Knockoffs like Jaecoo are more serious than you’d ever believe
Chinese cars, you giggle. Laugh while you can, because soon it may very well be on the other side of your face. Well, if this Jaecoo J7, and the reaction to it are anything to go by, the car world as we know it, is in very serious trouble.
First off, this car attracted far more attention than we’d ever have imagined possible. But the worrying bit is more how the people react to it. What is it? The new Evoque? Pretty well to a man. Followed by stunned silence, and then, nice, hey? Then, they ask, what does it cost? Six hundred and eighty grand. Blank stare. But this is the all-wheel drive one and you can get all this for five hundred and fifty K in the base front drive model too.
Now considering that you will have to drop one point four million for the equivalent Range Rover most people think this is, that’s pretty scary.
Power for power, speed for speed
This 145 kW 290 Nm 1600cc turbo petrol 7-speed double-clutch automatic all-wheel drive Jaecoo J7 1.6T Inferno will set you back R679,000. We tested it to 100 km/h in 8.1 seconds. And they claim 7.8 litres per 100 fuel consumption.
Comparing apples with apples then, the 146 kW 430 Nm 2-litre turbodiesel 9-speed automatic all-wheel drive Evoque D200 Autobiography costs R1,424 million. It will get to 100 km/h in a claimed 8.5 seconds (we are still waiting to test one…) and sips 5.8 litres per hundred.
Then the penny drops. Or is that the Yuan? But then the Range Rover has it all and this Chinaman is just a poseur, no? Sorry. Think again!
The half-price Chinaman has almost everything the European car has. And even a bit more in places. For instance, the first thing you look at, auto on-off high beam assist LED DRL Xenon headlights, LED foglamps and a high level brake lights and rear fog lights are common to both cars. Although the although the Range Rover does add pixel LED and direction turning. Both cars also have smart alloy wheels, the Jaecoo on smaller profile 235/50 R19 rubber and the Landy with 245/45 R21s, with a downspec option to 235/50 R20s. Both have tyre pressure sensors too.
What the Range has, the Jaecoo has too
The Jaecoo has Eco Standard Sport Snow Mud Sand Off-Road Driving mode which the Land Rover, surprisingly, lacks. But both do get hill descent and downhill brake control for that bundu bashing. The Evoque has an auto-dim driver’s mirror, the Jaecoo does not, but it comes back with hands free over just a power tailgate on the Englishman. They both have keyless central locking with button starts, power windows all round, rain sensor wipers and folding heated wing mirrors. But only the Landy has a power adjustable steering column.
The Chinese car has artificial leather upholstery versus the real deal on the English machine. Both, once again, have heated and ventilated power adjustable memory front seats with power lumbar for the driver in the Jaecoo, and on both in the Range, which also adds heating to the rear bench. And both get panoramic sliding sunroofs and climate control, and of course, there are cup holders front and rear in both vehicles.
Getting down to infotainment, there’s multifunction steering wheel activated Auto, Carplay and Bluetooth compatible voice control touchscreen entertainment in both cars. The Jaecoo has four USB ports versus the Landy’s standard two. But that’s offset by the J7’s front and boot power sockets, where the Landy adds an extra one in the rear compartment. Both cars also have an onboard trip computers, and heads-up display.
Jaecoo makes one wonder who’s watching who
For the record, the 4500 mm long, 1865 mm wide and 1680 mm tall Jaecoo rides on a 2672 mm wheelbase, weighs 1709 kg and has a load volume of 412 litres with the rear bench up. And 1335 litres with it down. The 4371 mm long, 1996 mm wide,1649 mm tall Range runs on a 2681 mm wheelbase, weighs 1834 Kg and boasts a 472 to 1156 litre load capacity. The Landy rides 12 mm higher than the Jaecoo at a 212 mm floor hight.
A glimpse at safety spec reveals that both have ABS with brake assist, stability and traction control. But the Evoque has six airbags and the Jaecoo eight. Both cars have Isofix child seat mountings on their outer rear seats. Both also have adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, emergency-brake flashing hazard lights, lane change and blind spot warning. And a surround view reversing camera with front and rear park distance control, each.
And then we get to back-up. Both these cars have a 5-year 100,000 km warranty, but the Jaecoo adds a ten year million kilometre engine warranty for the first owner. The Jaecoo has a 5-year 70,000 km service plan versus the Landy’s 5 year 100,000 km maintenance plan. Makes one wonder… who’s watching who?
OK, the Range Rover is subtly better cobbled together and its famous badge certainly brings a bit of je-nais se quois over, what the hell is that! That said, the Jaecoo is surprisingly well built and has a great feel to it. Sure, there are areas where the Chinaman still shines through a bit and we have heard of quality control concerns. But that language on the screens, and strange logic, and the rest, is becoming dramatically better by the generation.
Is the Jaecoo compromise really worth half the price?
The Jaecoo is dynamically a little off too, to be blunt. Although that’s versus a Merc or a BMW as we do not yet know the Evoque well enough. But judging from other Landys, it will be quite a bit better sorted.
However, and this is the one point four million rand question; how is it on earth possible that this Chinese car can cost less than half of the car that it pretends to be, and goes toe to toe with on every specification, on paper? Sure. We’d expect to pay two hundred grand premium for the brand and a bit of finesse. But double the price? Come on man!
This is also why the traditional motor industry is in deep, deep trouble. Faced with the choice of the real thing for double the price, or a damn good knock off for half the price, would you buy your next underpants, bra or bikini at half the price from Shien? Or go the whole hog at Woollies. In reality, anyone who has gone the Shien route will likely never go back.
So how long will it be, before you apply the same logic to the Shien Rover over the Range Rover? Go on, be honest.
See the trouble here, is how the traditional car industry goes about its business. It’s not so much about cars, they all seem more in business to satisfy the shareholders, who have propped up their businesses for decades, with great dividends. Make a decent car, charge double, share the reward and be done with.
A half-price Range Rover with a Jaecoo badge
But hold on a second, the Chinamen have come to town. And they’re regime funded sweat shops with no duty to make super profits for anyone, and all they want to so is sell cars. So they build them almost as good and sell them at half the price. Just like their online shops will sell you T shirts and wind breakers at eye-wateringly cheap prices. So now you can buy a half-price Range Rover with a Jaecoo badge on it.
Believe you me, this is just the start. And it leaves the Western car industry in a pickle. And very urgently looking into itself to change. Or die.
Getting back to the Jaecoo J7. If it’s good enough to illicit this rant, then it’s good enough to go take a look at, no? Next time you pass a Jaecoo store, sneak in and take a look. I promise you; you will be shocked… – Michele Lupini
ROAD TESTED: Jaecoo J7 1.6T Inferno AWD
Engine: 125 kW 290 Nm 1.6-litre turbo petrol I4
Drive: 7-speed DC Automatic AWD
TESTED:
0-60 km/h: 3.86 sec
0-100 km/h: 8.10 sec
0-120 km/h: 11.05 sec
0-160 km/h: 18.98 sec
400m: 15.9 s @ 146 km/h
80-120 km/h: 5.22 sec
120-160 km/h: 7.93 sec
CLAIMED:
VMax: 185 km/h
Fuel: 7.8 l/100km
CO2: 181 g/km
Range: 650 km
Warranty: 5 years 100,000 km
Maintenance: 5 years 70,000km
LIST PRICE: R679K
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