Family Car Review: 2025 Jaecoo J7 SHS Phev SUV

How much does the 2025 Jaecoo J7 SHS cost and what are the options?

The 2025 Jaecoo J7 SHS tested here is a plug-in hybrid, the top spec variant of the J7 range, priced at $47,990 driveaway. It sits above the petrol-only models as the most fuel efficient option. SHS stands for Super Hybrid System (which is Jaecoo jargon for plug-in hybrid or PHEV) combining a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with an electric motor for a combined driving range of up to 1200km!

How big is the boot of the Jaecoo J7 SHS?

The boot door of the Jaecoo J7 opens really nice and easily with just the touch of a button, and closes that way too. It also doesn't beep, which helps for not waking up any little passengers you've got to sleep in the back.

The boot of the Jaecoo J7 SHS will hold 10 shopping bags, which is two less than the MG HS which will hold twelve, the GWM Haval H6 which will hold thirteen shopping bags. The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Hyundai Tucson will hold fourteen and the Toyota RAv4 will hold fifteen and the Kia Sportage will hold sixteen shopping bags.

The Thule Sleek, future-proof, multi-configuration pram with a single seat…

…will fit in the boot of the Jaecoo J7 SHS with two shopping bags.

The Thule Sleek with two sibling seats…

…will fit in the boot with two shopping bags.

The Thule Sleek with a single seat and the bassinet…

… will fit in the boot of the Jaecoo J7 SHS side by side, but with no shopping bags.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don't want to move around while I'm driving such as Tulsi's lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it's not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don't move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum's life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually measurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

The Thule Urban Glide 3, ultimate All Terrain stroller with the back wheels off…

…fits easily in the boot with two shopping bags.

The Thule Urban Glide 3 double ultimate All Terrain stroller with the back wheels off…

… fits easily in the boot, but with no shopping bags.

The Thule Spring lightweight and one-handed folding stroller…

… fits in the boot of the Jaecoo J7 hybrid with six shopping bags.

You can fit two 90-litre Thule Chasm duffel bags in the boot.

Or you can put a small to medium-sized dog in the boot.

How good is the storage in the 2025 Jaecoo J7 SHS for families?

When it comes to storage in the rest of the J7 SHS, it's really practical for families. The front interior is very minimal and clutter-free, which is nice.

In the front, there are two cup holders in the central console that will hold a reusable or a disposable coffee cup.

In front of them, there are two wireless phone charging pads…

…underneath which there's a nice space for putting your wallet or your iPad, and you've also got charging sockets under there too (USB, USB-C and 12-volt).

The central console box is a really lovely big size, and there's also an air vent in there so you can chill that space too, which is handy when you've got kids – you can pop their sandwiches in there!

The glove box is a good size and will hold my wallet and iPad with the manual.

The door bins are lovely and big in the front – they'll hold a refillable water bottle, an iPad and wallet fit in them as well. The little storage handle wells are big enough to hold a mobile phone.

In the back, storage is very good too.

There are two cup holders in a fold-down armrest in the central seat back. They will hold a reusable or a disposable coffee cup, and a kids' drink cup fits in them.

There are map pockets in the back of both front seats. In fact, they're double map pockets, so there's actually two phone slots or toy slots, and there's also one that can hold an iPad and conceal it.

The second-row door bins are a good size too. They'll hold a refillable drink bottle, and there's room in there for other things as well. There are little storage wells in the door handles too.

How many child seats will fit in the 2025 Jaecoo J7 SHS?

When it comes to installing child seats in the back of the Jaecoo J7 SHS, there are ISOFix in the two outer rear seats. They are within plastic guides, with little plastic covers that just rotate back, they are really nice and easy to use and connect to.

There are top tether anchorages on the back of all three rear seats, that are really nice and easy to find and connect to through the boot.

I could only fit two child seats in the back of the Jaecoo J7 SHS.

I did try installing three, but it's just not wide enough across the shoulder section. So two child seats fit in the back really comfortably with lots of nice space around them.

The footwell in the back is flat, so it's really easy for kids to get in and out and access their child seats.

For adult passengers there is lots of knee room with rear-facing child seats installed in the back. About a 180cm driver can sit in front of a rear-facing child seat, or with forward-facing child seats a 186cm plus driver can sit in front.

How comfortable is the 2025 Jaecoo J7 SHS for families?

Rear passengers are kept nice and comfortable with air con vents in the back of the central console. There are also charging sockets in the back of the central console too, so rear passengers can charge their devices while driving along with USB and USB-C sockets.

There's also lights and handles above the rear doors which I find useful for hanging a toy on the handles to keep little rear-facing passengers entertained.

This J7 SHS model has perforated synthetic leather seats, which helps with ventilation but all those little holes could be a problem for cleaning up kids spillages and crumbs!

The media system in the J7 SHS has this enormous portrait screen whihc dominates the dash.

It has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which is great, so you can access your phone nice and easy while you're driving.

Now, one thing to be mindful of is that all the controls are within the screen. You do not have physical climate controls. You have to go into the screen to access them, which makes it really difficult to adjust while you're driving along.

If you go into the screen's “vehicle centre” menu, you can find controls for almost everything about the car.

You can adjust the sound which is a must for most families. You can go in and change lots of things about the sounds in the car, which is really handy with sensory kids (and sensory overloaded parents).

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bub's asleep!

Within the vehicle comfort settings screen, the most obvious thing you need to change on a regular basis is the rear view side mirrors, I find it annoying that you have to go into the screen, and there's not physical buttons for that. That said, there is a pretty good voice command system called “Hello Jaecoo” that allows you to control windows, air-conditioning, radio etc without taking your hands off the wheel.

When in reverse, the camera images are really lovely and clear and they fill the whole screen, which is great. Some things I really like are the kerb cameras – they're really helpful when you're so you don't damage your wheels, and you have front and rear cameras as well.

The lights above the rear doors are positioned well for leaning in to do up seatbelts and harnesses at night .

I have found our daughter does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it's really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.

Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON'T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a 5-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it's not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!

The windows open and close quietly, which is great when you have sleeping children.

With baby asleep you can get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy. The same for the windows their mechanism is not too noisy and I didn't notice them having a loud opening or closing sound.

Being a plug-in-hybrid you can sit quietly using the battery to run the air conditioning, stereo etc at school pick-up (some schools now ban engine idling outside to reduce pollution) or if you end up stranded with little ones asleep in the back without chewing through fuel. Not to mention guilt-free driving your kids to bed.

How safe is the 2025 Jaecoo J7 SHS for families?

The 2025 Jaecoo J7 SHS comes with a five-star ANCAP safety rating, including eight airbags with side curtain airbags that extend to the second row. It scored 85% for child occupancy and 81% for adult occupancy in ANCAP crash testing.

According to ANCAP, the J7 is equipped with:

Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags. A driver knee airbag is standard on PHEV variants. A centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes is also standard.

The safety features include autonomous emergency braking (AEB) for car-to-car, vulnerable road users, junction and crossing scenarios, as well as backover protection. The car also features a lane keep assist (LKA) system with lane departure warning (LDW) and emergency lane keeping (ELK).

Other safety features include adaptive cruise control (ACC) with traffic jam assist, blind spot detection (BSD), rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA) with braking, door opening warning, driver monitoring system (DMS), front and rear parking sensors, 360° around view monitor, electronic stability control (ESC), brake assist system (BAS), and anti-lock braking system (ABS).

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bub's asleep!

What is the 2025 Jaecoo J7 SHS like to drive?

The Jaecoo J7 SHS is actually a really nice car to drive. Apart from one thing that is incredibly annoying…

…the driver distraction warning will drive you insane! It beeps constantly, warnings flashing telling you that you need to have a coffee and take a break, and you'll have only driven to the end of your street! So it is really, really frustrating, but when you turn that off, it's really nice to drive.

The J7 SHS is a plug-in hybrid. When I picked it up, its dashboard said it had over 1000 kilometres of range combined fuel and electric. Now the electric engine does about 106km just as a battery, which is really, really good as it allows you to drive the majority of your journeys without using the petrol engine at all (so long at the battery has more than 30% charge you can even drive at motorway speeds using electricity alone.

Charge it at home for all your local journeys and then you can use your petrol engine for when you want to go on longer trips, which is the dream, really, for a family car if the thought of planning charging stops (and relying on the chargers being available, working etc when you reach them) on road trips with kids gives you anxiety.

The Jaecoo J7 has really good visibility. The side mirrors are really nice and big, however the rear view mirror feels a little bit tunnel vision but that does mean that you get a view of your second row passengers as well, which is really good.

A very tight turning circle and light steering this makes parking and manoeuvring the 2025 Jaecoo J7 really nice and easy. The J7 is really good around town as well as being nice and comfortable out on the highway. So all round, a really good car to drive, apart from that driver fatigue warning!

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Bub has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful.

Additional Information

The Jaecoo J7 SHS comes with an 8-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which is excellent for families who want long-term peace of mind from a brand that's not been around very long in Australia. Jaecoo Australia also offers capped price servicing for the first 8 intervals (12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first) costing a total of $3372 or an average of $421.50 each.

Compare the 2025 Jaecoo J7 SHS

If you're looking at the Jaecoo J7 SHS as a family SUV, you might also want to consider the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV which offers seven seats but less electric range, the Hyundai Tucson hybrid or the all-electric Kia EV5.

BabyDrive Verdict on the 2025 Jaecoo J7 SHS

To sum up, the Jaecoo J7 SHS does make a practical everyday car for families. You can only fit two child seats in the back, but you've got lovely legroom and space around those child seats. The boot space is enough for all the Thule prams I tested it with (although other similar size SUVs can fit the Urban Glide 3 without removing wheels), and the drive is really nice in the J7 SHS once you turn off the driver fatigue monitor.

I find it a very easy car to use with my kids, the media system is good, and of course, being a plug-in hybrid, it's really nice and practical using the battery for everyday life, sitting quietly while your kids are asleep in the back, just using the battery rather than fuel. Then when you want to go on a longer family road trip or holiday, you've got the engine there as your backup.

Key Pros:

• Plug-in hybrid with excellent 106km electric range
• Five-star ANCAP safety rating with comprehensive safety features
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Good interior storage for families
• Quiet operation in electric mode
• 8-year unlimited kilometre warranty
• Voice control system for hands-free operation

Key Cons:

• Only fits two child seats
• Driver fatigue monitoring is annoying
• Aircon and mirror adjustment is through the touchscreen
• Boot not as large as some competitors