Half price heroes: should you buy a new Jaecoo 8 or a used Volvo XC90?

If you’re after a luxurious seven-seat SUV, your choice just got harder with the introduction of the new Jaecoo 8. It has a posh-feeling interior, loads of standard equipment and, at £45,500, a price tag which undercuts alternatives from the established brands.

But what if you want the luxury SUV experience for a fraction of the price? Well I’ve found a great deal on a used Volvo XC90, one of our favourite premium seven-seaters, for half the price of a new Jaecoo 8.

Which car should you buy? I’m going to compare them to find out.

Remember, you can buy a brand new or used car right here on Carwow. And you can sell your car, too. We’re here to help you through every step of your car-changing journey.

New Jaecoo 8 vs used Volvo XC90: prices and value

Let’s start with brass tacks. The new Jaecoo 8 starts from £45,500 for the Luxury trim, and this comes with a lot of kit.

You get heated and ventilated front and rear seats, adaptive cruise control, a surround-view camera and wireless phone charging as standard. For an extra £2,000 you can have the Executive model, which has a pair of captain’s chairs in the back in place of the three-seat bench, making it a six-seater.

You also get a heated steering wheel, a suede headliner and upgraded leather on the seats.

Once you’ve picked a trim level, the only other thing to decide on is the colour, and whether to spend an extra £1,000 on the tan interior. I would, because it looks fabulous.

So, what about the Volvo? Well, I’ve found a 2017 Inscription Pro model with 70,000 miles on the clock for £21,995. That’s less than half the cost of a new Jaecoo 8, and it’s pretty well-equipped.

It has heated front and rear seats, a heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control and a power tailgate. It’s not quite as specced-up as the Jaecoo, but it’s not a million miles away.

In terms of value for money, the Volvo is looking very tempting indeed.

New Jaecoo 8 vs used Volvo XC90: interior and technology

It may be a 10-year-old design, but the Volvo XC90’s interior still looks fabulous. It’s minimalist, without being boring. The multi-layered dashboard and metallic trims keep things looking modern and the build quality is excellent.

It is let down a bit by the tech though, because the small screen with its dark graphics looks dated by today’s standards. You also have to control all the climate functions through the display, but this is the same in the Jaecoo 8.

The Jaecoo’s screen is much bigger and brighter than the Volvo’s, but it’s set quite far back so reaching it can be tricky. I also quite like the dashboard design, even if it is very similar to the Mercedes GLE with its square vents and double screen setup.

The build quality is very nearly a match for the Volvo as well. Both the cars we tested had their driver monitoring sensor fitted wonky, which isn’t great, but on the whole it feels solid and premium, with soft artificial leather covering the dashboard, doors and centre console.

I think the Jaecoo 8 wins in the interior for its more up-to-date technology.

New Jaecoo 8 vs used Volvo XC90: space and practicality

Both of these cars are seven seaters, and in the middle row there’s not much between them. The XC90 does have more legroom, possibly on account of the skinnier front seats, but both cars will accommodate tall adults no problem.

However, the third row is a different story. The Jaecoo 8 is pretty tight in the very back. It’s only really suitable for kids, and if you get the six-seater version then access becomes tricky even for toddlers. It’s not as practical as you might hope for a car of this size.

The Volvo is much more adept at carrying seven people. It’s still not exactly limo-like in the third row, but with the seats in front pushed forward slightly adults can manage for a reasonable amount of time.

Things tip in the Jaecoo’s favour once we get to the boot though. With the third row folded away, it has 738 litres of space. That’s 58 litres more than the Volvo, although the XC90 offers more carrying capacity with all seven seats in place – 302 litres to the Jaecoo’s 110 litres.

Despite the bigger boot, the Volvo XC90 is still a more practical seven-seater thanks to the increased passenger space inside.

New Jaecoo 8 vs used Volvo XC90: engines and driving

The Jaecoo 8 is only available with one engine: a 1.5-litre petrol plug-in hybrid with a whopping 428hp. This means it’ll do 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds, and it can also cover 83 miles on electric power alone.

If you’re shopping for a used XC90, you can choose from petrol, diesel and PHEV engines. The one I’ve picked is the 2.0-litre T8 plug-in hybrid, which has 407hp and does 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds. It may be slightly quicker than the Jaecoo, but with less than 30 miles of EV range it can’t go as far before the engine kicks in.

Out on the road, the Volvo XC90 really shines. It’s not a sporty or aggressive car, but the air suspension soaks up all the imperfections in our lumpy British roads and it’s super-quiet inside. It’s a really relaxing way to travel.

The Jaecoo 8 is also pretty comfortable on a long journey. Road noise is kept to a minimum, and it smoothes out the worst of the bumps nicely. It’s just not as secure through the corners as the XC90. You always know where you are with that car, whereas the Jaecoo isn’t quite as predictable.

It’s a lot better to drive than the Omoda 9 and Chery Tiggo 9, but the Jaecoo 8 can’t quite cut it against the Volvo in this regard.

My final verdict: which car should you buy?

So then, should you spend £45,500 on a Jaecoo 8, or half that on a used Volvo XC90?

The Volvo is a very tempting proposition. It looks fantastic, has a lovely interior and it’s great to drive. If you’re looking for a luxurious seven-seater for the price of an average family hatchback, you can’t go far wrong here.

However, buying a used car does come with risks. The Jaecoo 8 has a seven-year warranty whereas a nine-year-old Volvo will come with a year’s coverage from the dealer at best. Many only offer three to six months of warranty on used cars.

You also need to consider how you’re paying for the car. If you’re buying in cash, the Volvo makes a lot of sense. But not many people pay for a car in full, they opt to spread the cost.

Being a 2017 model, you’d have to take out a hire purchase (HP) agreement on the Volvo, or a personal loan.

As a rough estimate, the average interest rate is around 10% on a HP agreement. If you put down a £5,000 deposit over three years, this XC90 would cost you £544 per month, and a total of around £24,600. You’d also lose money in depreciation, but you’d own it at the end of the agreement.

Even with Jaecoo’s competitive 2.9% APR finance, buying a new Jaecoo 8 on HP will cost £1,175 per month over three years with the same deposit, bringing the total to £47,312, or £682 per month on a PCP deal with an optional final payment of £19,200 at the end if you want to keep it. That’s a total of £48,000, or £28,800 if you hand the car back.

On the other hand, you can lease a Jaecoo 8 for £427 per month with a £5,500 deposit. This is over three years and 30,000 miles, bringing it to a total of £20,400. So if you’re only planning on keeping the car for three years, the Jaecoo 8 actually works out cheaper than the Volvo.

If you want to buy a car to keep long-term, or you’re buying in cash, I’d choose the used XC90. But if you want to pay monthly for a car and change it every few years, leasing the Jaecoo 8 makes more sense.

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