The good-looking, cut-price new JAC T9 ute promised plenty, but the Chinese brand’s debut Australia model doesn’t stand out from the crowd.
Jack is finally reviewing Jack! How fitting!
Chinese carmaker Jack has launched its first model on the Australian market, the T9 dual-cab 4×4 ute, with customer deliveries starting in December last year.
Available in two turbo-diesel powered trim levels, the T9 starts at $42,662 in entry-level Oasis form before going on-road. It competes against a wide range of budget-priced dual-cab ute rivals such as the GWM Cannon, KGM SsangYong Musso and LDV T60 Max.
After initially claiming that the ute would have a braked towing capacity of 3500kg, Jack later revised this to 3000kg. As a result of “additional validation and certification testing” in late 2024, the T9 now has a towing capacity of 3200kg, with a tow ball download rating of 320kg.
Wading depth is also lower than originally claimed (650mm vs 800mm), although it has a slightly higher payload (1045kg vs 1000kg).
The Jack T9 is being distributed locally by LTS Auto and is sold at over 60 dealerships nationwide. It is being offered with a seven-year, unlimited-kilometer warranty, plus seven years of roadside assistance and seven years of capped-price servicing.
How much does the JAC T9 cost?
JAC is offering two T9 variants at this stage. The low- to mid-$40,000 asking prices are similar to those at the lower end of the GWM Cannon, KGM SsangYong Musso and LDV T60 Max dual-cab 4×4 ute lineups, all of which recently received updates.
| Model | Price before on-road costs |
|---|---|
| 2025 JAC T9 Oasis | $42,662 |
| 2025 JAC T9 Haven | $45,630 |
What is the JAC T9 like on the inside?
Getting into the T9 is made easier by the large steel side steps and thick A-pillar grab handles, but like many high-riding dual-cab utes, it’s still a struggle to get into the cabin.
Once you’re inside, there’s leather-accented seat trim that was finished in black on our top-spec Heaven tester, but is also available in brown. When we first sat down, all the seats were a little wobbly, especially the driver’s seat, which is oddly positioned.
This may not apply to everyone, but I couldn’t find a comfortable seating position. For my six-foot-plus height, the driving position felt cramped due to the placement of the pedals, and although the driver’s seat offers six-way electric adjustment, it lacked thigh support for me.
Another disappointing element of the driving position is that the steering wheel only offers tilt adjustment. Almost all utes now also offer reach adjustment, making it easier for people of different sizes and builds to get comfortable behind the wheel.
The steering wheel itself is unassuming, with a two-spoke design and physical buttons that are easy to grasp. The metallic finishes on the wheel look cool and break up the monotony of black finishes, but they easily attract fingerprints as you interact with the buttons frequently.
In front of the driver is a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster that is clean and concise, but a little basic. It displays all the important information you need to know, including a large digital speedo readout.
You can cycle through informative pages for things like engine revs, fuel consumption and driving range, among others. However, it is a little annoying that you can’t display more information at once.
On the other hand, there’s a 10.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system that’s clearly the main focus of the interior. It’s mounted vertically, like in the top-selling Ranger, but while it looks nice in terms of hardware, its software looks and feels more aftermarket.
The user interface and menu layout aren’t the fanciest, but there are bright colors and big icons to click on. There’s also not a whole heap of system depth, so it’s not difficult to get back to the home screen if you get lost.
As standard, only wired forms of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available via a USB-A port on the front of the center console. Its connectivity is rock solid, which is to be expected with the wired version of smartphone mirroring.
We appreciated the physical buttons below the touchscreen for adjusting the single-zone climate control system. It’s a very similar layout to the Ranger, as there are additional buttons on the touchscreen for more climate-related functions.
In practice, the climate control system is good but perhaps too good, as the auto mode is a bit much and the fan blows very loudly when you first start the car.
Looking around the cabin, there are some soft surfaces in high-touch-point areas, such as the handles, but beyond them there is a sea of hard, crunchy plastic. This is not unusual in the ute segment because, at the end of the day, function is more important than form here.
But after leaving it out in the sun for a while, the interior of our T9 developed a very plasticky smell when we first entered. It was quite intoxicating and probably not the best air to breathe, forcing us to blow fresh air through the climate control or roll down a window to air out the cabin.
The lack of glossy piano black finish around the cabin is welcome, although this material is present around the air vents, where it shows dust very quickly.
As with the steering wheel, there is also a lot of metallic finish on the dashboard and center tunnel. It shows fingerprints very easily and shows dirt if not cleaned regularly.
While there are plenty of physical switchgear on the center console, many of them feel cheap and flimsy. The worst offender is the four-wheel drive selector dial, which feels too sporty.
Storage up front is pretty good for a ute. The two cupholders are of varying depths, plus there’s a wireless phone charger, a center console box, a glove box, and door pockets big enough for a water bottle.
Moving to the second row, the space provided is surprisingly good for a dual-cab ute. There’s plenty of room for adults in the back, but space will be cramped if three people sit on the bench seat. It’s fine for beginners or children.
Among the second-row amenities, the center console has an air vent, USB port, a 220V power plug, and a fold-down handle with cupholders.
At the back, the tailgate opens and closes easily, but there’s no damping or assistance. It’s part of the car’s central locking system, which isn’t always the case with dual-cab utes.
Our tester had a soft tonneau cover, which is an optional accessory. It’s a bit tricky to use because the sides are secured with Velcro, which can wear out, and the cross braces fall into the tub if you don’t pull the cover a certain way.
As standard, the T9 comes with a spray-in tub liner, which is nice to have because you don’t have to worry as much about scuffing the metal in the tub. However, the finish of our tester’s tub liner was a bit on the expensive side.
Other tub-related perks include some tie-down points and a steel sports bar for aesthetics.
| Dimensions | JAC T9 |
|---|---|
| Length | 5330mm |
| Width | 1965mm |
| Height | 1920mm |
| Wheelbase | 3110mm |
| Tub length | 1520mm |
| Tub width | 1590mm |
| Tub height | 470mm |
What’s under the bonnet?
This ute is powered exclusively by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that’s mated to a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission.
| Specifications | JAC T9 Haven |
|---|---|
| Engine | 2.0L 4cyl turbo-diesel |
| Power | 120kW |
| Torque | 410Nm |
| Transmission | 8-speed auto |
| Drive type | Part-time 4×4 (2H, 4H, 4L) |
| Fuel economy (claimed) | 7.6L/100km |
| Fuel economy (as tested) | 9.1L/100km (650km driving) |
| CO2 emissions (claimed) | 202g/km |
| Fuel tank | 76L |
| Weight (kerb) | 2055kg |
| Payload | 1045kg |
| Braked towing capacity | 3200kg |
| Gross vehicle mass (GVM) | 3100kg |
| Gross combination mass (GCM) | 5630kg |
How does the JAC T9 drive?
You start the Jack T9 by pressing a button on the left side of the steering wheel, and then you get the sound of a serious four-cylinder diesel engine. That’s pretty typical for a ute, and the T9’s engine doesn’t vibrate the cabin as much when cold as some others.
To start, you pull the gear selector forward for reverse or rear for drive, holding down a button on the side, which is pretty intuitive, although the latter is positioned near the park button.
Once you’re underway, there’s adequate power but not much else. You’ll keep up with traffic, but don’t expect to be able to pull ahead. At the end of the day, you have to remember that it’s a relatively low-output 2.0-liter single-turbo diesel that’s moving this two-ton dual-cab ute.
If you press the accelerator a little harder, the engine starts to sound laborious and let you know it’s working hard. Even then, acceleration from behind the steering wheel still feels decent, but it won’t blow you away. There are faster four-cylinder diesel utes out there.
Across the range, a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission is standard, and it’s the best part of the T9 powertrain. It shifts gears in a smooth manner, making for comfortable (if quiet) acceleration.
The way it handles is reminiscent of the Ranger, as it changes gears as quickly as possible to reduce fuel consumption and rely on the turbocharged torque. It’s happy to drop a gear or two to keep revs up when accelerating up a hill or to provide some engine braking when descending a slope.
The ride is very utilitarian and ute-like. This is not unexpected, as like its rivals this ute has a leaf-spring rear suspension setup, which is more focused on load-carrying than on-road comfort.
However, the front end can be a bit bouncy in continuous undulations, which contrasts with the firm rear end. Overall, the ride quality isn’t as comfortable as the Ranger, but it’s not as rough as some utes, such as the Toyota Hilux.
There are three different settings to choose from regarding steering feel. I stuck with the normal ‘Comfort’ mode setting as it felt the most natural, although it was on the light side. Regardless of the mode, the steering feels direct, which isn’t always the case with utes.
While the steering makes the T9 feel nimble, it can’t hide its overall weight. This is most apparent when it comes to parking this 5.3m-long beast. Fortunately, there are front and rear parking sensors, as well as a surround view camera whose quality is decent but not outstanding.
Once you’re out on the open road, this ute will comfortably reach high speeds and cruise at speeds above 80 km/h in eighth gear. If you need more acceleration, it’ll drop back to seventh and get things moving quickly, although the engine noise becomes more raucous.
It’s a comfortable highway tourer that holds its ground confidently and easily on the road. Plus, despite it being a dual-cab ute, there’s not as much wind or tire noise here as you’d expect.
While we weren’t able to take the T9 off-road or tow anything this time, CarExpert founder Paul Maric put about 900kg of load in the tray for an upcoming comparison video. He found it worked well with the T9, but you’ll have to wait for the full video to hit YouTube for more details.
Safety-wise, this ute falls behind like some other Chinese cars.
There’s adaptive cruise control as standard, but it’s one of the most annoying systems I’ve ever seen. For example, when you activate it at 80 km/h, the transmission shifts into seventh gear, which is unnecessary because the engine revs more than necessary.
You can fix this by pressing the accelerator slightly, which then forces the car to shift into eighth gear, where it should be in first place. Annoyingly, when you let go of the accelerator, it shifts back into seventh.
The ute also struggles to maintain the set speed, constantly dropping below and above it. I was able to control my speed much better than cruise control, which is frustrating because such systems are designed to make long-distance driving easier, not more annoying.
I don’t want to dwell on this point, but adaptive cruise control also tends to brake heavily when it detects a car in front and keeps a large gap, even at the closest setting. This is a common feature of many Chinese cars.
The T9’s lane-keeping assist is generally okay, but sometimes it can jerk the steering wheel unexpectedly, although I’ve had much worse experiences than that.
There’s also Intelligent Cruise Control, which combines adaptive cruise control and lane centering, but I’d avoid using it because it interferes too much with steering input. And as I’ve already said, adaptive cruise is not good.
The T9 has even worse news on the safety front, as it makes a lot of dings and bangs for various systems.
Some of the most annoying systems are Speed Limit Assist, which often misreads speed signs and penalizes you for speeding when you’re not, and Driver Attention Monitoring, which turns on when you turn your head before changing lanes.
Fortunately, the sound isn’t the most annoying I’ve heard, and the volume can be turned down, but many systems turn on every time you drive the car.
On the upside, the T9 comes with great LED headlights, which are bright and helpful. This is useful when driving in the dark or if you live in a rural area.
Like many cars, there’s a ‘follow me home’ function that keeps the lights on for a set period of time after you lock the car. However, on the T9, this activates the high-beams, which I don’t think is very logical, as you can blind other cars if you park on the street. Fortunately, if you don’t like it, you can turn it off using the touchscreen.
| Off-road dimensions | JAC T9 |
|---|---|
| Track front and rear | 1610mm |
| Ground clearance | 210mm |
| Approach angle | 27 degrees |
| Departure angle | 23 degrees |
| Wading depth | 650mm |
What do you get?
JAC is offering two trim levels of the T9 at launch.
025 JAC T9 Oasis equipment highlights:
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- Sports bar
- Automatic LED headlights and running lights
- Front and rear fog lights
- 10.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- 7.0-inch trip computer display
- Wireless phone charger
- Adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist
- Automatic wipers
- Leather-accented interior trim and wheel
- Powered driver’s seat adjustment
- Climate control air-conditioning
- Spray-in tub liner
- Iron “off-road side steps”
- Rear air vents
025 JAC T9 Oasis equipment highlights:
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- Sports bar
- Automatic LED headlights and running lights
- Front and rear fog lights
- 10.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- 7.0-inch trip computer display
- Wireless phone charger
- Adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist
- Automatic wipers
- Leather-accented interior trim and wheel
- Powered driver’s seat adjustment
- Climate control air-conditioning
- Spray-in tub liner
- Iron “off-road side steps”
- Rear air vents
Is the JAC T9 safe?
| Category | JAC T9 |
|---|---|
| Adult occupant protection | 85 per cent |
| Child occupant protection | 87 per cent |
| Vulnerable road user protection | 87 per cent |
| Safety assist | 89 per cent |
Standard safety equipment highlights:
- Forward collision warning
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Lane-keeping assist
- Emergency lane keeping
- Driver attention monitoring
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Rear collision warning
- Exit warning
- Rear parking sensors
- Reversing camera
T9 Haven adds:
- Front parking sensors
- Surround-view camera
How much does the JAC T9 cost to run?
The JAC T9 is covered by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with seven years of roadside assistance and seven years of capped-price servicing.
| Servicing and Warranty | JAC T9 |
|---|---|
| Warranty | Seven years, unlimited kilometres |
| Roadside assistance | Seven years, unlimited kilometres |
| Service intervals | 12 months, 15,000km |
| Capped-price servicing | Seven years, 105,000km |
| Total capped-price service cost | $3069 |
| Average capped-price service cost | $438 |
