The boxy, all-electric Jaecoo J6 eCube dual-motor IWD Allroad helps you enjoy life out of the box
I don’t know about you, but this writer looks at Electric Vehicles as either fun or functional, with the occasional straggler straddling the fine line between the two.
And just to qualify, by “fun”, we don’t necessarily mean fast and sporty, but quirky and off-beat.
As far as we’re concerned, fast isn’t necessarily fun, especially since all EVs can be tuned to be fast, but little else more.
The surge from the instant torque is a novelty that easily impresses those who haven’t been in an EV before, but gets tired very quickly, especially once your rear passengers start looking as green in the face as you think you’re going by driving an electric car.
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We prefer to look towards the oddballs, the fun and the funky and we’ve had our eye on the Jaecoo J6 e-SUV since it was previewed at the Singapore Motor Show earlier this year.
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Why? Just look at its emotionally-charged chunky chic, phat flared “eCube” aesthetic that is shod in 19-inch alloys and wrapped around a steel-aluminium body.
It is part Jimny, part Defender and part G-wagen (squint and you’ll even see hints of the Lamborghini LM002!), with just enough of its own identity and some off-road affectations to keep things interesting.
We particularly like the “i” design elements (the head- and taillights, as well as on the steering wheel), which represent the iCar brand under which this model (it was launched as the iCar 03) was originally previewed, but was subsequently exported to Singapore as the Jaecoo J6.
Another Easter egg we spotted is the discreet silhouette of the J6 on its windscreen, which is a nudge-wink nod to the Willys Jeep silhouette on modern Jeeps.
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It’s pretty staggering to see how far the Chery brand has come since the QQ (Jaecoo is Chery’s sub-brand), especially considering how purposeful the J6 is to wrangle around our concrete jungle.
At the time of writing, there are two variants of the J6 – the dual-motor Cat B iWD we drove and a Cat A single-motor model, both of which are under S$200k on the road, no mean feat given the prevailing $100k COE.
EV aficionados tend to be fixated on technical specifications and equipment levels, even if the added features are things they’ll never use. And this is exactly how many of the Chinese brands ensnare legacy brand car owners.
The honest simplicity of the J6 is a breath of fresh air that we really appreciate.
It certainly doesn’t have everything and the kitchen sink, but from the massive glass roof to the rear exterior storage box (pictured above) and the V2L (Vehicle to Load, which powers your external accessories like a projector or portable stove for instance) feature, all it has we use.
Like most of the modern EVs, the front cabin is dominated by a central touchscreen (15.6-inch in this case) that controls the car’s functions, while a secondary 9.2-inch instrument cluster keeps the driver appraised as to the J6’s current state of being.
We never got a chance to take the J6 off-road, although there are nine drive modes with which to prime the IWD (or Intelligent Wheel Drive) powertrain. In addition to Eco, Standard and Sport, there are Slippery, Sandy, Muddy, Bumpy, All-Road and Custom drive modes that toggle the powertrain to cope with diverse surface conditions.
Don’t sniff at its grit in roughing it out on off-road terrain, because the J6 boasts a 195mm ground clearance and 600mm wading depth.
The J6 doesn’t just look the part of a full-blooded action hero, it has the versatility in cabin utility to play the role convincingly too, thanks to its 2715mm wheelbase and 450l boot space (that is expandable to 1238l with the second-row seats folded down).
Regardless of whether you’re transporting the kids from the soccer team and their muddy gear, serving fur-parent duties or headed for an impromptu overnight glamping expedition, the J6 offers an intelligent use of space that will accommodate all and sundry.
There’s ample storage in the cabin too, with plenty of nooks and crannies to stow one’s knick-knacks.
Even with 205kW (about 275hp) and 385Nm from its 69.77kWh battery, one is never inclined to race around in the J6, simply because it is the type of car that encourages one to slow down and cruise, smell the flowers and enjoy life. It isn’t even that heavy for an electric vehicle, with the J6 tipping the scales at just over 1.8-tonnes.
Range-wise from a fully-juiced battery, we’re looking at under 350km in the WLTP combined cycle, which isn’t a deal-breaker for us. This writer still stands by the opinion that if you don’t have your own charger or easy access to one, going electric is too much of a gamble if you have to deal with the vagaries of public charging.
On the move, there’s a civility and sophistication to the ride comfort that impresses and we understand the chassis to be suitably stiff as well in terms of torsional rigidity. The J6’s damping is more soft than severe, which makes light work of traversing Singapore roads and should have plenty of “give” when you take it off-road.
We can see the J6 taking the fight to fellow lifestyle chunk soul brothers like the Countryman and Jimny, but the final choice will be a matter of personal preference, as opposed to comparing equipment/trim levels.
After all, these cars belong in that rarefied segment that scores high in emotional quotient, versus empirical checklists that are intended to rationalise dollars and cents.
Like its contemporaries, the Jaecoo J6 is a car with plenty of spirit and soul that one buys with the heart, as opposed to the brain.
JAECOO J6 IWD
Battery 69.77kWh, Lithium-Ion
Front Motor 70kW
Rear Motor 135kW
System Power 205kW
System Torque 385Nm
0-100km/h 6.5secs
Top Speed 150km/h
Range (WLTP) 342km (combined)
