What could possibly be the biggest surprise of 2021 was, in my opinion, the
Chery Tiggo4 Pro. It’s a new addition not only to the compact
SUV segment but to the country in general. Well, sort of, you see
Chery was brought into
S.A a few years ago by a large dealership group. The brand offered some rebadged vehicles, like the
Chery QQ which was a Daewoo Matiz clone. The other offering was the
Tiggo.
Chery is
back in the country, and it is not part of some dealership group. It is a stand-alone company which is great news because this means that customer service, parts and representation will be put first in order to grow their footprint.
Now what about the product?
Chery gave me the keys to their first offering, the
Tiggo4 Pro for the December period and having sampled the car at the national media launch, we were keen to see what this car was like. The
Tiggo4 Pro has already been impressing members of the media in terms of design, quality and value for money.
This
Tiggo and the first attempt offered a few years ago are so different, I would go as far as not even acknowledging the first car's existence. Chinese automakers have improved on their offerings so much in the last few years that it boggles the mind, and
Chery is one of those manufacturers. Much like Haval,
Chery aims to become a popular offering on the roads of
South Africa.
So what is the
Tiggo4 Pro like? Well, for starters this is the flagship
Tiggo so it offers all the bells and even more whistles. In fact, when compared to some of its German rivals you will have to find an extra R100 000 and still wont get everything that is offered by the
Chery.
From a visual perspective we think that the designers have nailed the styling. It looks modern and muscular yet not overly designed with unnecessary elements that clutter the overall look.
LED headlights and
DRL’s feature as do some red elements on this
Pro model. Black rims add to the sporty look, as does the sunroof.
Inside the new
Tiggo is where we were further impressed. Visually the facia looks good and modern with a large dashboard mounted touchscreen infotainment system. It offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There is also a digital instrument cluster that changes depending on what driving mode you are in. The centre console climate control is void of buttons, instead it is also touch sensitive. There is ambient lighting throughout the interior which adds to the quality look, but what about the feel?
Now we have seen this before where the interior looks good but quality feel is just not here. This is not the case with the
Tiggo that I drove. The top of the dashboard was soft touch, all the way to the windscreen, the door tops were also soft touch and the leather trip, stitching and just about everything else that you interact with is top notch. Sure, lower parts of the dashboard feature hard plastics but to be honest, you need to look for them to find them.
The
Tiggo is also quite practical as it offers decent interior space, luggage space is also decent. Having a new addition to the family brings with it a host of new items to lug around, like brams and bags. Not once did we find space to be an issue.
Rear passengers also benefit from air-vents and the
ISOFIX points are a bonus. As are the various safety features on offer, like traction control, down hill descent control, a host of airbags and ABS. Add to that auto lights and auto wipers plus a quality reverse camera. The list of standard equipment is seriously impressive.
There is even
voice control which is as good as that on the latest smartphone. The system can open and close just the driver's window or all of them, adjust the climate control, open and close the sunroof, and find a radio station. It’s a bit gimmicky, but it’s impressive in its voice recognition.
Under the bonnet is a 1.5-litre turbocharged motor that develops 108kW and 210Nm. Power is decent and the
CVT gearbox does a good job getting it all to the front wheels. The
Tiggo was great for random trips over the holiday period as well as the city runaround. The
Tiggo is easy to park, spacious and the proximity key means that it will lock when you walk away and unlock when you get close.
Out on the road, we found the
Tiggo to offer a really comfortable ride quality and it was able to handle the uneven, pothole riddled roads that we have to deal with on a daily basis. We also like the fact that the
Tiggo offers a 180mm ground clearance which is great for venturing off the tarmac.
Overall, the
Tiggo4 Pro is an incredibly impressive vehicle, and with a price range from R359 900 for the flagship model it becomes a no-brainer within the segment. The entry-level model has a price tag ranging from R269 900, however we haven't sampled that offering hence I’m unable to expand on what that is like. Should you add the new Tiggo4 Pro to your list? In my opinion, it should be at the very top.
