Chery Tiggo 8 review

Our opinion on the Chery Tiggo 8 

There aren’t many competitors on the market that can compete successfully with the Chery Tiggo 8’s combination of kit list, pricing and practicality. There is a slight caveat that the best option is the plug-in hybrid, so you’ll have to make sure your lifestyle suits that powertrain - but if it does, you’ll find this an excellent SUV. 

About the Chery Tiggo 8

Ranking third in our table of the best and worst Chinese car brands in the UK – only behind BYD and MG – Chery is a company you should be paying attention to, even more so than its Jaecoo and Omoda sister brands. 

Chery’s new range of SUVs is targeting buyers with keen pricing, oodles of kit, efficient engines and strong practicality. The formula was proved with its first UK-bound car, the Nissan Qashqai-rivalling Tiggo 7, and now the Tiggo 8 is looking to do the same in the seven-seat SUV category. 

Standard equipment on the Aspire model includes 19-inch alloy wheels, a 15.6-inch central touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, a 50W wireless charging pad, a 540-degree exterior parking camera system, LED headlights and an electrically adjustable driver’s seat. 

Go for Summit trim and you get a panoramic sunroof, hands-free electric bootlid, 12-speaker Sony sound system, ambient cabin lighting, a heated steering wheel, heated, ventilated and massaging front seats, heated second-row seats, a head-up display and illuminated door sills.

Sitting below the larger and slightly more premium Tiggo 9, the Tiggo 8 comes with the same petrol and plug-in hybrid powertrains as the Tiggo 7. 

Chery Tiggo 8 prices and latest deals

Pricing for the Chery Tiggo 8 starts at £28,545, making this seven-seat SUV nearly £10,000 less than the Skoda Kodiaq, as well as significantly undercutting other rivals like the Peugeot 5008 and Kia Sorento. Only the Dacia Jogger and Citroen Berlingo offer seven seats for less than the Chery. 

That headline price is for the pure-petrol Tiggo 8, but if you want the plug-in hybrid it’ll cost £33,545. Both powertrains start with Aspire trim, while Summit commands an extra £3,000. 

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Instead of getting the more potent plug-in hybrid all-wheel-drive powertrain from the Tiggo 9, the Tiggo 8 has the same engines as the Tiggo 7. There’s a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder motor with power going to the front wheels via a seven-speed automatic transmission. The Super Hybrid consists of 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 Chery’s Super Hybrid system.

Performance, 0-60mph acceleration and top speed 

Thanks to the shared powertrain technology with the Tiggo 7, the larger plug-in hybrid Tiggo 8 doesn’t feel all that different to drive. You get a selection of drive modes (Eco, Normal and Sport) to adjust the Tiggo 8’s behaviour on the road, although we can’t spot much difference between them. 

We have no issue about the straight-line performance of the Tiggo 8 PHEV. Chery’s system prioritises electric power, so the motor’s full 365Nm of torque is available nice and quickly. The smoothness of the EV set-up is a little at odds with the three-speed gearbox connected to the 1.5-litre engine - it’s incredibly long geared and can feel hesitant to change at times.

We’ve not driven the 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine yet in this model, but we found it to be pretty lacklustre in the Tiggo 7. Given that the Tiggo 8 weighs an extra 155kg, the larger model will feel even more sluggish. 

Town driving, visibility and parking

The Chery Tiggo 8 might look like a big, unwieldy SUV, but it’s surprisingly capable around town. The turning circle of 11.2 metres is only 0.2 metres greater than the Tiggo 7’s and light steering means tight manoeuvres are no trouble. 

Having a focus on EV power means the Tiggo 8 is quiet too (until the petrol engine grumbles into life, which is a rare occurrence). Overall refinement is boosted by the softly sprung suspension; the Tiggo 8 will soak up big bumps and potholes with ease at low speed, although very eager steering inputs will cause some body roll.

We found the high driving position helped with all-round visibility, although the view to the rear is woeful if you have the central rear headrest in. A saving grace are the standard-fit exterior cameras front and rear, while the Summit version’s additional surround-view camera is impressive. 

Country road driving and handling 

The T1X platform that underpins the Tiggo 8 (plus the Tiggo 7, Tiggo 9 and the forthcoming Tiggo 4) was co-developed by Chery’s partner, Jaguar Land Rover. However, it doesn’t really feel like any JLR product. 

The Chery Tiggo 8 PHEV's emphasis on comfort around town is evident on more flowing roads. There’s a noticeable amount of lean in the bends and that light steering makes it difficult to accurately place the front end - even in Sport mode, which rather annoyingly shouts “Sport Mode” at you via the speakers when you select it. 

There’s scope to adjust the strength of brake regeneration in the menu and while it’s generally smooth, there’s an inconsistency at low speeds. Given how dominant the electric motor is in the plug-in hybrid, we’d like a higher amount of regenerative braking to really provide an easy-going, EV-like driving experience. 

Motorway driving and long-distance comfort 

On a cruise, the Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid feels more like a range-extender than a plug-in hybrid. The engine fades into the background and with double-glazed windows all round as standard, wind and noise are very well suppressed. 

Compared with other seven-seat SUVs such as the Peugeot 5008 and Kia Sorento, the ride is a little more fidgety on the motorway, but it’s not something that would put us off taking the Chery on a long journey. The Tiggo 8 also undercuts those cars by a substantial amount; the Dacia Jogger MPV is slightly closer to the Chinese car’s price point, but nowhere near as comfortable or lavishly equipped. 

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Chery’s Super Hybrids are pretty impressive. The Tiggo 8, like the Tiggo 7, doesn’t get the massive battery available in the larger Tiggo 9, which gives that car a whopping 91 miles of electric range. But this car’s 56 miles is nothing to be sniffed at - especially at this price. 

During our drive of the Tiggo 8 plug-in hybrid, we spent most of our time using just the electric motor. Yet after a few hours on a variety of roads, and even in swirling, cold rain, we found that the estimated range was pretty accurate. Of course, having such a long range boosts the quoted economy figure (a very unrealistic 202mpg in this case), although that figure is still not even half the efficiency that’s quoted for the similarly sized Volkswagen Tiguan plug-in hybrid. The culprit is the Chery’s 1.6-litre petrol engine - it’s rather hungry for fuel during the brief occasions it’s firing away. 

The Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid can charge its 18.4kWh battery on the move, but if you do need to plug it in, it’ll take 20 minutes to go from 20 to 80 per cent thanks to a relatively decent maximum recharge speed of 40kW. However, despite being a big seven-seater, the PHEV Tiggo 8 still has nowhere to store your charging cables. 

Although we’re yet to find out the real-world economy of the 1.6-litre, non-hybrid Tiggo 8, other cars with this engine don’t give us much hope. The quoted figure of 36.2mpg isn’t great, putting it in between the Omoda 5 (31.2mpg) and Jaecoo 5 (41mpg), both of which use the same motor. 

Insurance groups

As you’d expect, the non-hybrid petrol Tiggo 8 is the cheaper of the two powertrains to insure and it’s no more expensive than the smaller Tiggo 7. However, more expensive plug-in hybrid SUVs such as the Volkswagen Tiguan eHybrid (group 27) and Citroen C5 Aircross Plug-in Hybrid (group 30) are cheaper still. 

Tax

The Tiggo 8 PHEV sits in the 10 per cent bracket for company car tax, whereas the pure-petrol model is in the highest band. The petrol’s first-year VED road tax rate is £2,190 followed by an annual tax of £195 from year two onwards. The PHEV has the same annual tax, but costs just £110 for the first year.

Depreciation

It’s too soon to get data from real-life customers of the Tiggo 8, but our experts predict that the Chery will hold on to an average of 47.9 per cent of its original price after three years and 36,000 miles, with the plug-in hybrid faring slightly worse than the pure-petrol alternative. That’s about the same as the petrol and PHEV versions of the Peugeot 5008. 

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The new Tiggo 8 is actually a hefty redesign of a model that’s been on sale in other markets since 2017. The fresh face that first arrived in China in 2024 is aligned with the Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 9 thanks to a clear and consistent family look through the range - which is set to be continued with the entry-level Tiggo 4. 

It’s an inoffensive-looking thing, the Tiggo 8. The petrol model has a different set of lights to the plug-in hybrid (which also gets a humongous boot space thanks to its electrified powertrain), but you’d do well to tell them apart. 

Whatever version of the Tiggo 8 you choose there are five paint finishes. The only no-cost option is plain, white while blue, green, black or grey will set you back £500. Aside from that, there aren’t any exterior customisation options.

Interior and dashboard design 

There’s a slightly more premium look and feel to the Tiggo 8’s interior than the lesser Tiggo 7’s. Considering the similarities under the skin, the surface-level changes are a little odd. Some interesting, and what we think are manufacturing-led differences include the Tiggo 7’s large centre gearshift being reallocated to the Tiggo 8’s steering column, plus completely different infotainment screens, air vents, and centre console buttons. 

Materials and build quality

Chery has attempted to jazz up the Tiggo 8’s interior with some diamond shapes in the doors and some faux wood grain on the dash. The end result is a fairly smart-looking cabin - but one devoid of any excitement. It’s neat, tidy and that’s about it.

We found the interior build quality fairly impressive. The synthetic leather (which is used all over) is soft, the few buttons are nicely damped and there’s a sturdiness to the switchgear too. The quality extends to the middle-row seats too, but third-row passengers have to make do with a few more scratchy plastics. Considering it’ll mainly be children back there, that’s probably fine, though. One negative in our Summit car was the panoramic roof, which creaked over large bumps and rough roads. 

Infotainment, sat-nav and stereo 

Instead of going with the Tiggo 7’s dual-screen set-up, the Tiggo 8 has a much larger 15.6-inch screen as standard. The resolution is super-clear and it initially responded quickly to our inputs. However, as we started to delve deeper into the menus, we noticed it slowing up.

The usability of the infotainment is - quite literally - a little hit and miss. When you’re on the move, it’s difficult to operate frequently used functions such as the climate control, which is annoyingly located on a thin tab at the bottom. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, but they could have been better integrated; switching between the air-conditioning controls, for instance, requires several prods of the screen. 

The driver’s display also has an impressive resolution, but we fear some drivers will find the fonts way too small and difficult to read at a glance, especially with the bright white background. The head-up display on Summit trim only projects basic information including the speed.  

Unlike some other Chinese brands, which use in-house sound systems, Chery went to Sony for the stereo in the Tiggo 8. It shows too, because while you have to get the Summit trim to listen to it - the 12-speaker set up is very rich indeed. 

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If you compare the Tiggo 8 with its Omoda and Jaecoo sister cars, which offer the same technology in more expensive models, it’s difficult to see why you wouldn’t choose the Chery. The same is true when it comes to practicality, because the Tiggo 8 is the most spacious car in its class – although the plug-in hybrid at least has no real rivals at its price-point. 

Dimensions and size 

The Chery Tiggo 8 sits in an odd place in the market. It costs much the same as a Nissan Qashqai or Kia Sportage, but it’s much larger – and closer to the size of the Tiggo 9 than the Tiggo 7. As a result, it’s real competition for seven-seat SUVs including the Skoda Kodiaq, Peugeot 5008 and Volkswagen Tayron. Thanks to its SUV body, there’s plenty of interior space and it’s versatile too.

Seats & passenger space 

The front of the Chery Tiggo 8 is noticeably spacious and comes with a typically SUV-like high driving position. You sit rather upright, however, because the seat doesn't drop very low. There’s plenty of space in the middle row, too, but in the back things are a bit more cramped. However, a pair of six-foot adults will be able to make use of the rearmost seats on short journeys. Showing the Tiggo 8 wasn’t primarily designed for right-hand-drive markets is the fact that it’s easier to jump into the third row on the driver’s side – thanks to the 60:40 split. School-run regulars will know the other side is the preferred option. 

Being a family-friendly SUV, there are lots of places to store things. The Tiggo 8 has huge door bins that can hold large water bottles, a split-opening cubby that can store one-litre bottles upright, and cup-holders for every occupant. There are also three Isofix child-seat mounting points - about average for this class. 

Boot space 

With the third-row seats up, there’s just 117 litres of boot space, enough for two small suitcases. Flip them down and you get 494 litres, which is reasonably good, but a long way off the class leader, the Skoda Kodiaq. It’s easy to adjust the boot space in the Tiggo 8 too. There are long straps on the back of the third-row seats and we found no issues sliding the middle row around. 

The Tiggo 8 is a tall car, but the boot lip isn’t awkwardly high off the ground, and a movable boot floor means you can have a flat floor no matter how the seats are configured. A few more hooks and straps to secure items in the boot would be appreciated, however. 

Towing 

Even though it’s bigger and heavier than the Tiggo 7, the Tiggo 8’s identical powertrains mean it’s no better for towing. Both the PHEV and pure-petrol have an unbraked towing capacity of 750kg. 

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Chery as a brand is too new to feature in the Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, but buyers should take solace in the Tiggo 8’s competitive warranty. As with all Chery models, it gets a seven-year or 100,000-mile warranty - including RAC Home Start from the get-go. In the Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid, the battery also gets an eight-year or 100,000 miles, which matches the industry standard for EVs.

Less reassuring is the Tiggo 8’s Euro NCAP score. Despite having a wide range of safety technology fitted as standard (such as automatic emergency braking, lane-departure prevention, rear cross traffic alert, blind-spot detection and 10 airbags), it only managed four out of five stars, with fairly even scores across the board. 

That’s the same score as the Tiggo 7 and, as in the smaller car, we found some of the safety systems to be annoying. The Tiggo 8’s lane-keeping assist tugs at the wheel even more (due to its extra size) to keep it within the lines, and the adaptive cruise control isn’t the smoothest we’ve come across. 

• Best buy: Chery Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid Aspire

Just as with the Tiggo 7, or even the Tiggo 9 for that matter, the plug-in hybrid version of the Tiggo 8 is the one to have. It’ll not only be cheaper to run, it’s also nicer to drive and doesn’t cost too much extra to buy over the pure-petrol. The £3,000 price gap between Aspire and Summit trims means that whichever you choose, you’re getting good value. The Aspire is very well equipped as standard, although the Summit’s extra kit will be tempting for those looking for a more luxurious family SUV. 

Chery Tiggo 8 alternatives 

Given its keen prices, there aren’t really any direct alternatives to the Tiggo 8. The Dacia Jogger offers seven-seat practicality for less money - but it’s nowhere as well appointed as the Chery, nor does it come with the option of a plug-in hybrid. Likewise the Peugeot 5008, Skoda Kodiaq and Kia Sorento are big seven-seat SUVs, but only the Peugeot can offer plug-in hybrid power and seven-seat practicality together. 

Deals on the Tiggo 8 and alternatives

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