Tag Archives: SUV

Electric/hybrid, Jaecoo, Luxury, Motoring

JAECOO a luxury SUV with off-road capability

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JAECOO 8 SHS

By Bill McCarthy

The first JAECOO I saw was on a trip to Devon, just after the brand’s launch. A JAECOO 7 sat in a pub car park. Curious, I took a closer look and found an SUV that blended the look of a Range Rover with a ‘waterfall’ grille reminiscent of a Jeep.

It clearly struck a chord with buyers, and a year later, it’s the best-selling car in the country. Owners, Chinese giant Chery, will be delighted and now the firm has moved upmarket with the new JAECOO 8 – a powerful, high-end, all-wheel-drive luxury vehicle.

The flagship SUV, the JAECOO 8 SHS-P, is a premium plug-in hybrid that brings three-row luxury to the brand’s line-up for the first time, available in two seating formats.

With prices starting from £45,500 OTR for the Luxury and £47,500 OTR for the Executive, it seriously undercuts similarly specced brands.

In addition, the warranty offers a seven-year / 100,000-mile warranty as standard, including an eight-year / 100,000-mile battery warranty.

Design and off-road capability

The Luxury version features seven seats in a 2-3-2 formation, while the more upmarket Executive model offers a 2-2-2 layout, with two captain’s chairs in the middle.

Both models are capable off-road, as demonstrated on a mildly challenging circuit on a country estate. I tested its adaptive all-terrain response and hill-descent control systems.

It remained stable and manageable even descending a ridiculously steep hill. It also includes settings for sand, mud and snowy conditions, plus lockable differentials for trickier terrain.

It’s a big vehicle and certainly looks the part. The popular waterfall design is retained here, and the elegant lines belies the vehicle’s genuine capability. It rides high off the ground with an impressive flood or streat wading depth of 600mm.

It also has some nat premium touches like hidden door handles and full-width LED taillights.

Luxurious interior

The interior feels premium, dominated by dual 12.3-inch displays that control major functions, including infotainment via a Sony 14-speaker sound system, smartphone connectivity, charging, and various apps. 

However, I found the touchscreen difficult to navigate at first – the menus are not immediately intuitive, and it takes time to find key functions while driving (which of course you should never do).

The other main controls are logically placed and easy to use, if you like a gear selector where wiper stalkwould normally be. For the record, I don’t.

The Executive adds powered, massaging Nappa leather seats – four heated, ventilated, massaging captain’s chairs. The cabin is large and spacious, designed around the brand’s ‘Enjoy Each Moment Outdoors’ philosophy whatever that means, with ample headroom, legroom and an airy ambience.

Rapid performance

This is a powerful vehicle, which I was able to test on some challenging roads around the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that is the Chiltern hills.

Acceleration is very rapid for such a big vehicle, and both versions hit 60mph in under six seconds.

Power is delivered via parent company Chery International’s Super Hybrid System (SHS) – a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a three-speed DHT (Dedicated Hybrid Transmission) and twin electric motors. Incidentally, all of the motors come into play when off-road.

Combined output is a huge 428 PS and 580 Nm of torque, which would make it ideal for towing.

Driving on these country roads, the car felt stable, although there is some inevitable lean on certain corners. Even a luxury model like this can be upset on poor road surfaces, but generally occupants are cocooned in a quiet, refined environment with a generally comfortable ride.

EV range

This is a plug-in hybrid, so the electric-only range matters. Chery claims around 80 miles on a full charge. On a short test drive, that was difficult to judge, but that is more than enough for most people’s daily commute without touching the petrol engine.

Once the battery is flat, you’re looking at official fuel economy around 40-50mpg. Not class-leading, but fine for a big seven-seater.

Practicality and storage

Boot space is substantial – cavernous, actually – with a capacity of 738 litres with the second row in place, expanding to a mammoth 2,021 litres with the rear seats folded. That’s enough to swallow a large furniture item, the dog and probably the kitchen sink, comfortably.

There’s a large centre console bin, a multitude of door bins, plus under-floor compartments for extra storage.

Verdict

The JAECOO is an attractive, well-rounded package – a true two-in-one choice between a seven-seat family hauler and a six-seat luxury cruiser, backed by punchy hybrid performance and rare off-road hardware such as lockable diffs.

The touchscreen can be as bit of a learning curve at first, and it leans, unsurprisingly, into bends. But as a spacious, well-specced, genuinely off-road-capable hybrid SUV with a seven-year warranty, it’s a cleverly priced alternative to far more expensive rivals.

Motoring

BYD ATTO delivers upgraded features and performance

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BYD ATTO 3 EVO

By Bill McCarthy

They say that many a good tune is played on an old fiddle. This seems to be partly true with BYD’s upgraded ATTO model, the ATTO 3 Evo, which has retained one of its musical party pieces with the door pocket strings – and a couple of quirky touches.

The original arrived only a couple of years ago as BYD’s first model, but this new version has been so comprehensively upgraded that it feels like a revolution rather than a simple refresh. It now offers a choice of rear-wheel and four-wheel drive, delivering more range, faster charging, and hot-hatch-beating performance – a hot SUV if you like.

The Chinese manufacturer says it has listened to and addressed concerns from customers. Now priced from nearly £39,000 to just under £43k, expectations are high with an upgraded model that ditches the old front-wheel drive layout for either rear-wheel or all-wheel drive.

Primarily a five-seater, it now comes in two specs – Design and range-topping Excellence. Both were driven here.

What’s new on the outside?

At first glance, the Evo’s visual changes are subtle but effective. The dimensions are unchanged, but BYD has sharpened the SUV’s muscular profile with revised front and rear bumpers, slimmer side skirts, and new 18-inch alloy wheels, and there’s a sportier rear roof spoiler. Additional features include a powered tailgate, privacy glass, and a panoramic sunroof on Excellence models.

Upmarket interior

The interior is a comfortable place to be, feeling solid and well engineered.

Rear head and legroom are decent, though the sloping shape restricts headroom for taller passengers. Much of the original’s gym-inspired styling remains, but has been refined. I’m not a fan of the oddly shaped door handles, but the interior remains bright and spacious. The gear selector has moved from the centre console to the steering column, thus freeing up space.

The focal points are twin displays including a new 8.8-inch digital instrument panel and a large 15.6-inch central touchscreen that still rotates between portrait and landscape.

The infotainment system includes DiLink (4G) with integrated Google features including Google Maps, Google Assistant and Google Play Store, plus an eight-speaker sound system.

There are plenty of bells, whistles and premium features including heated electric front seats, heated rear seats (Excellence only) and a head-up display (Excellence only), a 360-degree camera, front and rear parking radars, USB-C ports, and a wireless charging pad with integrated cooling.

Electric performance

The ATTO 3 Evo delivers instant pace via a larger 74.8kWh Blade Battery. The Design’s rear motor offers 309bhp and 380Nm – a huge step up from the original’s 201bhp – and can hit 60mph in around 5.5 seconds.

The dual motors on the Excellence produce 443bhp and rocket the car to 60mph in under four seconds. That used to be considered supercar territory.

The driver can choose Sport, Normal, Economy, or Snow modes. The original could snatch at the steering wheel under hard acceleration; here, the rear-drive balance feels more composed, though respect is still required.

On the road, both were tested over a range of challenging roads in the Cotswolds, some of which were unplanned due to a glitch in the navigation. However, that probably enhanced the test, as some genuinely challenging roads were undertaken by myself and a driving colleague.

The stiffer chassis and upgraded rear suspension smooth out all but the worst potholes and bumps, delivering a ride that is comfortable with good steering feedback, especially in Sport mode.

On some winding country lanes it felt stable, even when pushed to the limit.

Claimed range on the Design is 316 miles, with the Excellence, with the extra motor, returning 292 miles. It was difficult to judge with just a limited drive, so these figures should be treated as provisional.

A new 800V architecture allows for 220kW charging, meaning a 10-80% top-up takes just 25 minutes. It also retains Vehicle-to-Load for charging external devices.

Practicality

Boot space has now increased by 50 litres to 490 litres. The ATTO 3 Evo also has a 60:40 split-folding rear bench. In addition, it now features a new 95-litre front ‘frunk’ under the bonnet (a space where a traditional engine would be), which is perfect for storing charging cables.

Safety and Warranty

Safety kit includes a full suite of airbags, autonomous emergency braking, hill-start and descent control, and lane-keep assist. BYD backs it with a six-year, 93,750-mile warranty, plus eight years or 155,350 miles for the battery.

And the party piece?

And yes, the door pockets still play guitar licks. I even picked out Smoke On The Water again. The ATTO 3 Evo has matured – but it still knows how to rock.