It feels large and spacious for all passengers. Its interior treatment is bold, expressive, yet not too over-the-top. I like it. My old man likes it. My wife likes it. That's saying something.
8
It feels large and spacious for all passengers. Its interior treatment is bold, expressive, yet not too over-the-top. I like it. My old man likes it. My wife likes it. That's saying something.
Jetour South Africa is giving things a good go. This very new brand has enjoyed immense success since its launch, and it was all ignited by the introduction of two new models – the Jetour Dashing and the X70 SUVs. Even if it was attractively designed cars from a brand nobody had heard of. Of course, the underlying Chery Group ownership helped, but these cars were well received, propelling Jetour into the Top 15 sellers in a relatively short time. And then something happened…
Enter the T-Series. If the Dashing and X70 arrived quietly hopeful, the T-Series has entered with a bang. Since its official launch in November 2025, it has quickly become the centre of many conversations and heated arguments. Some of these are from customers clambering to get one, and some from very curious onlookers asking if they should trade their Land Cruiser 300 for one. I know because after spending a month with the Jetour T2, I was the one fielding the questions.
The T2 is the larger of the two T-Series vehicles. Its popularity is largely due to the absolute bullseye design. They nailed it. It’s one of the most standout products on the road today. It’s a really universal design: proportionally balanced in height, width and length. It’s not too large and ungainly and not too small either. It’s incredibly detailed in its use of materials, modern trim bits, intricate details and adventure-ready tackle. With the full-size spare wheel sitting firmly on the rear bootlid, the Jetour T2 is joining the club of similar, evergreen designs like the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon and Suzuki Jimny. Over four weeks with the car, not one person made a negative comment about its design. Not one. And that’s something I can’t say for any other car. With a choice of four colours, I’d pose that this Aqua Green matte colour is the best there is.
It looks ready for adventure – but does it actually have the substance to back the bold visual claims? It was certainly put to the South African December holiday reality check: city commuting in and around an empty Johannesburg; a fully loaded family holiday run to Eswatini for New Year celebrations that included a proper baptism by water and mud inside a lush, rain-soaked private game reserve. River crossings, slippery rutted tracks, rocky climbs, all with my entire family and the boot literally packed to the roof. This was real-life, peak-season chaos, and for the most part, the Jetour T2 delivered.
Under that matte paint sits a 2.0-litre, turbocharged petrol engine. That’s it. No hybrid assistance, though you can expect Jetour SA to add these to the range at a later date. This mill is the flagship in the range, delivering 180kW and 375Nm through a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. With manual override paddles on the steering wheel, the gearbox is smooth, quiet, and can swap cogs as needed. The power delivery is adequate, well-positioned to be quite powerful, but with space for more should those hybrid motors make an appearance. The T2 rides the open road with assurance, but is let down when speeds drop to those used in parking lots, entering home garages, and crawling in traffic.
The throttle pedal mapping for driver feel vs. vehicle movement needs some work… again. It was a similar experience with the X70, which makes the car feel erratic at times and harder to finesse into tight spaces. This same lack of feel then carries over to the off-road environment when you select one of the car’s off-road modes. Negotiating rocks or trying to pin the throttle smoothly through a patch of mud isn’t as smooth as one might hope. The T2 is a four-wheel-drive with an electronically locking differential, so it can distribute power to the appropriate wheels. Apart from the throttle feel, the car is more front-wheel biased in any of the on-road modes, and you only really feel the all-wheel drive working when you engage any of the off-road modes. Does it tackle the really hard stuff? It can… but it does so with a bit of drama, and its 220mm of ride height isn’t necessarily as good as the car’s appearance suggests. On-road, I must mention the T2’s usable driving assistance systems. Easy-use adaptive cruise control and the really welcome ability to easily disengage certain functions and the beeps that come with them.
Beneath its very purposeful design, the T2 welcomes you into a cabin of equal talkability. It feels large and spacious for all passengers. Its interior treatment is bold, expressive, yet not too over-the-top. I like it. My old man likes it. My wife likes it. It’s made of quality materials, certainly a step up on the Tank 300. Its 15.6-inch infotainment display is crisp, with a solid UX and inoffensive, animated graphics. Its seats are bolstered and comfy all round, with headrest cushions that can be moulded to wrap around the top of your head. Very nice.
The tech inclusion in this flagship Odyssey model is generous to say the least. Wireless phone mirroring is included, complemented with a wireless charging pad and a mix of USB-A and C charging ports. A massive panoramic roof ticks the box and was called in to do some stargazing on a beautiful evening. Most of the features are displayed in layers on the infotainment screen, but the climate control buttons beneath it are handy. A solid 12-speaker Sony sound system rounds out a thoroughly generous cabin experience. Overall, UX then, is acceptably modern, but I remain apprehensive about burying volume control within a touch or two of the screen. Keep it simple with this, and I’d almost give the T2’s interior experience a 10/10. Almost. It scores highly on more technical nuances, like system speed, but I did find that other touchpoints took a little while to register. The keyless entry, the start button and the electronic rear tailgate functions all have a slight delay before something actually happens. It’s just a slight extra pause before it registers the request, but it was noticeable for everyone who interacted with these touchpoints.
There’s much to consider here but the first consideration is availability. The T2 is increasingly popular and as I write this, most of the stock that was allocated to or landed in SA has been snapped up. So finding one may be tricky but the question beyond that is what that demand will eventually do to pricing if anything. The general trend right now is that demand outweighs supply and that could mean incremental increases in pricing over the course of the next few years. Will that kill the value-for-rand argument? Time will tell.
The other consideration is Jetour as a subsidiary of the greater Chery group. That weight comes with inherent benefits for parts availability and hopefully some long term value holding in a car that, as mentioned above, is quite popular. The T1 is another consideration, a slight design change on the T2 but otherwise the same car, in a slightly more urban looking body.
And then of course, at that price, the T2 plays within that segment that holds the most competition. Everything from cheaper double cabs to sexy SUVs and everything in between. Customers at this price point are spoiled for choice but the T2 finishes the deal with 10-year/1 million km engine warranty, a 7-year/200,000 km general warranty and a 7-year/75,000 km service plan. Does this all make the Jetour pretty much bulletproof? Of course not, but it does help with selling them by the thousands.
A solid 8/10. Not bad. The T2 then is bold in its aesthetic expression. It’s really well catered for in technology and drivetrain delivery. And it’s really cool too, with quirky little talking points that make sense in the right environment. The T2’s tailgate inner has two pop-out cupholders as well as a bottle top opener for those times around the fire, the dam or the **braai…** how South African is that?
As a holiday car, though… just one observation: the claimed 580-litres of boot space. Again, the T2 seems larger than it is in some respects, and if there was one area where my creative packing experience didn’t quite win, it was in the boot. It’s adequate for sure, but I somehow expected more, which could be more on me than the car.
The Jetour T2 is an excellent product. If you want one, it may be difficult to find by the time you read this, but make no mistake: Jetour will determine the volume demand and ensure products reach our shores to meet it. The T2 isn’t perfect, but it’s incredibly cool and winsome. It’s one of those cars that is difficult to argue against, especially within the price bracket and market into which it is positioned. The T2 will appeal to men and women in equal measure, I’d guess. It may also become the dream car of aftermarket off-road companies. Some may find it too soft for the Namakwa, but I expect the jacked-up Jetour T2 silhouette to start making itself known. Either way, a solid new entrant to our market and one that will be perched atop many a Sandton pavement.
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