Jaecoo gave the incoming J5 SHS-H a thorough seeing to with a 625km hybrid endurance run before the small SUV reaches showrooms. And before you ask, no that doesn’t come with a set of steak knives. The official Australian model page is up and running, so this is not a little far-away motor-show bauble twinkling under the lights while local buyers get a lovely seasonal card instead.
The drive was part of Chery’s International Business Summit, where Jaecoo rolled through a 9 Countries Super Hybrid Marathon to give the new system a jolly good public thrashing. Media from Australia, New Zealand, and other markets took part in the jaunt where expensive hotels, posh meals, and copious drinks lubricated the wheels of public relations.
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ABOVE: Jaecoo’s Super Hybrid Marathon put the J5 SHS-H and related hybrid SUVs in front of international media.
The J5 SHS-H is the hybrid version of the J5, sitting beside petrol and EV versions also coming soon. Sadly, Jaecoo is not using the same plug-in hybrid setup found in the J7 and Omoda 9 SHS. Instead, the J5 SHS-H has a series-parallel hybrid system with a turbocharged petrol engine and an electric motor for a very modest 165kW.
On paper, the J5 SHS-H equipment list makes suburban hybrids look a little under-catered. Jaecoo is claiming an expected combined range of 980km to appeal to buyers who want EV-like calm around town but are still overcome when a charger appears on the map as a greyed-out icon. We all know one, and some of us have dated one.
A plug-in hybrid gives you a bigger battery and an electric-only commute if you keep it charged, but it also asks the owner to behave. You really can’t make the best use of it if you can’t charge at home. The J5 SHS-H takes a different path by giving buyers hybrid efficiency without the nightly cable ritual. For apartment dwellers, renters, and anyone who can’t use a 3-pin easily, that will sound rather civilised.
Jaecoo also knows the J5 has to be more than just another hybrid drivetrain looking for applause. The brand is pushing the same packaging story as the petrol and EV versions, including a panoramic sunroof measuring almost one and a half square metres, generous storage, a decent boot, and a pet-friendly cabin. Other brands talk about lifestyle and active weekends until punters lose the will to live. While it might not sit quite so well with drivers sans mutts, Jaecoo points at the dog and says, yes, we thought about it shedding into your carpet.
Toyota has owned the hybrid conversation for years, but sales are down 25%, and that grip is loosening. Chery, Jaecoo, Omoda, GWM, BYD, and Geely are all turning up with hybrids, EVs, and plug-ins, and they’re doing it better. Their range claims, lower pricing, long warranty talk, and no-poverty-pack cabins really give buyers a happy ending. Japanese cabins have long suffered from an ageing feel, even the brand-new ones. It is as if Japanese designers gave up on any sense of modernisation three decades ago. Along come Chinese brands who, after a very shaky start, have quickly surpassed the Japanese masters. Even the Koreans are being schooled on a segment they once had to themselves.
The real test will not be a 625km media drive. It will be Australian pricing, fuel consumption in normal hands, ride quality on Australia’s second-rate roads, and whether Jaecoo’s dealer network can keep up with the sales ambition. A long-range hybrid SUV is useful only if the rest of the ownership experience does not feel like ringing a help desk from 2007, or worse still, an AI.
Still, the J5 SHS-H is worth watching. If Jaecoo prices it properly, it gives buyers a neat middle path between petrol caution and full-EV commitment. Not everyone is ready to plug in, but nor do they want to keep feeding a petrol SUV like a drunken drag queen. Jaecoo seems rather keen to stand in that gap with a large sunroof, a hybrid badge, and a cheesy dog-friendly grin.
Personally, having dogs in cars is not for me, as the notion of being covered in hair is nauseating.
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Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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