Chery Tiggo7 arrives in SA and impresses
CHERY Motors South Africa has been on a bit of a mission lately with new cars arriving just about every two months. We, along with many other motoring scribes, were impressed with their compact offering, the Tiggo4, as well as their flagship Tiggo8, which blew us away with what it has on offer for the price. Now the brand has introduced the Tiggo7 which, like the other two, is very impressive.
After the resounding success of the Tiggo4 and the Tiggo8 we had high hopes for the newcomer. The Tiggo7 confirmed our expectations when it comes to design. The Chery design language is clear with the hexagonal grille with its three-dimensional diamond-shaped brightwork, the elongated front lights that run from the grille to the start of the sharply creased shoulder line and the deeply scalloped lower bumper and air intakes. The Tiggo7 looks similar to the bigger Tiggo8 but there are differentiating factors. Overall it looks muscular and sporty from the front.
The rear is equally stylish. Use of an edgeto-edge LED light bar forms the tail light cluster which is interrupted by the large and bold
Chery logo. The roof-mounted spoiler and dual faux exhaust surrounds are standard. Finishing the design are unique 18 inch alloy wheels.
The interior is as eye-catching as the exterior and resembled that of the other models in the line-up. It has an uncluttered fascia, three digital screens with soft touch surfaces. The dashboard features leather-like material that is stitched. It adds a sense of elegance throughout the cabin.
The digital instrument cluster is visually appealing as is the large 10.25 inch touchscreen infotainment system complete with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Lower down on the console is a third screen which provides the climate control functions. A short gear-lever and gloss black trim on the centre console further add to the premium look and feel.
There is a lot of storage space throughout the cabin, especially up front. Below the centre console is a neat and handy storage compartment with a wireless charging tray. Rear legroom is also decent as is the luggage compartment at 475-litres which expands to 1 500 when the seats are folded flat. We put the latter to the test as Chery South Africa donated blankets, food and finances to the
Tswara Ganang Children’s Home.
Under the bonnet of the Tiggo7 there’s a 1.5 litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine.
The engine is equipped with multipoint direct injection and 16 valves. The result is a decent 108kW and 210Nm of torque. There is a bit of turbo-lag on initial pull-away but out on the road the Tiggo7 is eager to cruise. It remains comfortable over various road surfaces and the drive is relatively relaxing.
All Chery Tiggo7 models feature ISOFIX child seat anchors, ABS disk brakes on all four wheels with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, Emergency Brake Assistance, Hill Start Assistance and Hill Descent Control as well as Rear Traffic Alert and Blind Spot Detection.
The executive model that we sampled at the launch also featured a comprehensive intelligent safety package, which includes Lane Departure Warning , Front Collision Warning , Automatic Emergency Braking and a 360-degree around-view monitor.
The Tiggo7 Pro is an impressive vehicle offering a raft of standard features in an attractive package.
Sure, the drive-train is not the most refined and fuel consumption is a bit high – we averaged 10l/100km. That said, at a starting price of just R409 900 for the Distinction model and R444 900 for the top-spec Executive model one will be extremely hard pressed to find a better deal.
All Chery Tiggo 7 Pro models are sold with a five-year/60 000km service plan, five-year/unlimited kilometre roadside assistance programme, a five-year/150 000km general mechanical warranty and a comprehensive 10-year/1-million-kilometre engine warranty with the original owner.