Jaecoo 5 Electric 58.9kWh Review: Simple. Honest. No Fuss.

The Jaecoo 5 Electric offers 402km of range, 205hp and impressive practicality. Is this fuss-free electric SUV worth considering in Singapore?

Singapore – The Jaecoo 5 may be the cheapest thing available within the Chinese carmaker’s current lineup here. But it retails at just $1,000 less than the next cheapest thing on their list.

But what is it?

So a few months ago, Jaecoo launched their Jaecoo 8 Plug-in Hybrid – three-row SUV to quite a bit of fanfare. In-fact, I even participated in their “Takumi Challenge” and won first place. Alongside the launch of their flagship car, Jaecoo also pulled the covers off the J5 SUV, albeit a slightly muted fanfare.

It doesn’t take much to notice that Jaecoo seemingly likes to ape Land Rover when it comes to the design of their vehicles. The J6 SUV bears an uncanny resemblance to the Defender, while the J7, J8 and now the Jaecoo 5 have all taken a leaf out the Range Rover Sport – sloping roof included. While my title does speak of what I think the Jaecoo 5 is, perhaps the lesser honest bit would be if this were to be claimed as an all-original design.

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With that said, the Jaecoo 5 does look decent. A slab-sided design, coupled with a slim LED light signature makes for a good-looking SUV.

The cabin’s pretty ok

On the inside, you get a portrait style 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. While it does lack buttons, there is a bar at the base of the screen, where the air-conditioning toggles are kept. I like that there is a relatively low learning curve to the infotainment, which really means that you’d probably to simply hop into the car and learn on the fly. There is a ventilated charging pad for your mobile device, so that you can keep your Spotify going for a long time without worrying about charge.

While the cabin uses a lot of grey and piano black plastics, I like that the top of the dashboard is texturised. Overall, the dashboard does not feel cheapskate, but it is also clear that it is built to a cost.

Passenger space is decent. While that sloping roof does eat into some headroom at the rear, I found no issues with headroom.

The boot offers generous flat loading space, and at 480 litres, it is 53 litres more than what the larger-in-class Aion V has. According to Jaecoo, the 5’s frunk is actually washable – which is great if you are the sort who’d need to dump your used sporting wear somewhere.

A B-side Cat

What is interesting though, is that the Jaecoo 5 is only available with one power option. While many similar-size electric SUVs are offered in Singapore with Category A power, Jaecoo has kept the 5 as a Category B car.

The Jaecoo 5 is a front-wheel drive affair, putting out 205hp and 288Nm. This gets the electric SUV to the 100km/h benchmark in 7.7 seconds… Not too shoddy if you ask me. However, I do find myself chirping the front wheels quite often.

It is no surprise that the suspension is tuned for comfort here. Therefore the 5 is best driven in a relaxed manner.

I do however have a beef with the 5’s regenerative braking, as it only turns on the moment you release the accelerator pedal. While this does not affect me much, or at all, since I tend to turn down the regenerative braking settings on EVs to the lowest, or off at all. But if the regenerative braking is set any higher here, you’d find that the 5 can get somewhat lurch-y, if you were to lift off the accelerator pedal. Therefore over here, the car may or may not agree with you, depending on your driving style.

With a range of 402km, the Jaecoo 5’s range is around the current average. Competing cars like the Dongfeng Vigo clock in at 471km, while the BYD ATTO 2 makes do with 345km of range. With all of that said, the Jaecoo 5 does produce more grunt.

It’s all about the price, about the price…

Retailing at $178,999*, the Jaecoo 5 is virtually the same as the Category A COE J6 (here’s the review of the Category B variant of the J6). Perhaps not looking as “outdoorsy” as its stablemate, could be the appeal of the Jaecoo 5 to some.

* Correct at time of publication

Text & Photos: Clifford Chow

Pros	Cons
Well-packaged interior	Some interior cabin materials could still be better
Pleasant styling	Needs buttons
Comfortable drive	Regenerative braking only happens when the throttle is off

Jaecoo 5 Electric 58.9kWh

Drivetrain	Full Electric
Layout	Single Motor, Front-wheel Drive
Motor power / torque	205hp / 210Nm
Battery capacity	58.9kWh
Efficiency	16.6kwh/100km
Electric Range	402km
0-100km/h	7.7 seconds
Top Speed	175km/h
VES Band	A
Dealer	Vertex Automobile
Price	S$178,999 with COE and VES
Verdict	Comfortable, not too fussy honest transport