New Chery Tiggo 8 7-seat family SUV just weeks from UK launch

The Skoda Kodiaq, Kia Sorento and Peugeot 5008 might have to watch their backs, because the new Chery Tiggo 8 seven-seat SUV has just made its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and is set to go on sale very soon. 

You will have heard the name Chery recently because, as well as being China’s biggest vehicle exporter for the past 22 years, it’s the parent company of Omoda and Jaecoo. Both brands have generated a lot of attention since launching in the UK in the past year, and now Chery is getting in on the fun.

The Chery Tiggo 8 will be the firm’s first offering to Brits, with pricing and specifications to be confirmed within the next few weeks. Customer deliveries will begin before the end of summer, we’ve been told. So what do we know about the car at this point?

The 4.7-metre long SUV uses Chery’s latest ‘Super Hybrid’ powertrain – the same one offered in the Jaecoo 7 SUV. It consists of a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, one electric motor and an 18.3 kWh battery that’s good for up to 56 miles of pure-electric driving on a single charge. 

With a fully charged battery and full tank of petrol, Chery says the Tiggo 8 can also cover up to 745 miles before it’s completely out of juice. The combined power output is rated at 201bhp and 365Nm of torque.

As well as three rows of seats, the Tiggo 8’s cabin features a large central touchscreen, a fully digital instrument panel, a 12-speaker Sony system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, ambient lighting and a panoramic sunroof. Apparently it’ll also be equipped with a suite of driver-assistance systems, like adaptive cruise control and lane centring, plus Chery is providing a 7-year/100,000-mile warranty.

Chery isn’t starting its UK sales adventure with an entry-level model and working its way up, the Tiggo 8 will be the firm’s flagship product but another SUV will follow soon after. We suspect this will be the more compact Tiggo 4 that the brand already sells in Australia. Over here, it could rival cars like the Hyundai Kona and Toyota C-HR.

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