Chery Tiggo 7 Pro

Chery quotes 626L ‘minimum’ for the luggage capacity, expanding to a maximum of 1672L. It’s not clear which measuring standard is used for these figures, though to my eye it appears the volume is measured to the roof.

It also features a full-size spare wheel under the boot floor across the range, something of an abnormality these days.

Standard safety equipment includes:

• 8 airbags incl. front-centre, driver’s knee
• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Child presence detection
• Driver monitoring system
• Forward collision warning
• Integrated Cruise Assist
  • Adaptive cruise control
  • Lane centring assist
  • Traffic jam assist
• Intelligent Headlamp Control
  • Auto high-beam
• Lane departure warning
• Lane keep assist
• Parking sensors front, rear
• Rear cross-traffic assist
• Safe exit warning
• Speed limit assist
• Traffic sign recognition

Tiggo 7 Pro Elite adds:

• Surround-view cameras

There are 2 different fuel economy figures for the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro

The most fuel efficient Chery Tiggo 7 Pro is the URBAN 2WD with a 7 Speed Auto Dual Clutch which is powered by a Turbo Direct Fuel Injection and uses 7.0L of premium unleaded petrol per 100km on the combined cycle.

All Chery Tiggo 7 Pro’s need servicing every 12 Months months or 10,000km km, whichever comes first.

At launch, the Tiggo 7 Pro will be available with a single powertrain option – a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine.

Developing 137kW (5500rpm) and 275Nm (2000-4000rpm), the engine is teamed with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission which drives the front wheels in Urban and Elite versions, or all four wheels in the top-spec Ultimate.

Chery claims a 9.5-second 0-100km/h time for FWD models, and a slower 9.9 seconds for the AWD flagship. Quoted fuel consumption is 7.0L/100km for the Tiggo 7 Pro FWD, and 7.8L/100km for the AWD – both figures are on the combined ADR cycle. We saw closer to 8.5-9.0L/100km on our launch drive, which is fine but not amazing.

The fuel tank measures 51L in FWD models and 57L for the AWD, with 95 RON premium unleaded required as a minimum. It’s worth noting the Tiggo 7 Pro’s turbo petrol engine is homologated to Euro-6b emissions standards, despite most mainstream rivals opting for older Euro 5 standards.

On the cards for Australia is the Tiggo 7 Pro e+ plug-in hybrid, which uses a three-gear Direct Hybrid Transmission (DHT) featuring three physical gears and three engine operating points with an adjustable speed ratio.

Dual electric motors, a motor controller and transmission are integrated with each other, and mated with a “hybrid-specific” 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine. There’s a 19.27kWh ternary lithium battery and total system outputs of 240kW of power and 545Nm of torque, with claimed electric range of 80km under China’s WLTC cycle.

The on-road experience is typically where Chinese brands tend to stumble compared to more established makes. The Tiggo 7 Pro puts in a pretty solid showing, if not quite up there with the best in segment.

Performance and refinement from the 1.6-litre turbo petrol motor is decent. If driven in a measured manner the Tiggo 7 Pro will accelerate relatively smoothly if with the occasional hesitation on lift-off from that DCT.

We did note the Chery didn’t suffer quite as jumpy a first gear ratio as I’ve experienced in other Chinese cars with DCT’s, perhaps a condition that’s more tuned to domestic driving and traffic conditions. I’d advise not using the auto-hold function, however, as it drones as it builds revs and then awkwardly slurs off the line, particularly on inclines.

Otherwise, it’s a fairly pleasant SUV to live with in everyday driving around town. It gets along fine, rides reasonably well even on the Ultimate’s larger 19-inch alloy wheels, and insulation from the outside world is noteworthy.

The Tiggo 7 Pro is backed by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with seven years of capped-price servicing and seven years of roadside assistance.