Chery Tiggo 7 review
There's plenty to like about the new Chery Tiggo 7, especially its attractive price tag
Our opinion on the Chery Tiggo 7
The Chery Tiggo 7 is a very strong introduction to the UK market. Established rivals are better to drive and we hope build quality will improve in time, but the Tiggo 7 has a lot to offer, thanks to extremely competitive pricing, stacks of equipment and enough practicality for most family SUV buyers.
About the Chery Tiggo 7
It’s hard to keep track of all the new Chinese brands entering the UK market right now, but Chery is one to be reckoned with. It has launched here with a three-strong line up consisting of the massive Tiggo 9 SUV, the slightly smaller Tiggo 8 SUV and the Tiggo 7, which is a rival to the likes of the Dacia Bigster and MG HS.
There are plenty of alternatives to the Tiggo 7 from within the wider ‘Chery Automobile’ group, which also contains the confusingly-named Omoda 7 and Jaecoo 7 – all three share the same platform, too. Unlike slightly more premium-orientated Omoda and Jaecoo brands, Chery focuses more on value, which makes the Tiggo 7 the cheapest of the three. Two engines are offered on the Tiggo 7 – a pure-petrol and a plug-in hybrid – and both can be had in entry-level Aspire or Summit trim.
Don’t go thinking Chery has achieved this price by stripping the Tiggo 7 of the essentials. As we’ve come to expect from Chinese cars, the Tiggo 7 is packed with equipment. The entry-level Aspire has twin 12.3-inch screens with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, LED lights front and rear, a six-way powered driver’s seat, dual-zone automatic air-conditioning and a wide-view rear camera.
Tiggo 7 Summit adds a powered bootlid, a four-way powered passenger seat, a dual-panoramic sunroof, an upgraded Sony sound system and an around-view camera system that includes a ‘view’ through the chassis.
Chery Tiggo 7 prices and latest deals
The Tiggo 7 costs from just £24,995 with a 145bhp turbocharged 1.6-litre pure-petrol; if you want that engine in the Jaecoo 7, you’re looking at a touch over £30,000.
The Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid uses the same plug-in hybrid system as the £35,165 Jaecoo 7 – except it costs just £29,995 here. That also makes the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid the UK’s cheapest plug-in hybrid. Summit trim adds £3,000 to the price of the pure-petrol or PHEV respectively.
Even though Chery has only just launched in the UK, you can already find discounts of more than £1,500 on the Tiggo 7 by heading to the Auto Express Buy A Car service right now.
Performance & driving experience
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The Tiggo 7 has a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine with power going to the front wheels via a seven-speed automatic transmission. The Super Hybrid gets a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a 201bhp electric motor, fed by an 18.4kWh battery. The gearbox in the Super Hybrid is a three-speed automatic, which is bespoke to the PHEV.
| Model | Power | 0-62mph | Top speed |
| Chery Tiggo 7 | 145bhp | 9.4 seconds | 112mph |
| Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid | 204bhp | 8.5 seconds | 112mph |
Performance, 0-60mph acceleration and top speed
A selection of drive modes can be selected by the rather large dial on the centre console, but we didn’t notice much difference between the three (Eco, Normal and Sport). With a kerbweight of 1,795kg, the Qashqai-sized Tiggo 7 isn’t particularly light, but it will sprint from 0-62mph in a perfectly adequate 8.5 seconds, and the electric motor and petrol engine worked together smoothly. The three-speed gearbox, which is bespoke to the plug-in hybrid, sometimes felt a little hesitant.
If you go to push the starter button in the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid, as you would in the pure-petrol model, you’ll find Chery has blanked over the control. Instead, the car is ready to go on electric power as soon as you’ve shifted into drive.
The electric motor is designed to do much of the heavy lifting in the PHEV and we tried mashing the throttle several times with no audible interruption from the petrol engine, which is drowned out by tyre and wind noise well before. To this extent the Tiggo 7 feels like a range-extender to drive.
As for the non-hybrid, the four-cylinder is a little gruff-sounding, but it’s at least responsive on the throttle and the seven-speed automatic is much smoother than the PHEV’S fairly clunky gearbox. In the real world the 0-62mph time of 9.4 seconds is fine, although that means you’ll have to accelerate hard frequently, resulting in rough-sounding engine noise.
Town driving, visibility and parking
A turning circle of 11 metres and light steering mean the Tiggo 7 is a breeze to drive on tighter urban streets. It might be larger than most of its rivals, but it doesn’t feel like it on the road. There’s generally decent visibility all round and as standard you get front and rear parking sensors, plus a rear-view camera with guide lines.
Low-speed ride quality is good, too. The suspension set-up is on the soft side, so speedbumps and potholes are well dampened. It is a slight shame that the non-hybrid’s overly-responsive throttle can make things a little jerky, although the electric focus of the plug-in hybrid definitely suits town driving.
Country road driving and handling
As you’d expect, the Tiggo 7 hasn’t been set up to provide sharp dynamics and you’ll quickly realise this the moment you try to drive with any kind of verve. The steering is light and while the front-end response isn’t terrible, there’s very little feedback. Due to the SUV profile (tall body, lots of wheel travel) there’s a noticeable amount of lean in the bends as well, however, grip levels seem to be pretty good overall. The brakes also provide decent stopping power, even if the brake pedal feel isn’t the smoothest.
Motorway driving and long-distance comfort
Thanks to the electric motor taking over much of the time, the refinement levels are pretty decent. All models get double-glazed windows, which help dampen exterior noise, although at motorway speeds we could hear plenty of tyre roar. The ride itself was a slight letdown, with an underlying harshness. It’s not something that would put us off a long journey, but a Kia Sportage or Hyundai Tucson would probably leave you feeling more refreshed after several hours.
MPG & running costs
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Having the same engine line-up as the Jaecoo 7 means the Chery receives the same benefits and negatives regarding fuel efficiency. The pure-petrol will be thirsty; we averaged 27mpg in the Jaecoo 7 and expect only slightly higher figures for the Chery.
| Model | MPG | CO2 | Insurance group |
| Chery Tiggo 7 Aspire | 42.2mpg | 159g/km | 31 |
| Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid | 343mpg | 23g/km | 31 |
Electric range, battery life and charge time
The Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid’s preference for electric propulsion does pose the question of EV range, which is a claimed 56 miles. That matches the Jaecoo 7 PHEV and is 13 miles more than a Kia Sportage PHEV and even three miles more than the new Citroen C5 Aircross, which packs a larger 21kWh battery. It’s not quite as far as you’d get in the MG HS, which stayed true to its 75-mile range claim during our real-world test. During our test of the Chery we saw a very impressive range of 45 miles.
The Tiggo 7 PHEV charges at 40kW, meaning a 30 to 80 per cent top up takes 30 minutes.
| Model | Battery size | Range | Insurance group |
| Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid | 21kWh | 56 miles | 35 |
Insurance groups
The Chery Tiggo 7 is an expensive car to insure. Sitting in group 31 for the pure-petrol option, that’s significantly higher than the likes of the Nissan Qashqai and Hyundai Tucson, which both cost more to buy. The plug-in hybrid version is unsurprisingly pricier to insure, but not by much, so it’s not too bad compared with other PHEV family SUVs.
Tax
All versions of the Chery Tiggo 7 sit below the £40,000 threshold, so there’s no luxury car tax to pay. The plug-in hybrid is the cheapest to tax for company-car users, sitting in a BiK tax band of nine per cent. The pure-petrol’s 159g/km of emissions means you’ll have to pay a first-year rate of £1,360 (£110 for the PHEV).
Depreciation
It’s too soon to get data from real-life customers of the Tiggo 7, but our experts predict that the Chery will hold on to almost 50 per cent of its original price after three years and 36,000 miles. That’s better than you get from a Nissan Qashqai (which holds 48 per cent on average), but not quite up to the Dacia Bigster’s 56 per cent.
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Interior, design & technology
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For similar money you can get Dacia’s Bigster, but while the Romanian brand focuses on a robust, off-roader look, Chery has aimed to give the Tiggo 7 a more premium appeal.
This can be a tricky strategy, especially on the budget end of the market, but kudos to Chery, because they’ve done a pretty good job of it. Compared with sister cars from Jaecoo and Omoda, the Tiggo 7 doesn’t really feel or look like it undercuts its siblings by a few thousand pounds.
There are seven colours to choose from. ‘Arctic White’ is the only no-cost option with blue, grey, silver, black and then silver with a black roof all costing £500. Red with a black roof costs £1,000. There’s only one interior colourway: black leather with white headlining.
Interior and dashboard design
Step inside the Tiggo 7 and you’re met with a cabin that on the surface at least, belies its budget price tag. The steering wheel is the most obvious indication of part-sharing, given that it’s the same one you get in the Jaecoo 7, but elsewhere the artificial-carbon on the dash and some detailing (such as the silver window switches, pronounced panels for the speakers and door handles) has more than a whiff of Mercedes about it.
Materials and build quality
There were quite a few creaks and squeaks in the Tiggo 7, but we’re hoping this is an issue that only afflicts these early test cars. In comparison, we found the Tiggo 8 to be better screwed together.
Another part of the Chery’s interior that seems inspired by other brands is the wood-style panel on the centre of the dash. It looks very similar to the Nissan Ariya’s and has pretty much the same bank of climate controls. The Nissan’s respond better, however, and the Tiggo 7’s often require a couple of touches.
Infotainment, sat-nav and stereo
The driver’s display isn’t without fault either. It’s a big screen, which is hidden behind the steering wheel, with key information (such as the speedometer) pushed to the corners for some reason. Even for a fairly young company like Chery, this seems like an astonishing oversight to us.
The Chery’s central touchscreen with its Snapdragon processor responds exceptionally well, though, and is ready to load up menus almost instantly. The infotainment itself is pretty easy to navigate, although the shortcut buttons are a little small – bigger controls for these frequently used functions would save some hassle. We also found Apple CarPlay connectivity to be a breeze, connecting in a matter of seconds.
Boot space & practicality
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There’s one SUV bodystyle to the Tiggo 7, although if you want more space there’s always the Tiggo 8 and Tiggo 9 from Chery. Unlike those cars, which come with up to seven seats, the Tiggo 7 is a strict five-seater. But we think there’s enough interior space for Chery’s smallest SUV to suit most family needs.
Dimensions and size
| Dimensions comparison | |||
| Model | Chery Tiggo 7 | Dacia Bigster | Nissan Qahqai |
| Length | 4,553mm | 4,570mm | 4,425mm |
| Width | 1,862mm | 1,812mm | 1,835mm |
| Height | 1,686mm | 1,711mm | 1,625mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,670mm | 2,702mm | 2,665mm |
| Boot space | 565-1,396 litres | 612-1,977 litres | 504-1,447 litres |
The Tiggo 7 might be the smallest SUV in Chery’s line up, but it’s around the same size as other family SUVs such as the Dacia Bigster, Nissan Qashqai, Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage. The Tiggo 7’s typical SUV proportions mean it has a decent ground clearance, although being two-wheel drive it’ll manage grass verges and curbs – and that’s about it.
Seats & passenger space
Up front you sit quite high up in the Tiggo 7, which is no bad thing because this helps towards a decent all-round view. The standard-fit electrically-adjustable driver’s seat also has a good range of movement and is easy to operate using controls on the side of the seat. We also found the comfort of the driver’s seat pleasant enough after several hours.
The high roofline means that even tall adults will be accommodated in the rear with no central tunnel for middle seat passengers to contend with, and the Summit’s panoramic sunroof doesn’t hinder headroom either. The door bins are small in the back, but there is a fold-down arm rest with two cup-holders. The rear seats aren’t the comfiest and you sit upright with a rather flat bench beneath you.
Boot space
The Tiggo 7’s boot is pretty competitive, at 565 litres, compared with the MG HS’ 507-litres. The Kia Sportage (591 litres) and Hyundai Tucson (620 litres) are a useful chunk larger and if you go for the plug-in hybrid Tiggo 7 you’ll get 484 litres due to the position of the battery.
The upright, traditional SUV proportions mean the load area is quite high up on the Chery, but the handy moveable boot floor can flatten the boot lip. Unlike the Tiggo 8, which at least gets some tying loops, there aren’t any useful netting partitions or places to tie luggage down in the Tiggo 7.
Towing
The towing weight (unbraked) for both the pure-petrol and plug-in hybrid Tiggo 7 is 750kg.
Reliability & safety
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The Dacia Bigster got three Euro NCAP stars, so Chery’s score of four stars shouldn’t be looked down upon too much. Indeed, the scoring through the categories was pretty even, although a child occupant protection rating of 77 per cent might concern parents, especially when the Bigster and MG HS received 85 per cent here.
There’s a solid amount of safety kit as standard, which is on par with the Tiggo 7’s rivals. There’s autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic braking, lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring. The top-spec Summit doesn’t introduce any extra safety technology, although it does add a 540-degree exterior camera. Most systems work perfectly fine, but the lane-keep assistance tugged aggressively at the wheel – even on occasions when it wasn’t necessary.
Being a new brand here in the UK, it’s reassuring to know Chery will give Tiggo 7 a seven-year/100,000-mile warranty, with roadside assistance for the first year. The battery in the plug-in hybrid gets a separate eight-year/100,000-mile warranty.
As with the Jaecoo 7, the Tiggo 7 gets an interest-free service plan. It costs £49 more than the Jaecoo strangely, but £599 for 3 years and 30,000 miles is still pretty good.
| Euro NCAP safety ratings | |
| Euro NCAP safety rating | Four stars (out of five) |
| Adult occupant protection | 80% |
| Child occupant protection | 77% |
| Vulnerable road user protection | 80% |
| Safety assist | 78% |
Buying and owning
- Best buy: Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Aspire
The plug-in hybrid powertrain is definitely the one to go for with the Tiggo 7 – provided of course you regularly use the electric-only running often. Most people will be fine with Aspire trim rather than the Summit, because while a powered bootlid, uprated sound system and powered passenger seat sounds nice, the Tiggo 7’s main appeal is price, so keeping below £30,000 is great value for a car this size and with the standard equipment.
Chery Tiggo 7 alternatives
While almost every car brand builds SUVs that fulfill a similar brief to the Tiggo 7, there are few that can compete with Chery’s aggressive pricing. The Dacia Bigster is one and it’s an excellent option thanks to its superior practicality and off-road ability. The Dacia doesn’t target a premium look (like the Chery), but it’s got character. Then there’s the MG HS, which has a better plug-in hybrid electric range than the Tiggo 7 PHEV, and base-level versions of the Nissan Qashqai, which might not get as good a kit list as the Chery, but will feel more competent to drive.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Chery Tiggo 7 is priced well, has lots of kit and space, but it’s not the best to drive and pure-petrol versions will be thirsty
Deals on Chery Tiggo 7 and alternatives
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