The Chery Tiggo 7 Pro has been making waves in the market since its launch. With its striking design, modern features, effervescent engine, and modest price tag, the Tiggo 7 Pro is luring many customers to Chery showrooms. (Read Taye's review here.)
The Chery Tiggo 7 Pro is available in two derivatives, namely Distinction and Executive. The Executive trim is the flagship in the range and is filled to the brim with luxury features, but the entry-level Distinction model is well-equipped too. Is the Tiggo 7 Pro good for long drives, though? Let's take a closer look at its features and find out.
Comfort
The interior of the Tiggo 7 Pro is upholstered with black synthetic leather with contrasting stitching, which gives it a sleek and stylish look, and is easy to clean if your family likes to eat in the car. The driver's seat can be adjusted electrically in six ways, while the passenger seat in the Executive model has four-way electrical adjustment. The leather-covered steering wheel has satellite controls for the infotainment and voice command system. (Does the Tiggo 7 Pro have a sunroof, though?)
Infotainment
Three large digital displays can be found inside the cabin. The first is a 7-inch digital display in the middle of the dashboard, right in front of the driver. This floating screen is highly customisable, and easy to read in light or dark conditions.
The centre console is home to the large, 10.25-inch LCD screen. Like other Chery Tiggo Pro models, this screen is the most important part of the vehicle's information and entertainment settings. As expected, the system comes with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Bluetooth hands-free calling. It also has a high-output audio system. There are two USB ports up front and one in the second row for the rear passengers' devices.
The third screen is flush-mounted below the infotainment system. This screen (see below) features the display for the climate control system.
Related: Are Cherys good first cars?
Space
The Chery Tiggo 7 Pro has a length of 4,500mm and a wheelbase of 2,670mm, making it a rather large 5-seater SUV with plenty of legroom for those in the rear. The car's cargo space is equally impressive, with 414 litres of space that can be increased to 1,100 litres by folding down the back seats. This means you have copious amounts of space for whatever you need to bring along on your road trip - but can you fit a bicycle in one? Find out here.
Performance
The Tiggo 7 Pro has Chery's peppy 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine under the hood. The engine produces an impressive 108 kW at 5,500 rpm and 210 Nm of torque in a flat power band from 1,750 rpm to 4,500 rpm. The Tiggo 7 Pro gets its power to the front wheels through a smooth CVT transmission for easy, fuss-free driving. Both models have a push-button Start/Stop system. Here's what Taye thought of this Chery's performance:
The engine is paired to a CVT Transmission with selectable driving modes between ECO and Sport. During the test period, the car was set to ECO mode 95% of the time. The Tiggo 7 Pro has pep and is smooth off the line. Overtaking is easy with a simple squeeze of the throttle and a good response from the turbo. The Tiggo 7 Pro is not a vehicle you need to wind out, it finds itself happy down low in the rev range.
Handling-wise, you can adjust the sensitivity of the steering wheel between normal and sport. During this test period, the vehicle was set to sport mode, which has a weightier feel to the steering on-road but becomes light when negotiating parking situations. The Tiggo 7 Pro is a heavy vehicle but it carries itself well when the road gets rough and when there are twisty roads involved. It's a smooth highway cruiser as well, with highway manners that don't need questioning. - Taye Mbiri, AutoTrader
Safety
The Chery Tiggo 7 Pro has plenty of high-tech safety features that contributed to its C-NCAP 5-star safety rating.
All models have ISOFIX child seat anchors, ABS brakes on all four disk wheels (ventilated in front) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Emergency Brake Assistance (EBA), Hill Start Assistance (HSA) and Hill Descent Control (HDC). All models have Rear Traffic Alert (RTA) and Blind Spot Detection (BSD).
On the Executive model, Chery further added a comprehensive intelligent safety package, which includes Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Front Collision Warning (FCW), Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) and a 360-degree around-view monitor (see image above). All Tiggo 7 Pro models have an alarm and immobiliser system, remote locking and window closing and an electrically operated tailgate with programmable height adjustment. - Chery SA
In Distinction trim the Tiggo 7 Pro has four airbags. However, if you want curtain airbags for the rear occupants as well, you'll have to buy the Tiggo 7 Pro in Executive trim.
Fuel Economy
Chery claims a combined fuel usage figure of 7.7 litres per 100 km, which makes the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro a fuel-efficient car - on paper, at least. Under real-life conditions this will likely go up to 12 litres per 100 km on the combined cycle, which is rather high. A start-stop system is also built into the Tiggo 7 Pro which turns the engine off when the vehicle is idling, which is meant to save fuel - but mostly I find this to be more of an irritation (in any car) and I usually switch it off. (I've even heard mechanics say that this is not very healthy for a car in the long run!)
Related: Chery Tiggo 7 Pro colour and price guide
Verdict
With its roomy, comfortable cabin and large cargo area, you can go on a long trip with your family or friends with enough space for everyone's paraphernalia. So, the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro is a good choice if you want an SUV that will be comfortable and easy to drive on long trips, with sufficient power to overtake those irritating trucks - but you'll have to watch that right foot so your fuel consumption doesn't ruin your budget.
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