review with features, price and specifications

There was a day when that t-shirt you are wearing was made in Spain. It’s almost hard to believe it now that globalization has brought the mass manufacturing of T-shirts, pants and dresses to China, Vietnam or Bangladesh. Today, decades after that happened, Temu and Shein want to make us a new suit with fast fashion even more fastwith compulsive purchases and products that They flood the streets due to their low price.

There is no doubt that They have made us Europeans a suit. And if we’re talking cars, that suit is custom made. We were thinking of stopping Chinese electric cars with tariffs. These seemed like the great threat, the paradigm shift facing the European industry.

But not. Chinese manufacturers have understood well that not all Europe is the same. That not all of us need or want an electric car. The combustion engine continues to be useful and attractive to a large part of the population. And when combined with a large battery they have the best product for many. Electric in everyday life, peace of mind for traveling.

Plug-in hybrids are another one of those tailored suits that have arrived from China. The European Union has not imposed tariffs on these. The problem is that you can see the seams on this Jaecoo 7 SHS.

Jaecoo 7 SHS technical sheet

Understanding the market

Not all of Europe is advancing at the same pace. According to ACEA data9.4% of cars sold in Europe in 2025 were plug-in hybrids. Although they increased by 33.4% compared to the previous year, the figures are very far from the 17.4% market share of the electric car. A technology supported, above all, by Germany and Francecountries with greater purchasing power than Spain, in which they increased by 43.4% and 12.5%. Together they sold about 772,000 electric cars, more than 40% of the cars sold in Europe.

The data contrasts with the Spanish. Here the plug-in hybrid It sold more than the electric one (9.52% market share compared to the 8.39% market share of the pure electric one). And in the first data from January the advantage is widening in favor of the plug-in with a combustion engine, according to Anfac data.

The sale of Chinese cars in Spain also contrasts with the rest of Europe. These companies have not hesitated to enter the continent through our country, aware that we are less loyal to our brands, that we look for more affordable cars or with best quality-equipment-price ratio. And there, Chinese plug-in hybrids have a lot to say, with fewer ties than an electric car and without the obligation to pay tariffs that mitigate their competitiveness in the final price compared to traditional firms.

It is no coincidence that, as of January, three of the 10 best-selling plug-in hybrid cars are Chinese. He BYD Seal U aspires to repeat as the best-selling plug-in hybrid in Spain but the Omoda 9 and the Lynk&Co 01. All of them are cars that want to offer a good image, great autonomy and a lot of space for less money than their competitors.

In that same space, the Jaecoo 7 SHS wants to compete, the plug-in hybrid version, of a car that we already had the opportunity to test briefly in its gasoline version and that left us with some doubts about its behavior but for which we saw a very clear market niche in a Spain eager for an affordable offer that does not want to give up the pyrotechnics of modern cars.

Neither yes, nor no, nor quite the opposite

If the Jaecoo 7 reminds you of a Land Rover, let me tell you that I understand you. It is not a coincidence because Chery (group to which Jaecoo belongs) and Land Rover They have been and are partners in China. The proposal, from what I get, I like. The car attracts attention and attracts the eyes of those looking for a compact vehicle that treads in the 4.50 meter area but that provides a feeling of greater volume or packaging.

Inside, things are different. Like? I think it draws attention. And all-screen cars continue to attract attention and feel groundbreaking. Maybe not among car enthusiasts but among those who are approaching the new car market for the first time after many years. Let us remember that The average age of the Spanish vehicle fleet is 14.5 years.

It is through the eyes where it enters the Jaecoo 7 SHS and most of the Chinese proposals. The client, who is also evaluating a Dacia Duster and you have found a very plastic and certainly rough interior, you sit here in a good electric seat, with soft materials within reach and a 14.8-inch screen with very good visual quality. Through the window, the salesperson shows you an endless list of equipment that the car already includes as standard.

Electric seats, heated steering wheel, cameras with 360º vision (Jaecoo calls it a 540º camera) to see what is under the car, adaptive cruise control with lane center maintenance, 50W wireless and cooled charging for the mobile phone, compatibility with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 18 driving assistance systems…

From there, it remains to convince the client on the move. A phase in which it is very likely that a short test will be carried out, in an urban space. The car shines in this context. It is, in fact, your best asset. The Jaecoo 7 is a car that moves easily through traffic, which is very comfortable when facing potholes or bumps and whose steering is very easy to steer thanks to the fact that it is very soft at low speed. Located very high, it is easy to have control of all the crevices, all the corners of the car.

But it is outside this environment where The seams are starting to show on the suit. That ease that the car has to move through urban traffic turns into a certain clumsiness when we hit the road. That easy-to-drive steering in the city feels too artificial on the open road, both on the highway and on the highway. It gains firmness with the increase in speed but is so filtered that it becomes difficult to get it where you want.

The suspensions, very soft and comfortable in metropolitan terrain, become too soft. The car does not suffer from being a “boat”, it does not suffer from moving the masses from one place to another lazily, but it does feel like it is floating on the road, not very settled, which generates some discomfort when taking a roundabout or braking firmly. The low-friction tires that this unit was fitted with didn’t help this either.

It is its behavior on the road that leaves us cold and its biggest mole. Engine performance is better than the gasoline-only version. The Jaecoo 7 is designed to act as a series hybrid in most cases. This means that we will almost always have the feel of an electric car, with firmer acceleration and fewer vibrations. The gasoline engine (1.5 T GDI fifth generation that develops 140 HP) acts as a generator for the battery, which powers the electric motors.

Except for specific occasions, the combustion engine rotates in the most efficient rev range. It’s when we demand more power when the Jaecoo 7 revs the gasoline block to increase power and also push the wheels. At that moment, its presence is felt in the cabin both in terms of sound and refinement. It speaks well of the car’s general insulation but not so much of its combustion engine.

In general terms, in most cases and especially if we move around the city and its surroundings, the Jaecoo 7 is a very interesting car. Especially if it moves in exclusively electric mode because it has enough power to get out of any trouble and, with the combustion engine off, forget about noise and vibrations. The driving comfort of the electric is there during, in our case, the 58 kilometers that we have gotten out of the battery in purely electric mode. Furthermore, the extra power that should be noticeable with the entry of the combustion engine (Jaecoo promises 340 HP) does not feel like it.

Once we have exhausted the battery, the consumption of this Jaecoo 7 SHS has moved by about 7 liters/100 kilometers. A figure that is not bad at all. Acting as a normal hybrid car and having fully filled the battery, consumption has moved by just over 3 liters/100 km until the battery, again, has been exhausted well into the hundred kilometers already covered.

It is there, in the long tripswhere we have the most problems. Because of the driving sensations already mentioned but also because the operation of its adaptive cruise control has not offered us great results although it has not scared us with unexpected braking as has happened to us in other Chinese cars. Here, you can see that it is better tuned than other vehicles that came directly from the Asian country and that have not been driven in the slightest in Europe.

But also for ergonomics. With the Apple CarPlay on (we have not tested with it Android Auto), performance has suffered. Without them active, the general operation has been good but the automation of the lights and windshield wipers has not been particularly good, the latter always being a little slow and poorly adapted to the amount of water that has fallen on us during the days of the test.

Xataka’s conclusion

The Jaecoo 7 SHS is a plug-in hybrid that can meet the demands of those looking for this technology to move around a metropolis and its ring roads most days. In this space, at contained speeds, you can have an electric car with the guarantee of being “protected” by a gasoline tank.

It is on long trips where the client has to make the most concessions, where the seams are most visible on the suit. The one proposed by the Jaecoo 7 SHS defines the silhouette very well, it suits you perfectly when you are in the fitting room. But at the same time, it bothers your neck a little when you wear it for a long time, it pulls on your armpit and waist when you dance.

Anyone looking in the market for a plug-in hybrid with a size of about 4.50 meters and at a price that is not exorbitant, can be a particularly interesting option if they also charge at home. If you are looking for better sensations or better rolling quality, there are other options on the market.

Photos | Xataka

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