2025 Jaecoo J7 SHS vs BYD Sealion 6 Essential comparison: Spec battle

A plug-in hybrid (PHEV) mid-size SUV is the best resolution for Australian households on a one-car price range.

Till lately although, except for the favored Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Haval H6 GT PHEV and MG H6 Plus EV, the fuel-saving powertrain know-how has been largely out of attain for a lot of patrons and reserved principally for giant and costly luxurious SUVs.

However a bunch of Chinese language newcomers, together with Jaecoo and BYD, are making it extra accessible with fashions like these, the Jaecoo J7 SHS Summit and BYD Sealion 6 Essential.

Each are roughly the identical measurement, each price lower than $50k, each are loaded with the newest security gear and digital applied sciences, and each function a petrol-electric drivetrain with battery packs which might be large enough to deal with the common each day commute with out utilizing a drop of unleaded.

So which one is finest? Let’s discover out…

Dive into an intensive side-by-side evaluation

Together with worth, detailed specs and options

How a lot?

The BYD Sealion 6 vary has been revised for 2025, with a renamed entry-level Important variant (beforehand generally known as the Dynamic) that units a brand new benchmark as essentially the most reasonably priced plug-in mid-size SUV out there in Australia, priced from $42,990 earlier than on-road prices.

Consumers also can select to pay $10k extra for the flagship BYD Sealion 6 Premium that options an extra electrical motor, giving it all-wheel drive, plus extra commonplace gear.

Jaecoo solely gives a single variant of its new J7 with a plug-in powertrain, the range-topping SHS Summit that prices $47,990 drive-away, which makes these two just about lineball on worth as soon as their in your driveway.

There are, nevertheless, three cheaper non-hybrid J7 variants that sit underneath the SHS Summit, together with the entry-level Core 2WD that prices simply $34,990 drive-away, the upper grade Observe 2WD that prices $5k extra, and the all-wheel drive Ridge with a $42,990 drive-away price ticket.

If you happen to’re interested in how the Jaecoo J7 compares to its rivals, take a look at our comparison tool

What do you get?

Each the Jaecoo J7 SHS Summit and BYD Sealion 6 include a beneficiant degree of normal gear.

Widespread options to each automobiles embrace:

• Artificial leather-based trim
• Energy-adjustable entrance seats
• Twin-zone local weather management
• Keyless entry with push-button begin
• Rear passenger air vents
• LED inside lighting
• Twin digital shows
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Satellite tv for pc navigation
• DAB+ digital radio
• Panoramic sunroof

The Jaecoo brings a number of extras which might be lacking from the BYD in Important trim, akin to heated and ventilated entrance seats, a head-up show, wi-fi cellphone charger and embedded satellite tv for pc navigation.

Whereas the Sealion 6 has a bigger 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster (in comparison with 10.25-inch within the J7), its central 12.8-inch touchscreen that may be rotated to both panorama or portrait configurations is smaller than the J7’s fastened 14.8-inch unit.

If you happen to’re interested in how the Jaecoo J7 compares to its rivals, take a look at our comparison tool

Are they secure?

Each the Jaecoo J7 SHS Summit and BYD Sealion 6 have been given a most five-star ANCAP score.

Customary security package for each fashions consists of:

• Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB)
• Ahead Collision Warning
• Emergency Lane Preserving
• Lane Departure Warning
• Adaptive Cruise Management
• Visitors Jam Help
• Blind Spot Detection
• Visitors signal recognition
• Rear cross-traffic alert and braking
• Door opening warning
• Driver consideration monitoring
• Rear parking sensors

The Jaecoo provides a number of extra options which might be lacking from the entry-level Sealion 6, together with entrance parking sensors, a 360-degree digicam, and the beforehand talked about head-up show, plus it has eight airbags together with a driver’s knee and centre airbag, whereas the BYD solely has seven.

If you happen to’re interested in how the Jaecoo J7 compares to its rivals, take a look at our comparison tool

What are they like inside?

As you’d count on for a mid-size SUV, each the Jaecoo and BYD provide loads of area with seating for 5 and first rate cargo carrying capability.

The BYD is fractionally bigger in general size and width, however the Jaecoo rides on a barely longer wheelbase which opens up the cabin a bit extra, matching the Sealion 6 for rear seat room, however compromising boot area. With 340 litres of whole quantity behind the rear seats, the Jaecoo J7 is extra on par with a small hatch, whereas the BYD boot is considerably bigger and gives extra depth.

As for what they seem like inside and the way they perform, the Jaecoo J7 has a cultured but a lot less complicated aesthetic with a horizontal dashboard design that options floating digital screens and a dominant centre console working the size between the motive force and passenger seats.

It seems to be good and the standard of supplies current nicely, with soft-touch fake leather-based and brushed aluminium highlights all through. And it feels spacious and ethereal due to the panoramic glass roof and lighter-coloured roof liner.

The seats are comfy and it’s good to have each heated and cooled air flow to fight our excessive local weather, however they don’t have a lot lateral help.

The big tablet-style infotainment display within the centre is shiny and clear, with a logical menu construction to entry the myriad of features out there. It will be good to have a collection of bodily controls for often-used components such because the audio quantity and air flow, but it surely turns into simpler when you’re conversant in the shortcuts out there.

There are some unusual components within the Jaecoo that take extra time to get accustomed to, such because the convex form of the rear-view mirror, the upside-down controls for the facility home windows, and the alarming noise of the door handles retracting into the physique each time you set off.

The BYD Sealion 6’s cabin has extra wow issue on face worth thanks its contrasting brown-on-black color palette, sweeping dashboard format, and its rotating touchscreen celebration trick.

However, despite the fact that it too has a full-length glass roof, it feels a little bit extra cosy than the Jaecoo with a darker headliner.

In any other case, each have wonderful headroom and loads of area throughout the again seats, plus rear vents, energy retailers and cupholders within the centre armrest, in addition to many handy choices for small merchandise storage.

The BYD’s better boot area is extra useful for bigger households, however the seats don’t fold totally flat like they do within the Jaecoo, which permits loading of bigger gadgets.

If you happen to’re interested in how the Jaecoo J7 compares to its rivals, take a look at our comparison tool

What’s underneath the bonnet?

Philosophically, there’s not lots that separates these two.

Each the Jaecoo J7 SHS Summit and BYD Sealion 6 Important pair a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a single electrical motor that drives the entrance wheels and is powered by a comparatively giant 18.3kWh battery.

Nevertheless, the Jaecoo’s inside combustion engine incorporates a turbocharger, whereas the BYD is of course aspirated, which helps the previous produce considerably larger outputs.

Within the Jaecoo, the petrol engine alone develops 105kW of energy and 215Nm of torque, in comparison with simply 72kW and 122Nm for the BYD. With the addition of an electrical motor for every car, which produce nearly similar outputs (150kW/310Nm versus 145kW/300Nm), Jeacoo claims the J7 has a most mixed energy of 255kW and a V8-like 525Nm of torque, whereas the Sealion 6 produces considerably much less at 160kW/300Nm.

Nevertheless, the online result’s that each SUVs can be utilized to cowl the common each day commute as an electric-only car, with the power to cowl round 90km of driving on battery energy alone, and super-low mixed gas consumption figures of 1.0L/100km and 1.1L/100km respectively.

If you happen to’re interested in how the Jaecoo J7 compares to its rivals, take a look at our comparison tool

Price of possession

Each of those newcomer manufacturers present wonderful long-term proprietor advantages, however Jaecoo comes out forward with an extended eight-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee in comparison with the Sealion 6’s six-year/150,000km guarantee.

They every include free roadside help for the primary yr, which is reactivated during the guarantee interval when scheduled servicing is accomplished inside their authorised seller networks.

Each require servicing each 12 months, however BYD permits for better annual mileage, and its capped worth servicing scheme extends for greater than a decade.

If you happen to’re interested in how the Jaecoo J7 compares to its rivals, take a look at our comparison tool

CarExpert’s Decide

With each of those vehicles, you may have you ever cake and eat it too.

Every of them offers all you want – and extra – from a mid-size household soft-roader, together with loads of area, a protracted listing of normal gear, the newest in security know-how and conveniences, and environment friendly long-range driving capabilities.

The BYD’ Sealion 6’s listing worth (excluding statutory on-road prices) would possibly look extra enticing, and its bigger boot could possibly be extra handy for bigger households, however the Jaecoo J7 gives extra package, extra energy and is (ever so fractionally) extra reasonably priced to personal.

Occupied with shopping for a BYD Sealion 7? Let CarExpert discover you the perfect deal here

Occupied with shopping for a Jaecoo J7? Let CarExpert discover you the perfect deal here

Click on the pictures for the total gallery

MORE: Explore the BYD Sealion 6 showroom

MORE: Explore the Jaecoo J7 showroom