger even than a plug-in hybrid Range Rover’s, let alone rivals like the VW Tiguan. You can even buy small electric cars with smaller batteries.

That’s all well and good, but Jaecoo claims a range of up to 83 miles according to WLTP testing conditions. It’s a strong distance, but 10 miles less than the five-seat Omoda 9 and only 10 miles more than the VW Tayron e-Hybrid manages using a much smaller battery.

Nevertheless, such a range means a Jaecoo 8 owner could complete school runs, shopping trips and likely even their entire commute using electric power alone.

Also impressive is the 8’s DC rapid charging capability. Some newer plug-in hybrids (like the Tayron) are offering this, but few can match the 70kW peak charging rate of the Jaecoo. This enables a 30-80% charge in as little as 20 minutes.

What’s more, the Jaecoo 8 offers a Vehicle-to-Load to power devices or appliances using the car’s battery. It will do so at up to 6.6kW, which is double what most EVs manage, and means you could add a decent emergency top up to an electric car using the Jaecoo if needed.

How much does the Jaecoo 8 cost to insure?

Insurance groups for the Jaecoo 8 haven’t been released at the time of writing, but given its close mechanical link to the Omoda 9 and Chery Tiggo 9 we’d expect similar groups to be announced.

That’s potentially not good news, because the Omoda 9 sits in group 47 - a far higher insurance group than most plug-in hybrid family SUVs. The Chery Tiggo 9 sits in a lower group 44, but that’s still higher even than the Lexus NX450h and 450hp Volvo XC60 T8.