PODCAST: Jetour X70 Plus seven-seater is a real budget beater

Jetour recently became the third sub-brand of Chinese carmaker Chery to function under its own label in South Africa.

While parent brand Chery and sub-labels Omoda and Jaecoo’s model ranges follow a rather relatable design language, the first two Jetour models are worlds apart. The Dashing is a sporty offering styled along the likes of the Lamborghini Urus. On the other hand, you’d be forgiven for thinking the X70 Plus looks very much like the Chery Tiggo Pro models.

Seven-up for Jetour X70 Plus

But the Jetour X70 Plus has a huge ace up its sleeve in the form of offering seven seats. The only other seven-seater in the entire Chery stable is the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro. Starting at a price of R609 800, the Tiggo 8 Pro is the pinnacle of the core Chery brand.

Priced at R454 900 for the Momentum and R484 900 for the Deluxe, the Jetour X70 Plus slots into a largely unoccupied part of the segment. On the one side there are plenty of affordable but less refined seven-seaters like the Suzuki Ertiga, Honda BR-V and Mitsubishi Xpander. The better appointed seven-seaters in the heritage stables like the VW Tiguan Allspace and Toyota Fortuner are much more expensive.

Bigger than Grand Creta

The closest rival to the Jetour X70 Plus is probably the Hyundai Grand Creta. But even this comparison is not really a fair contest. At 4 724mm, the Jetour is 224mm longer than the Grand Creta which will make huge difference in rear legroom. And the entry point to the Hyundai Grand Creta range is R65k than the gateway to the Jetour X70 Plus range.

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Both Jetour X70 Plus derivatives are powered by Chery’s familiar 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine that produces 115kW of power and 130Nm of torque. The twist goes to the front wheels via six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Jetour only made its South African debut in September, but hit the ground running with very impressive sales of 568 units across the Dashing and X70 Plus ranges in October.