Almost fifty Chinese automotive brands entered the UAE market in the past couple of years; so one can term the entry of Soueast as fashionably late. But that doesn’t mean these models are strangers to our market. There is a little-known element of familiarity in that many in the Soueast range are rebadged Jetour models. Starring under the expanding canopy of Chery, Soueast and Jetour belong to the same automotive group. The model most recently arrived in the UAE is Soueast S08 DM (dual mode) – a hybrid 7-seater SUV that offers premium value through touches of comfort and functions designed for ease.
After a brief but telling narrative of the Soueast brand, pick the review article of S08 – and enjoy a few surprises packed into that hybrid 7-seater SUV.
Take a brand tour
Soueast was founded in 1995. The early partnership with Mitsubishi brought in Japanese technology till the brand exited in 2021, paving the way for a full takeover by Chery in 2024. And that might add a touch of familiarity to the brand in our part of the world, because this makes Jetour and Soueast siblings by marriage. In fact, for good or bad, most of the Soueast models are merely rebadged Jetours!
“Hi, Soul Ease!”
While Soueast might sound like cockney for South East, the combination has a reason. This automobile brand comes from China’s southeast province of Fujian. And just when we settle into that origin story, they go ahead and complicate the name with a layer of philosophy. It supposedly stands for “Soul Ease” which doesn’t appear to be English for anything but happens to be the very phrase that the voice of the cabin assistant responds to!
Now, click on the SOUEAST S08 REVIEW
