We drove the Jaecoo J7 PHEV from Singapore to Hat Yai on one tank of petrol, setting a new record for fuel economy

The Jaecoo J7 PHEV is an incredibly efficient SUV with incredible range from a full tank. How much range? We drove from Singapore to Thailand to find out. 

The J7 PHEV is a plug-in hybrid SUV from Jaecoo, a sub-brand of the heavily refreshed Chery group. In its official stats, the J7 PHEV has a WLTP estimated maximum range of 1,200km on a full tank and a full charge. However, Jaecoo wanted to know what the real-world maximum range of the J7 PHEV was, and they called on us media to help them find out. 

The Jaecoo J7 PHEV previously went on another long-range test in China, driven by media from seven countries on a 1,300km route from Guangzhou to Wuhu. On that occasion, the team from the UK came out on top, with their total range of 1,353km surpassing the official estimate by 153km. 

However, as incredible as that result was, Jaecoo clearly thought it could be even better, and organised another drive for Singaporean and Malaysian media. This time, the route would stretch over 1,000km from Singapore to Hat Yai in Thailand. 

Much like the original drive, this was an efficiency challenge to see which team could reach the finish line in Hat Yai with the most mileage remaining. TL;DR - Our car won. We finished the drive with a total mileage of 1,427.5km, the longest range ever recorded for the Jaecoo J7. 

Our car's total distance travelled and range remaining.

Our car’s fuel consumption averaged out at 28.57km/L, substantially higher than the official 15.15km/L. We also managed to eke out 108km of pure electric driving, 18km more than the official figure. 

Our trip started at the Omoda & Jaecoo (O&J) Ubi showroom in Singapore. The cars had been filled to the brim and batteries juiced up before they were sealed with a “Do Not Remove” sticker. 

There were five Jaecoo J7 PHEVs on the trip, three from Malaysia and two from Singapore. Each car was shared between two journalists who would split driving duties over the next three days. 

The flag-off from Jaecoo's Singapore showroom.

My co-driver and I quickly decided that for our best chance at winning the competition, we would run without air-conditioning for the entire drive. We also turned off absolutely everything in the car that could use extra energy. That meant no radio, no Bluetooth, no headlights, no heads-up display, and no charging of any devices. We even turned the infotainment screen and digital gauge cluster to their minimum brightness. 

And so, with our Jaecoo J7 running as barebones as we could get it, we set off on our epic voyage. Our first stint of the drive would be to get through the Singapore morning traffic and cross the border into Malaysia. The J7’s EV-only driving mode came in crucial here to save the ICE engine from having to work at its least efficient, in heavy traffic. 

The J7’s Super Hybrid system is made up of a 1.5-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and a single electric motor. These are then paired with a 18.3kWh battery and Jaecoo’s 3-speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission. Combined, the engine and motor produce 341hp and 525Nm of torque, enough to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 8.5 seconds and hit 180km/h on the top end. However, for this trip, we would be using none of those acceleration or top speed capabilities.

Once we crossed the border, we carried on to Kuala Lumpur using a combination of B-roads and the main highway. This began three days of some of the most mindful driving I’ve ever done in my life. I had to ensure that acceleration and braking was kept to a minimum, with featherlight taps of the throttle all the power I dared to use. 

And on the highways, it was slipstream city. All five J7s on the drive were sat on the rear bumper of either a truck, tour bus, or another Jaecoo J7 pretty much the entire time we were on the highway. I always knew how important reducing drag was for efficiency but I never realised just how much of an effect it had until now. 

As we were running with the AC off, we cracked our windows ever so slightly for a little bit of ventilation without destroying the aerodynamics of the car. But because the windows were slightly open, we could hear as soon as we were in or out of the slipstream of the vehicle in front. 

Ipoh was one of the cities we passed through en route to Hat Yai.

Driving at 100km/h in dead silence was an eerie experience, with neither wind noise nor engine noise present to break the quiet. It’s also, of course, rather dangerous to drive with all forward visibility replaced by a semi-truck so we don’t recommend you drive like we did. But for the sake of saving as much fuel as possible, we pushed on. 

Thanks to the Super Hybrid system, our battery was able to regain some juice while we were on the highway. This would be perfect for when we got off the highway into KL and its famously bad traffic. Switching to EV mode in the cities would save us from wasting a lot of fuel, a strategy we employed the next day in Penang as well. 

This very pretty heritage hotel in Penang was our home for a night.

The final day of the trip saw us leaving Malaysia and entering Thailand via the land border, a first for me. Crossing into Thailand also meant our three-day air-con-less adventure was coming to an end. 

Although our methods were rather extreme, the efficiency of the Jaecoo J7 is simply astounding. Our car’s total range estimate was 1,427.5km, over 220km more than the official claimed range of 1,200km, an incredibly impressive result for a medium-sized SUV in (mostly) real-world conditions.Sawadeekap!

On the other end of the spectrum, the other Singaporean car ran with the AC and ventilated seats on the entire time, and even they managed over 1,200km of mileage, still more than the official estimate. 

It’s a strange feeling to know you’re the record holder in something, even if its something as niche as this. Thank you Jaecoo Singapore for bringing us along for this record-breaking drive!

Download the Motorist App now. Designed by drivers for drivers, this all-in-one app lets you receive the latest traffic updates, gives you access to live traffic cameras, and helps you manage LTA and vehicle matters.

Did you know we have a Motorist Telegram Channel? Created exclusively for drivers and car owners in Singapore, you can get instant info about our latest promotions, articles, tips & hacks, or simply chat with the Motorist Team and fellow drivers.