I’ve just spent two weeks and 3,200 km living with the Jetour T2 Dark Knight Edition. I loved almost every minute of it. I also know exactly who should run away screaming.
Because while the T2 is the single best-value adventure SUV on sale today in the UAE and UK (AED 174,900 / £42,990 for a 254 hp AWD boxy beast with ventilated seats and a panoramic roof), it is NOT perfect for everyone.
So before you rush to the showroom with your chequebook, here are the five brutally honest reasons you might end up regretting it.
1. You Actually Do Hardcore Off-Roading (And You Know the Difference Between AWD and Proper 4×4)
Let’s get the big one out of the way first.
The Jetour T2 is marketed as an “off-roader”. It looks like a baby Defender. It has 210 mm ground clearance, all-terrain tyres, and six terrain modes (Mud, Sand, Rock, Snow, etc.). What it does NOT have is a low-range transfer case.
This is an intelligent on-demand AWD system (Jetour calls it XWD), not a part-time 4×4 with a proper 4-Low gear. In light sand, gravel, muddy fields, or snowy UK lanes it’s brilliant. In Liwa’s big dunes, Tal Moreeb-level sand, or serious rock crawling in the Peak District? It will get humiliated by a fifteen-year-old Toyota Prado with 300,000 km on the clock.
I tried moderate dunes near Al Qudra. It coped… until it didn’t. The moment you need crawl ratio and locked low-range torque, the T2 simply runs out of mechanical grip and starts spinning wheels uselessly.
If your Instagram is full of recovery straps and maxtrax, buy a Land Cruiser or Wrangler instead. The T2 is a lifestyle off-roader, not an expedition vehicle.
2. You Spend Half Your Life in Stop-Go Traffic (And Hate DCT Quirks)
The 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox is quick and efficient once you’re rolling. At 5–20 km/h in Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road gridlock or London’s M25 car-park, it’s… awkward.
You’ll feel:
- A half-second “thinking” delay when pulling away from the lights (classic DCT trait)
- Occasional jerkiness between 1st and 2nd in crawling traffic
- A slight “about to stall” lurch if you lift off and re-apply throttle too quickly
It’s never dangerous, but after two hours stuck on Emirates Road in 48 °C heat it becomes genuinely irritating. My wife (who daily-drives a torque-converter Mercedes GLC) refused to drive the T2 in traffic after day three.
If your commute is anything worse than “lightly flowing”, a traditional automatic from Toyota, Ford, or VW will make you happier every single day.
3. You’re Terrified of Unknown Long-Term Reliability and Resale Value
Jetour is six years old. Chery’s quality has improved dramatically, but we simply don’t know how these cars behave at 200,000–300,000 km yet.
In the UAE, Toyota Land Cruisers hold 65–70 % of their value after five years. Nobody knows what a five-year-old T2 will be worth in 2030. Early signs are decent (Chery Tiggo 8 Pros are holding value surprisingly well), but it’s still a gamble.
Parts and service networks are growing fast in the UAE (Al Tayer and AGMC are expanding Jetour coverage), but in rural UK you might be waiting weeks for a tail-light. If you keep cars for ten years or flip them every three, the safe money is still on Japanese metal.
4. You Want to Impress the Valet at Dubai Marina or the School-Run Mums in Chelsea
Let’s not pretend prestige doesn’t matter to some people.
When you roll up in a matte-black T2 Dark Knight, 80 % of people think “That looks bloody cool”. The other 20 % ask “Is that the new Defender… no, wait, what is it?”
It does not carry the same social weight as a G-Class, Range Rover, or even a top-spec Prado. If your ego needs a three-pointed star, interlocking rings, or a green oval, the T2 will leave you secretly disappointed every time you hand the keys to the valet.
5. You Absolutely Despise Touchscreen-Everything Cars
Jetour went full Tesla inside.
- Side mirror adjustment? Touchscreen menu, three taps.
- Detailed climate control? Touchscreen.
- Drive-mode history and tyre pressures? Touchscreen.
- Even the volume knob sometimes feels like an afterthought.
There are physical shortcuts for the important stuff (fan speed, defrost, terrain dial), but if you believe critical functions should have physical switches (like every Land Rover built before 2020), the T2 will drive you insane.
In 50 °C heat with sweaty fingers or UK winter with gloves on, fumbling through menus feels like a downgrade from a ten-year-old Fortuner.
The Final Truth
Here’s the paradox: The Jetour T2 is one of the most exciting new cars I’ve driven in years. It’s also the easiest car I’ve ever reviewed to tell certain people to avoid completely.
If none of the five points above apply to you — you do light gravel/sand trips, you want maximum style and kit for minimum money, you mostly drive on-road, and you’re happy to take a small reliability/resale gamble — then stop reading and go order one tomorrow. You will love it.
But if even one of those five is a genuine deal-breaker, walk away without regret. There are brilliant alternatives (used Prado, new Everest, VW Amarok, Ineos Grenadier) that will suit you better.
The T2 isn’t flawed. It’s just not universal.
And that’s perfectly okay.
Now go make the right decision for YOU — not the internet. 🚗
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