During the recent Jaecoo J7 PHEV fuel efficiency drive, we spotted the Jaecoo J6 at the Omoda & Jaecoo showroom in Singapore. The funky boxy electric SUV was open for booking in the island nation last week and its presence at the outlet gave us an opportunity to take a closer look.
Revealed in China back in 2023 as the iCar 03 (iCar is yet another Chery sub-brand), the J6 is quite a bit shorter than the J7. It measures just 4,406 mm long but a massive 1,910 mm wide and 1,715 mm tall, while its wheelbase is a generous 2,715 mm long.
The tall and wide stance gives the J6 a quasi-4×4 appearance not too dissimilar to the Land Rover Defender. The visual connection to the latter is heightened by the boxy design, chunky wheel arch extensions, upright wraparound glasshouse, black roof and even the sideways-opening tailgate.
Adding a bit of funk to the styling are the tessellated “i” daytime running lights and taillights (a nod to the iCar brand), the former joining the slim headlight/grille bar. The Singapore model gets the illuminated “i” front badge (rather than the usual chrome “Jaecoo” script) and the sizeable 40 litre rear storage “backpack”, which us Malaysians have been promised will get.
This is our first proper look at the interior of a right-hand-drive J6, with the Land Rover cues continuing in the distinctive green-and-black colour scheme, large grab handles on the centre console and door cards, copious amounts of metallic silver trim and even exposed Allen bolt heads.
As befits a Chinese car these days, there’s tech aplenty, including a 9.2-inch digital instrument display and a huge 15.6-inch infotainment touchscreen running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 processor. You also get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a voice assistant, a cooled 50-watt Qi wireless charger, a panoramic glass roof and a 12-speaker Infinity sound system.
Standard kit in Singapore include automatic LED head- and taillights, 19-inch alloy wheels with aero fairings, roof rails, keyless entry and start, six-way driver’s and four-way passenger-side power-adjustable seats with ventilation and massage functions, faux leather upholstery an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, a 360-degree camera and a 3.3 kW vehicle-to-load (V2L) function.
You of course also get a full complement of driver assists that include autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane centring assist, blind spot monitoring, a front departure alert, rear collision warning, rear cross traffic alert and a door opening warning. Eight airbags and stability control come standard.
Jaecoo has taken another book out of the Land Rover playbook by giving the J6 an all-aluminium structure, but beaten the storied British brand with an all-electric powertrain. The car you see here is the all-wheel-drive version – the only variant currently offered in Singapore – with dual motors delivering a total system output of 279 PS (205 kW) and 385 Nm of torque.
These motors are juiced by a 69.77 kWh Blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery from BYD. Despite the decent capacity, modest outputs and scant (by EV standards) 1,879 kg kerb weight, the WLTP-rated range is fairly poor at just 345 km combined, presumably due to the blocky aerodynamics. The same car in Thailand has slightly more range at 364 km, which still isn’t spectacular.
Charging speeds are also fairly low, with DC fast charging capped at 80 kW, bringing the state of charge from 30 to 80% in 30 minutes. You also get just 6.6 kW of maximum AC charging power, taking 10.5 hours for a full charge. Aside from the AWD model, the J6 is also available in other markets in rear-wheel-drive form with 184 PS (135 kW), 220 Nm of torque and a 65.69 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery delivering a WLTP range of 371 km.
The J6 is set to arrive in Malaysia early this year, following on from the J7 PHEV which will be launched very soon. Would you get this over a burgeoning pack of electric SUVs and sedans that are already here? Sound off in the comments after the jump.
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Boxy and tall doesn’t go well with EV range. That’s why the Tesla looks smooth and low. They have to substitute the steel with aluminium to compensate the shapes lack of aero dynamics to gain some range.
dc and ac charging speed is comical
Jaecoo is getting good acceptance recently. seems to be haeding the right way. however, i am disappointed that they still in the ‘copycat’ mentality. lack of creative leadership and design capability like BYD.
Gross
345km WLTP range on almost 70kWh battery pack, real world range 80% of claimed WLTP equals to 276km. Sufficient for city driving but efficiency is just horrendous. EV guzzler. AC charging of 6.6kw is slow. Let’s hope they launch 11kw AC charging with at least min 150kw fast dc charging.