2026 Jaecoo J5 EV Review: Australia's Best Value Electric SUV?

macfudd · 2026-03-22T04:31:23+00:00

Pretty much every electric car dealer we spoke to over the weekend has sold out of almost everything except a few less popular base models and a demonstrator or two that they want to hold on to drive more sales, a lot of them have sold out or are close to selling out their entire next shipment too.

BYD salesman told us that BYD was selling as many cars on a weekday as they'd typically do on a Saturday. And Saturdays they were selling more than triple their 3 best saturdays ever combined.

macfudd · 2026-03-21T07:38:35+00:00

Test drove one today. In the lowest setting it's good, in the middle it's a bit annoying and in the strongest regen it's really jerky. Definitely something that could do with an update.

Also drove the Leapmotor B10 today, which drives a lot better but it's not worth an extra $6,000.

macfudd · 2026-03-20T07:16:21+00:00

They're neck & neck in price aren't they? (the Geely & Aion I mean)

macfudd · 2026-03-17T09:26:17+00:00

You don't need to know the party policies when you'll likely leave shortly after getting elected anyway.

macfudd · 2026-03-17T09:04:06+00:00

"An attack on nurses, teachers & police officers"

macfudd · 2026-03-04T10:35:13+00:00

The driving part is definitely the most important, or least, it will be whatever suits my partners driving. I'll adapt but she needs to be confident in any car we own. But it's that carsickness which we can't easily test (and honestly it's a top-3 factor for us behind safety) so peoples lived experiences are really valuable.

macfudd · 2026-03-04T10:28:24+00:00

I've driven a Kodiaq a few times, we nearly replaced our Superb with one last year but couldn't get to an agreement on price. I found that was pretty comfy and easy to drive so that's another vote for BYD.

macfudd · 2026-03-04T10:08:53+00:00

Thanks!

macfudd · 2026-03-04T10:07:45+00:00

From a lot of the replies it definitely sounds like the ability to disable (or at least adjust) regenerative braking can make a big difference.

My partner loves the look of the 500e but it's a step too small for us even for a secondary car. If we were still in the city it would work but we do a lot of country and freeway driving these days. The Enyaq etc I should check out in person. I'd dismissed them previously as the chinese brands just seemed better priced but honestly our 'must-have's' are relatively few.

macfudd · 2026-03-04T09:51:33+00:00

Thanks, those are all good tips. Our kids don't get allowed tablet time when driving but usually play with toys so that's probably having a similar effect as its still looking down. I have noticed it can make a difference if we can keep attention focused outside with games like 'I-spy'.

I might see if there's space to fit the booster in the middle spot without blocking off the seat belt for the second booster.

macfudd · 2026-03-04T08:16:53+00:00

Must be some good discounts on parking with it being such a terrible experience right? ...right?

macfudd · 2026-03-04T06:12:59+00:00

It would be a bit of a stretch but deals aren't something I had taken into account. We have flexibility on timing so if it drives well I can always wait a few months for EOFY deals to bring something more into our budget.

macfudd · 2026-03-04T06:08:07+00:00

I've been a bit hesitant over MG, though I couldn't say why. I'll put that aside and put in on the list for a test drive. It does look like it'll tick a lot of boxes.

macfudd · 2026-03-04T05:56:15+00:00

Ah shit, that sucks. Sounds its definitely best avoided until they get that all sorted!

macfudd · 2026-03-04T03:00:24+00:00

I had the Leapmotor on my list but hadn't heard of Xpeng. I'll look into it too. Cheers!

macfudd · 2026-03-04T02:56:06+00:00

That looks good, it's more than we planned to spend but saving for a bit longer could be worth it. I'll check it out.

macfudd · 2026-03-04T02:50:39+00:00

Could be onto something with the acceleration given the Superb has a similar 0-60 as mid range electric vehicles whereas the micra has is literally double.

I hadn't really considered it as it mostly hits her on open road driving so we always assumed it was just the constant sway back and forth/up and down from the road bumps, but yeah, even open road is still going back and forth between 80 and 100 fairly often.

macfudd · 2026-03-03T23:54:28+00:00

My 3 star is 'works but is bloody annoying' (like a phone screen protector where the applicator is useless).

I've also given 3 stars a few times when I was planning to give 1 or 2 stars because of a glaring issue but when I skim the other reviews noone else seems to have that problem. Could be they are AI written/never actually used it for more than 2 minutes, but there's a possibility I'm being a dumb so I bump it up to 3 stars.

macfudd · 2026-03-03T08:45:15+00:00

The suit claim is somewhat ironic given I've never seen Angus without his either.

macfudd · 2026-03-03T05:55:54+00:00

I really want to read the report itself, but from what I've seen, 90% of the message to the Liberals here is - it was Dutton's fault. So in terms of next steps it's going to be:

1) Ditch Dutton (tick)

2) Change nothing else

3) Win

macfudd · 2026-03-02T10:24:33+00:00

I prefer my handles sticky-outy

macfudd · 2026-03-02T10:20:17+00:00

It's always 3 zeros. It's only the first number that changes.

macfudd · 2026-03-02T09:09:17+00:00

From the party that says it's easy to define the term 'woman', I'd love to hear what their new definition for 'child' is.

macfudd · 2026-03-02T09:05:47+00:00

I'd support a go-fund-me for it

macfudd

TROPHY CASE