Jaecoo 7 goes on sale to mark brand's UK debut

Chinese car maker Jaecoo has started accepting orders for its debut model, the 7 SUV.

Priced from £29,435, the Jaecoo 7 is offered with a petrol or plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain.

Jaecoo is a luxury-focused marque from automotive group Chery and is a sister brand to Omoda.

When the cars arrive in the UK, in January, they will rival top-selling models such as the NIssan Qashqai, Kia Sportage and VW Tiguan.

Jaecoo says the 7 combines "impressive" off-road ability, performance and efficiency with a "stylish" exterior design and a "tech-rich" interior. To meet the duality of its urban and off-road brief, the car is available in both front- and four-wheel drive configurations, with the latter starting at £32,850.

For fleet and business customers the PHEV model is expected to have the largest appeal. Available with front-wheel drive only, it features an 18.3kWh battery that provides an all-electric range of 56 miles and combines with the petrol engine to produce 204PS.

With a 60-litre fuel tank, Jaecoo says the 7 PHEV has an "exceptional" range of 745 miles and a combined (WLTP) fuel economy figure of 403mpg, or 47mpg with a depleted battery.

Prices for the PHEV start at £35,065.

The petrol-powered Jaecoo 7 uses a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine with 147PS and combined fuel consumption of 37.7mpg.

The cabin features a 14.8-inch central touchscreen alongside a 10.25-inch digital instrument panel and a head-up display (HUD). Heated and ventilated seats are provided as standard along with a cool box under the central armrest.

Multi-colour interior lighting options, 50W wireless mobile phone charging, an eight-speaker Sony audio system and a panoramic roof also feature.