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In June 2025, we had the opportunity to take control of the Omoda 9 SHS. After a Omoda 5 called to carve out a niche in the entry range that, in 2026, is also elbowing its way in among non-plug-in hybrids (it is already among the 10 best sellers so far this year), the Chery Group showed us what they aspire to be one of their flagship models.

The Omoda 9 SHS burst onto the market with the clear objective of attacking the premium range for a fraction of its price. Plug-in hybridization, more than 100 kilometers of electric range, endless equipment and more than 500 HP were its arguments. At the moment, it is another car that is already among the 10 best-selling vehicles with this technology in Spain.

We tell all this because Chery now presents us with the Jaecoo 8 SHS. A car that wants to be more than just another brother of the Omoda 9 SHS. A car that seeks its own identity.

And he gets it.

Jaecoo 8 SHS technical sheet

The challenge is to be different

When someone asks me about the impact of Chinese cars in our country, I am clear. There are two spaces they can conquer. One is the low range, with MG leading the way by putting cars on the market that are below the price of Dacia. And they are raising their perception of interior quality.

The second is the plug-in hybrid. These cars do not pay the tariff that electric cars do have to pay, which limits their possibilities to play on price. But that doesn’t happen with this technology.. And the result is evident: ultra-competitive prices. They can enter the fight at the floor price of this technology with very complete equipment.

Or they can do like Chery with the Omoda 9 SHS and the Jaecoo 8 SHS, cars with a high quality perceptionengines that advertise outrageous powers and relatively high prices. But prices that have no comparison with European ones. Neither by size, nor by equipment, nor by power.

The challenge of the Jaecoo 8 SHS is to have its own personality and separate itself from its Omoda brother to simply attract two different audiences instead of cannibalizing itself. In fact, during the presentation of the product, Francesco Colonnese, Vice President of Omoda & Jaecoo, already told us that they do not conceive the strategy as two different companies. They simply hope that the potential customer arrives at the dealership and stays with the aspect of the product that interests them most. If you bet on design, Omoda. If you bet on functionality, Jaecoo.

That is why the Jaecoo 8 SHS has been given that character to work with the design. The car has an image clearly focused on pleasing those who like more off-road vehicles than SUVs. The huge grill confirms this, as do its square shapes. Inside, the possibility of being able to order it with seven seats and, despite everything, maintaining 700 liters of trunk space (measured to the roof) speaks volumes about that practicality. The five-seater option increases capacity by another 30 liters.

As with its smaller brothers, Jaecoo clearly focuses its marketing strategy on customers in rural areas. They seek to please those who, for some reason, they seek to get off the asphalt at specific moments. The car has a mechanical rear differential that is activated from the central screen. Of course, the ground clearance is 18 centimeters so it is not a car to get into trouble on offroad.

During the presentation we went out on some tracks without much difficulty but we found that it moves with ease and confidence when the terrain gets a little complicated. In addition, the good quality of the cameras is a good point in these terrains and the hill descent system works very well. That is, the car is not intended to replace a Toyota Land Cruiser or a Jeep Wrangler or Defender. It is also no competition for a Suzuki Jimny. But it is a very good idea so that he has to leave the asphalt with some regularity on easy paths, I think of ranchers, farmers or those who fish or hike as a hobby.

If things get complicated, the car comes standard with specific driving modes for Sand, Snow or an Off-Road mode (in addition to the classic Eco, Comfort and Sport). All of them act on the suspension, which is adaptive, and on the steering.

The car is, therefore, a very interesting option for that rural environment where it is easy to have access to a domestic outlet. It has an electric range of 134 kilometers that come from its CATL 34.5 kWh LMFP type battery (manganese is added to classic lithium and iron phosphate to improve density) which allows alternating current charges of up to 6.6 kW and 70 kW direct current.

On the move, the car feels comfortable and well settled. It uses the same scheme that we have seen in the Omoda 9 SHS. The car is powered by a 1.5-liter turbocharged combustion engine and three electric motors. Of these three engines, two are located in the front (122 and 102 HP) and another behind drives the rear wheels (238 HP). Altogether, it can generate up to 428 HP of power.

Most of the time, the Jaecoo 8 SHS moves with the impulse of electric motors. The gasoline engine usually works as an electricity generator for the battery that powers the engines. This gives the car an electric feel since in that case it works like a series hybrid. Of course, the gasoline engine can also drive the wheels at the same time as the electric motors if the driver demands it. For its part, the operation of the rear engine is testimonial, it is designed to operate on those occasions in which greater acceleration is required.

The good news is that the car has a strong first impulse and moves easily, with that liveliness typical of an electric car. The bad thing is that one has the feeling that the car has less power than what the technical sheet indicates. However, that first impulse is more than enough to move with agility and security and one can go fast if they want. Furthermore, I have not had the feeling that it is difficult to “wake up” the combustion engine as has happened to me with cars with similar schemes.

As for the driving aids, we did not have the opportunity to test them thoroughly. We did get the feeling that the lane keeping system is aggressive and should be better calibrated. Once it detects that we can leave the lane, it sticks us in it and drives us hard, like a Scalextric car that walks on rails without the possibility of taking another route.

It is, perhaps, the biggest negative point of a car in which we noticed a steering with a little more weight than in the Omoda 9 SHS, too soft and light in the latter case. The brake pedal could also be a little better resolved. Of course, with the help of the screen we can configure the steering and brake response, which is appreciated.

We have highlighted all of the above because we believe that they are the greatest differentiating points of the Jaecoo 8 SHS vs. Omoda 9 SHS. The interior is similar but also plays to a certain differentiation. Here, the materials are pleasant, with soft plastics well distributed throughout the front area where two 12.3-inch screens with good resolution stand out, accompanied by a very bright Head-Up Display.

However, the perception is that the interior of the Omoda 9 SHS is designed more for long trips, to please the traveler to a greater extent. The selection of materials points to a warmer interior. The Jaecoo 8 SHS is more functional. They are still nice materials but there are smooth surfaces in places where the Omoda 9 has padding such as the front of the dashboard. I do not consider it to be a downgradeI think it has more to do with its concept of a practical car, with surfaces that are more easily cleaned.

For the rest, the new plug-in hybrid from Jaecoo comes with a very extensive equipment that includes cameras with 360º projection, 20 ADAS aid systems, heated and ventilated seats and with speakers in the case of the driver so that navigation instructions or a call only reaches him and does not interrupt the rest of the passengers. The system, by the way, works really well.

It has, again, very extensive equipment. With its own hallmarks, such as that mechanical rear differential, and with a price of 54,900 euros for the five-seater version (55,750 euros for the seven-seater) which already includes everything except the extra paint but with the discounts from the brand’s campaigns and State aid (which Omoda & Jaecoo match the maximum amount and advance) it remains at 44,490 euros.

Is it a lot of money?

The real question is whether any Western competitor offers a car with this size, power, space, technology and equipment for the same money.

Photos | Xataka

In Xataka | Omoda and Jaecoo have bet everything on cars packed with equipment at a good price. They want to repeat with hybrids and electric