The good
✅ Sub-$50,000 pricing undercuts the PHEV ute segment
✅ Genuine 3.5-tonne tow rating
✅ 915kg payload for a real workhorse capability
✅ Locking front and rear diffs standard on Hunter X
✅ 100km claimed EV-only range for daily commuting
✅ Local testing and tuning has paid dividends
✅ No low-range, but e-motor torque fills the gap well
The bad
❌ Powertrain feels softer than the 360kW/1000Nm numbers suggest
❌ Smaller cabin than key rivals including BYD Shark 6
❌ Throttle response inconsistent at low speeds off-road
❌ Some cost cutting; single-zone climate control and manual passenger seat
❌ 45kW DC charge limit is modest by current standards
❌ Final suspension tune still pending at time of our drive
Australia’s ute market has never been more interesting – or more contested.
The diesel faithful aren’t going anywhere, but a wave of Chinese plug-in hybrid utes is reshaping what buyers expect for their money.
The JAC Hunter PHEV is the latest challenger, and it arrives with what could be its most potent weapon: a price tag promised to sit below $50,000 before on-road costs.
READ MORE: JAC T9 diesel complete buyer’s guide
That’s cheaper than an entry-level diesel Toyota HiLux or Ford Ranger with 4×4 capability – and it’s a plug-in hybrid with a claimed 100km of electric range and a 3.5-tonne tow rating.
For the Outback Travel Australia reader, that’s a combination worth paying close attention to.
We drove early development vehicles ahead of the Hunter PHEV’s mid-2026 launch, so the suspension tune wasn’t fully locked in and there were software tweaks still to come.
Even so, it was enough to form a clear picture of what JAC is bringing to market.
JAC may be a smaller player in the Chinese automotive landscape, but it has deep roots in commercial vehicles and trucks.
That background matters in a segment that punishes lightweights quickly.
The Hunter PHEV is essentially the electrified evolution of the T9 diesel ute already sold in Australia – sharing plenty of the same bones, but with a fundamentally different powertrain underneath.
JAC Hunter PHEV: Price and equipment
Final pricing hadn’t been confirmed at the time of writing, but JAC has committed to a starting point below $50,000 before on-road costs for the entry-level Pro model.
A better-equipped Hunter X PHEV adds roughly $3000 and brings a sunroof and locking front and rear differentials; that’s the model we sampled.
That pricing sits around $10,000 above a comparable T9 diesel, which is a meaningful premium.
But stack it against the BYD Shark 6 or GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV and the Hunter suddenly looks very sharp.
It’s the kind of price point that gets conversations started.
The 31.2kWh battery is claimed to deliver around 100km of EV-only range – handy for town running and daily commutes.
Like the Shark 6 and Cannon Alpha, the system keeps a battery reserve – in the Hunter’s case around 15 per cent state of charge – before the petrol engine cuts in, so it’s always got some electrical power there for added oomph.
Charging options cover most scenarios: up to 11kW via a home AC charger, or the more common 7.4kW units will top it up in around 4.5 hours.
A standard household power point will do the job in about 15 hours.
DC fast charging is supported at up to 45kW – modest by current standards, but enough for a full charge in something like 40 minutes.
Our test cars were equipped with 18-inch alloys, leather-look trim, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, wireless phone charger, 10.4-inch infotainment screen and a digital instrument cluster. It’s a reasonable kit list, though the single-zone climate control and manually adjusted passenger seat hint at where costs have been kept in check.
The Hunter PHEV also runs a bit smaller than the latest wave of Chinese utes – the cabin doesn’t have the big-rig presence of the Shark 6, GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV or even the diesel Kia Tasman.
JAC Hunter PHEV: Under the bonnet
The Hunter PHEV uses a series-parallel hybrid setup built around a 120kW/370Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine.
That engine drives the front wheels only – there’s no mechanical driveshaft connecting front to rear – and it only engages above roughly 45km/h.
Below that, and for the bulk of everyday driving, it’s the two electric motors doing the work, with the engine employed as a generator to stock up on electricity.
Up front, a 130kW/300Nm e-motor is integrated into a four-speed transmission.
Out back, a 150kW/340Nm motor is dedicated to the rear axle, making for genuine electric four-wheel drive rather than a front-biased system with a token rear assist (think Toyota hybrids like the RAV4 and Kluger).
JAC quotes a combined output of 360kW and 1000Nm – numbers that look formidable on paper and stack up well against petrol rivals.
In practice, the delivery feels softer than you might expect from those figures, particularly off the line. More on that below.
Weight is a factor worth acknowledging: the Hunter PHEV tips the scales at 2512kg, which is substantial.
JAC claims a combined fuel consumption figure of 1.6L/100km, a number that reflects laboratory testing with a full battery and has little bearing on real-world driving.
Once the battery is depleted on a long country run, you’re hauling 2.5 tonnes on a 2.0-litre turbo petrol alone, and consumption will climb sharply.
Our experience with other PHEV utes suggests you can expect something in the 10-13L/100km range on open highway when running on the engine only.
The more useful number for OTA readers is range.
The Hunter PHEV’s 77-litre fuel tank, combined with the 100km of claimed electric range, points to a realistic combined range of somewhere between 700 and 800 kilometres between fill-ups under mixed real-world conditions.
That’s genuinely competitive – and for touring drivers managing remote stretches between roadhouses, it’s a more meaningful figure than any official consumption claim.
JAC Hunter PHEV: On the road
On the road, the Hunter PHEV presents as a competent but not electrifying drive.
There’s some lethargy off the line, particularly in EV Max mode where the petrol engine is held back.
Switching to Fuel Priority mode brings the petrol unit in earlier and sharpens the response noticeably.
The sweet spot for the Hunter is at country road speeds – between 80km/h and 100km/h – where the powertrain finds a second wind and the Hunter feels genuinely energetic.
That’s an encouraging sign for the kind of long outback stints our readers take on, even if the on-ramp performance is underwhelming by comparison.
At any speed, though, we never felt like we experienced 360kW and 1000Nm.
The ladder-frame chassis brings the expected degree of truckiness, though the 50,000km of local validation testing – including about 3000km of chassis tuning by Multimatic’s Michael Barber, a former Holden engineer – has clearly been worthwhile.
Coil springs all round give it a more composed ride than traditional leaf-rear setups, and the suspension handles road bumps with reasonable assurance.
The final tune was still being refined at the time of our drive, so customer cars should be better still.
Driver monitoring systems were a little trigger-happy with beeps and alerts; a menu dive to deactivate the more intrusive features is recommended early on.
Inside, the cabin feels compact compared to the latest breed of Chinese utes.
Rear legroom is on the snug side if front passengers are stretched out.
Build quality and materials are acceptable, with quilted seat trim and silver accents lifting the ambience beyond budget territory.
JAC Hunter PHEV: Off-road
This is where things get genuinely interesting for the OTA reader. The Hunter PHEV comes with a full suite of terrain modes – Normal, AWD, Snow, Mud, Sand, Rock and an off-road crawl function that acts like low-speed cruise control for technical sections.
There’s no traditional low-range transfer case, but JAC leans on the muscly torque delivery of the electric motors to compensate.
Our off-road test was brief and limited to a mildly challenging uphill sections – our vehicles were shod with optional Pirelli all-terrain tyres, which clearly helped – and the Hunter handled it without drama.
The locking front and rear differentials available on the Hunter X add meaningfully to the traction toolkit, and together with the torque-vectoring capability of separate front and rear e-motors, the setup is more capable than the absence of low range might initially suggest.
The one caveat is throttle response at very low speeds. Like other PHEV utes, the Hunter can feel hesitant when you need precise, measured power delivery over an obstacle – the kind of situation where a diesel just ambles through on idle torque.
The Hunter needed a deliberate right foot to coax it cleanly up and over steeper pinch points. It’s a characteristic of the platform rather than a JAC-specific flaw, but it’s worth knowing before you commit to a technical track.
More extensive off-road testing – including proper rock crawling, deep-rutted tracks and extended creek crossings – will have to wait for production-spec vehicles.
On initial evidence, though, the Hunter PHEV looks like a competent companion for moderate to challenging terrain.
JAC Hunter PHEV: Towing and load capacity
The headline towing and payload numbers are among the Hunter PHEV’s strongest selling points.
JAC rates it for 3500kg of braked trailer – matching the class benchmark set by the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger – along with a 915kg payload (although subtracting the kerb weight from the 3470kg GVM quoted in government-supplied certification documents gives a 958kg payload).
For a PHEV ute at this price point, that’s a serious combination.
We didn’t get the opportunity to tow during our test drive, so we can’t speak to real-world performance under load. However, the powertrain architecture gives reason for optimism: the rear-axle electric motor provides 340Nm of immediate torque, and the petrol engine’s engagement above 45km/h means highway towing should keep the battery in a healthy state of charge.
JAC says it’ll comfortably handle 3500kg – we’ll test that claim properly when production vehicles are available.
The 915kg payload is worth highlighting separately. Many PHEV utes compromise payload to accommodate their battery weight, so holding that number close to the diesel T9 equivalent is a decent engineering achievement.
Tradies and farmers doing real work with their utes will take note.
The tray dimensions are slightly smaller than some rivals, so measure carefully before committing.
JAC Hunter PHEV: The verdict
The JAC Hunter PHEV makes a compelling case, and the price is where it starts.
At less than $50,000 – with a 3.5-tonne tow rating, 915kg payload, locking diffs and 100km of claimed electric range – it offers a tempting combination.
It’s not without compromise.
The powertrain underperforms its numbers at low speed, the cabin is modest in size and features by rival standards, and the off-road throttle response demands more driver input than a diesel equivalent.
But for the buyer who wants genuine 4×4 capability, real towing and payload muscle, and the running-cost benefits of plug-in hybrid tech – without paying the PHEV premium that’s defined the segment until now – the Hunter PHEV lands at a very interesting place.
JAC Hunter PHEV price and specifications
Price: From about $49,900, plus on-road costs (final price TBA)
Body: Medium ute
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo petrol + dual electric motors (PHEV)
Power: 120kW
Torque: 370Nm
Front electric motor: 130kW/300Nm
Rear electric motor: 150kW/340Nm
Combined system output: 360kW/1000Nm
Transmission: 4-speed auto
4WD system: On-demand 4WD
Tyres: 265/60 R18
Ground clearance: 210mm
Approach/departure/rampover angles: TBA
Weight: 2512kg
Gross vehicle mass: 3470kg
Payload: 915kg (claimed; 958kg using GVM)
Tow capacity: 3500kg
Gross combination mass: TBA
Fuel consumption: 1.6L/100km (ADR)
Fuel tank capacity: 77L
Expected real-world fuel range: TBA
