SPEC SHOWDOWN: 2023 Jetour Dashing vs. 2023 Geely Coolray Sport SE

Whatever your opinion may be of the Geely Coolray, you can’t deny that it made huge waves when it showed up on our roads in 2019.

It not only put Geely on the map as a Chinese car brand with actual street cred, but it turned the then-rather-boring subcompact crossover segment into a market where everyone had to be.

Jetour, a subsidiary of the Chery Holding Group, is aiming to do the same thing with the Dashing crossover, which wades into battle with heaps of style and tech never before seen in crossovers.

But how does the Jetour Dashing stack up against the top-spec Geely Coolray Sport SE? We put them head-to-head in this AutoFun Philippines Spec Showdown.

Longer, wider, taller

The new Dashing actually belongs to the larger compact crossover category, with the likes of the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V and Mazda CX-5.

But since it is priced to take on the Coolray, it’s certainly worth the comparison.

The numbers don’t lie – for a bit more money, you get a lot more real estate for five passengers with the Dashing.

Styling is, of course, a purely subjective matter. 

The Coolray looks more sporty and youthful with its big tailgate spoiler and aggressive body kit. Meanwhile, the Dashing has a more upscale appearance that combines radical shapes with neat design elements like pop-out door handles.

For style and size, I’d go for the Jetour.

Techy cabin

I’ve driven both of these cars, and their interiors are just as starkly different as their exteriors.

Both the Coolray Sport SE and the Dashing feature leather-lined cabins with plenty of toys to keep everyone entertained (and safe, even). 

Again, the Geely goes for the sporty crossover approach with its two-tone cabin, sport seats and faux-aluminum trim. It also has a 10.25-inch touchscreen with Bluetooth to hook up your phone.

The Jetour, on the other hand, feels like you’re sitting in a plush, minimalist lounge with white leather and a pair of screens to access all of your information. The Dashing’s center touchscreen is a 12.8-inch display that controls everything from the air-conditioning to the side mirrors.

Jetour Auto Philippines has not yet released the full specs of the cabin, so there are no figures yet on cargo capacity. But given that it is larger than the Coolray, it should be able to haul more.

If it were down to me, I prefer the Dashing’s cabin more.

Ferocious performance

Up next, the performance.

Although Jetour Auto Philippines has not yet released the final powertrain specifications of the Dashing, the company told AutoFun Philippines that it has a 1.5-liter gasoline engine.

Looking at specs from abroad, the Dashing is available with a turbocharged 1.5-liter, twin-cam, 16-valve inline-4 pumping out 158 PS and 230 Nm of torque. This is mated to a dual-clutch transmission.

Unfortunately, this means it is way down on grunt to the ferociously fast Coolray, which is powered by a turbocharged 1.5-liter, twin-cam, 12-valve inline-3 gasoline engine producing 179 PS and 255 Nm of torque.

The Geely gets a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Given that the Coolray is smaller and lighter than the Dashing, it gets the top trump in the performance department.

Strong chances

So, does the Jetour Dashing have enough to sway buyers from the venerable Geely Coolray?

I think it has a good chance, given that it has plenty of standard equipment for its ₱1,329,000 pricetag. That’s certainly more than the ₱1,269,000 that Geely asks for a top-spec Coolray, but you get a bigger and newer car.

Let’s not forget that the Coolray came out in 2018, while the Dashing only came out in 2022.

Depending on how Jetour Auto Philippines plays its cards, the Dashing could shake up the rather expensive and boring compact crossover segment all on its own.

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