JAECOO 5 (2025 – ) review

Cars from the new Chinese brands like Jaecoo, Omoda and BYD aren’t the cheapest you can buy, but they usually offer good value for money for the amount of tech and safety equipment they offer as standard. The Jaecoo 5 is no exception here, with lots of kit on board plus, of course the E5 version is electric, which means very low running costs if you can charge at home, plus lower servicing costs, low Benefit In Kind taxation for company car users, and no congestion charge. Be warned, however, that the petrol version is not very efficient, so fuel economy and CO2-dependent VED/’road tax’ will both be more expensive than for many competitors.

The brand is still relatively new in the UK, so lacking owner data to support a reliability rating. But Jaecoo’s owner Chery is a vast global brand with decades of expertise in both petrol and electric powertrains, a vast array of software engineers to solve tech issues and good dealer support over here now. So, we’d expect high satisfaction levels for reliability. In the meantime, we’ve given it the industry average.

Pretty much everything you could think of is here, with adaptive cruise control to accelerate and brake, autonomous emergency braking, lane- keep assistance and departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, 360-degree camera, automatic headlight dimming, driver-attention warning system and front, side and curtain airbags. This is where Jaecoo and Omoda beat the competitors into a cocked hat, although some of it is not included in the base, Pure trim.

The interior design of the Jaecoo 5 is pretty nasty compared with the far more sophisticated materials and styling developed by European brands in recent years, in particular the likes Peugeot, Polestar, Jaguar Land Rover and Renault. There are no signs of wool, technical weaves, open-grain woods, brushed materials or anything representing an awareness of sustainability or nature. Instead, it’s a mix of fairly crude black plastics and leather. You do, however, get lots of space, especially leg-room for rear passengers, which plenty of owners prioritise over all else, and the large areas of storage up front are very welcome, especially the tray for two phones.

The Pure trim gives you wireless smartphone connectivity, air-con and front and rear parking sensors, while Luxury adds a glass roof, power-adjustable heated and cooled front seats, a heated steering wheel, Sony audio and wireless phone charging. For the relatively affordable upgrade cost we’d recommend this version for value for money. The E5 electric version also gives you pet mode to keep the interior a constant temperature while parked, as well as on-board karaoke – happy days. While the touch-screen is pleasingly big, the graphics on it are small, cramped and difficult to read against the pale background. Most established brands offer displays that are far clearer, stylish and more accessible, especially while driving.

This is where nearly all the new models from Jaecoo, Omoda and BYD fall short. The handling and performance just aren’t on a par with those of more mainstream brands. The braking feels spongey, the steering vague, the chassis transmits far too much disruption from the road and the 1.6-litre, 145-horsepower petrol engine is noisy and weak. The E5 electric version rectifies much of this (and is better looking in our opinion) but it charges at a slower rate than most competitors, and its maximum 248 miles of range isn’t as high as the Kia EV3, for example. If tech and safety matter most, then this Jaecoo 5 should be on your shortlist, but if it’s driving satisfaction you’re after, look elsewhere.