Jetour T1 Review: Why You'll Be Seeing It Everywhere

Ah yes, Chinese cars, the latest craze in South Africa. I’ve driven a fair few, and I’ve come to a personal conclusion: these are the best cars for the soccer mum, the first-time buyer who doesn’t want to join the obvious crowd of Picantos and Suzuki Swifts, the person who wants a car that is affordable but doesn’t feel or look cheap. It’s for the buyer who wants tech without paying extra for it, who simply wants to go from point A to B with a bit of luxury and comfort, and for those who are tired of German brands overpricing. Almost everyone, except car enthusiasts, though even they are starting to ponder.

I’m not unfamiliar with the Jetour brand, having driven the Dashing some time ago. It was the perfect soccer mum’s car: great looks, comfortable, packed with tech, not speedy, and well suited to driving around town. And that was essentially Jetour’s offering for two years after their launch in South Africa. Then, at the end of 2025, they launched the T1 and T2 as adventure SUVs. The T1 is sort of the baby of the two, though not really a baby at all.

Exterior: Built for Attention

When the car arrived, I immediately noticed the dimensions. It’s quite a big car, and the pictures really don’t do it justice. Yes, the T2 has captured most of the attention, but this is still a stunning car in its own right. It turns heads, and interestingly, people don’t ask what car it is, because both the front and the rear make it very clear that this is a Jetour, even though many still compare it to a Discovery.

I drove the top-spec Odyssey, which comes with five-spoke wheels that manage to look both sporty and rugged at the same time. The T1 immediately screams adventure SUV. It sits high off the ground, has plastic fenders that wrap around the bodywork, and side skirts that are actually necessary given the height of the car. You also get roof rails, although I am curious how that works with the full-length panoramic sunroof.

The lighting design is menacing. If this car appears in your rear-view mirror, you will definitely feel a bit intimidated. The T1 is a proper looker, and to be fair, this has never been a problem for Jetour. I find all four of their offerings to look great.

Interior: Modern Done Correctly

If I had to describe the interior in one word, it would be modern. But then again, it can’t really be described with just

word, because it isn’t only modern, it has all the right tech and all the right materials in all the right places. This is not an interior where you look around trying to pinpoint where the brand cut costs by throwing in flimsy materials. For what you get, the car feels genuinely well built.

The seats are finished in synthetic leather, but they are perforated and feature orange accent stitching, which is carried through to the steering wheel as well. The roof headlining is black fabric and is surprisingly nice to the touch, and even the dashboard avoids hard plastics, opting instead for a synthetic leather finish. You can look for hard plastics all you want, but you will only really find them around your feet, which makes sense, considering this is an adventure SUV after all.

For passengers, this car offers space in capital letters. Space for luggage, for legs, and even for phones has clearly been thought through. The front passenger gets storage along the dash that neatly holds about two phones, and there is a funky off-road-inspired design element across the dash finished in the same orange found in the stitching. Up front, you also get two cupholders and a deep centre console that, interestingly, stays cool, even though it is not marketed as a cooler.

Rear passengers are equally well catered for, with plenty of legroom and headroom, and the boot is massive too. This is a car you can easily take on holidays, or on adventures, as Jetour would say. The rear seats are just as comfortable as those up front, and rear passengers also get their own cupholders, rounding off what is a very family-friendly and adventure-ready cabin.

Tech: Smartly Executed

Earlier, I said the interior can be described as modern, and this is mainly because the infotainment screen is very hard to ignore. The top-spec car comes with a 15.6-inch infotainment screen, which is bigger than most laptops. There have been plenty of rumbles about cars adding more screens and fewer buttons, and personally, I only ever have a problem with screens when they are not easy to use, rather than because of their size.

And while this screen is humungous, Jetour has done something right by keeping physical, easy-to-use climate control buttons underneath it. The steering wheel also gets proper dials and physical buttons, which is great. It all strikes a good balance between modern and usable.

You will find more tech throughout the cabin too, including a wireless charger, ambient lighting, four USB ports up front, two at the back, and an additional USB port by the rear-view mirror for a dash cam. Just as important is the tech you do not find. The overly intrusive ADAS systems that constantly beep at you in other cars are refreshingly absent here. For example, if you go over the speed limit, you do not get a vibrating steering wheel or a loud beep that scares you. Instead, the car calmly alerts you with a voice prompt letting you know your speed is high. The 540° camera is very clear, intuitive and one of the best features of this car, considering its size.

Like every Jetour, this one also gets the welcome lights that project onto the ground from the mirrors. In this case, they read “Jetour Travel+”, just in case you needed reminding that this car is built for travelling. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are both available, and in this car, the wireless CarPlay worked seamlessly all the time, which genuinely surprised me.

Despite its size, the big screen never becomes an annoyance. It is intuitive and smart in the way it works. The system automatically brings up the cameras when it detects high traffic, so you always know what is happening around you. Even when you indicate, the camera on that side pops up on the screen, then seamlessly returns you to CarPlay once the manoeuvre is done. It all works quietly in the background, which is exactly how good tech should.

Performance and Drive: Comfort All Around

This is an area where many, if not most, Chinese brands still show that they are behind the Germans in terms of engineering, and it is no different here. The T1 comes with either a 1.5 or a 2.0-litre petrol engine, with the 2.0-litre producing 180 kW and 375 Nm. This is a noticeable step up from what you get in the Dashing and the X70 Plus, and the increased power is immediately apparent.

That said, throttle response is still not quite up to par. I often found the car continuing to pull even after my foot was off the throttle, which shows there is still a delay in how the power is delivered. It is not something that will bother everyone, but it is noticeable if you are sensitive to how a car responds.

Fuel consumption is another area where expectations need to be managed. Jetour claims around 9 l/100 km, but I averaged just over 10 l/100 km. On a very gentle drive you could see figures closer to 8, but even in Eco mode I struggled to consistently get the consumption any lower. This is where I circle back to my earlier point about these cars being ideal for the so-called soccer mom buyer. Throttle response is not something they will worry about, they are not chasing fun on winding roads, and as an owner this is something you simply get used to over time. Then there are the drive modes. Eight of them:

• Eco

• Normal

• Sport

• Snow

• Mud

• Sand

• Rock

• X Mode (where the car selects settings automatically)

  
  

That breadth of terrain-specific calibration shows intent. This isn’t just styled to look adventurous; it’s engineered to handle multiple environments. While most owners may never touch Rock mode, the fact that it exists adds credibility to the T1’s positioning as an adventure SUV.

Where I believe the T1 really redeems itself is in comfort. The ride is excellent, soaking up potholes with ease, and it feels completely at home on rougher surfaces. Off-road, the experience is confidence-inspiring, with no unnecessary drama or hesitation. You simply point it where you want to go and it gets on with the job, which ultimately is what this car is designed to do.

Price and Verdict

The Jetour T1 is offered in four derivatives, giving buyers a wide spread of choice depending on budget and needs:

• Edge – R514,900

• Aspire – R544,900

• Xplora – R594,900

• Odyssey – R634,900

  
  

All four derivatives are aggressively priced, and this is where Chinese brands continue to excel. It is easy to see why they are doing so well in South Africa when you look at how much car you get for the money. That said, I would recommend opting for the 2.0-litre engine variants (Xplora and Odyssey), as they drive noticeably better and feel more suited to the size and weight of the T1.

The T1 is a good buy, no question about it. It looks the part, it is comfortable, well-specced, and genuinely capable off-road. However, better fuel consumption would elevate it from being a good buy to a great one.

Final Scorecard: 8.8/10

Category	Rating out of 10	Notes
Design	9	Striking exterior presence paired with a genuinely premium, well-finished interior that punches above its price point
Performance	8	Strong 2.0-litre output at 180kW and 375Nm, but throttle calibration still needs refinement.
Tech and Features	10	Massive 15.6-inch infotainment display, intuitive layout, seamless wireless CarPlay and useful real-world tech.
Driveability	7	Extremely comfortable and capable off-road, though fuel consumption and throttle response hold it back slightly.
Price	10	Outstanding value for the space, specification and overall package offered.

Jetour’s Future in South Africa

According to Courtney Knowles, Jetour's Brand Manager, early sales and market interest have exceeded internal expectations. Feedback has centred around design, perceived value and everyday usability, suggesting the brand has struck a chord with buyers who want something distinctive without paying a premium purely for a badge.

And this isn’t just marketing talk. The figures support it. Jetour confirmed that shortly after the T-Series launch, the brand sold over 650 units in a single month, a strong showing in what is traditionally a slower sales period. That kind of momentum explains why these cars suddenly feel unavoidable on South African roads.

While the T-Series has taken much of the spotlight, it would be unfair to ignore the role played by the Dashing and X70 Plus in building that foundation. In January alone, Jetour recorded its strongest month yet in South Africa, selling 1 550 vehicles. That followed 1 371 units in December and 1 235 in November, a steady upward trajectory rather than a once-off spike.

Of the 1 550 vehicles sold in January, 431 were T1 models and 665 were T2s, reinforcing the clear appetite for the more rugged offering.

Jetour isn’t simply basking in that success. In conversation, the brand confirmed that plug-in hybrid versions of both the T1 and T2 are on the way, signalling an awareness that efficiency and electrification will matter more and more in this segment. Beyond that, the larger and more premium G700 is expected around 2027 or 2028, while updated versions of the Dashing and X70 are also planned.