- Drove the JAC T9 bakkie, which is the range topper for that brand on a seven day test last week. Very imposing looking bakkie with it’s horizontal grille & high wheel arches. It really looks the part from the exterior styling. It has dusk sensing headlamps and LED running lights as well.
Cabin.
It’s comfy in the cabin, can get a little bumpy, but not uncomfortably so. And it has loads of room, with a touch of the luxury appointments as well. It has remote controlled windows and an upmarket 10.4 inch touchscreen for infotainment. Apple CarPlay & Android compliant, it gets you connectivity in a jiffy.
It was also a quiet drive, with minimal wind noise or road noise. A 360deg camera is in play to give you all the views you need. It has dimensions of 5325mmx1960mmx1920mm,with ground clearance of 210mm, which might be a little amount for a bakkie. It has a decent turning circle of 6,2m & a 27.0 deg approach angle. A braked towing mass of 3500kg as well.
Engine.
It boasts a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbo-diesel engine mated to a ZF 8-speed auto gearbox, that performed well. It pushes out 125kw & 410Nm of torque, and on the short route we drove, it acquitted itself well. We believe that the bakkie stands up well to some of the competition, and is actually better value too.
Safety & Spec.
It features Central-locking with speed sensitive auto door locks. Rear parking sensors & reverse camera, welcome lamps, a 360 deg view cam, and heated and fold away mirrors.
Six air-bags incl front centre airbag. Traction control system, Hill start control, Electronic brake force distribution. Tyre pressure monitoring & remote key entry.
Pricing.
T9 2.0l CTi 4×2 Lux R549 900
T9 2.0L 4X2 Super Lux R599 900
We drove the 4×2 variants but there are 4×4 variants that go up in price to R659 900. Very competitive indeed.
Summation.
I was impressed on launch, but more so when I lived with it for a week, becoming comfortable with it quickly. For such a large bakkie it is quite nimble to drive and to park.
Fuel consumption was the big thing for me, and this time it was a good thing. We got around 8.4l/100km, which is phenomenal compared to all other Chinese brands, who are very thirsty, in fact it’s their biggest weakness.
Not so the JAC J9, and I look forward to testing the 4×4 version soon.