Chery Tiggo 4 Pro 1.5T Elite SE (2021)- A pleasant surprise in the compact SUV segment

We remember driving the Chery products of old, before the Chinese marque left South Africa a few years back, with poor products such as the QQ3 and the exceptionally bland Tiggo of the same vintage leaving a bitter taste in many road testers' mouths. Now in 2021, Chery is back, with thirty new dealerships on the way and two new products as well as many more on the horizon, this return is for good.

The first of the two new Chery products to be launched locally is the Tiggo 4 Pro, with the larger Tiggo 8 Pro set to join at a later stage. The former competes with the likes of the Hyundai Venue, the Haval Jolion and the Kia Sonet to name a few, while the 7 Pro is more a Mazda CX-5, Haval H6 and Volkswagen Tiguan-sized rival. We recently received the top-spec Tiggo 4 Pro 1.5T Elite SE to evaluate for a week.

Styling

The exterior design of the latest Tiggo is best described as attractive and is indeed an apparent amalgamation of many design cues seen in other products across the segment. The large grille and LED headlamps dominate the front end, while the lower bumper features a red accent, which extends to the lower half of the front and rear doors, accentuating a busy, but well-executed side profile. At the rear, the faux exhausts exits on either side of the rear bumper, the roof spoiler and LED taillamps connected by a strip of chrome complete a design that, anecdotally, at least, received universal praise during the test.

Interior and space

The interior is where we were most impressed, with the Chinese firm having spotted the error of its ways when it comes to material quality, offering attractive looking surfaces that appear of decent quality. The ergonomics are simple, and easy to use, while the digitised instrument cluster, the addition of ambient lighting and a splash of colour to break the dull grey and black surfaces results in a modern compact crossover interior that was a pleasure to use.

The 10.25-inch infotainment system offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality and one of the best voice-control software systems we have experienced, with nearly all of our commands being attended to by the system both quickly and accurately. Other niceties in terms of standard features were cruise control system, a reverse camera, a sunroof, front and rear USB ports, auto wipers/lights and a multifunction steering wheel to name a few.

In terms of practicality, Chery has not provided official luggage space volume figures, however, during our week with the car, we embarked upon a three-person camping trip in the product, with overnight bags, a tent and all of the essentials one might expect and found the product to be sufficiently practical.  We would have liked the rear seats to fold completely flat as this would assist with loading of items, but overall, this is a capacious product, comparable to key rivals such as the Haval Jolion and Hyundai Creta and is indeed bigger than the Volkswagen T-Cross.

Performance and driving impression

Powering the Tiggo 4 Pro in Elise SE guise is a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine that produces 108kW and 210Nm of torque. The engine is paired with a CVT gearbox that sends power to the front wheels, while kerb weight is claimed at 1 335kg, meaning that performance is adequate and despite our trepidation about yet another CVT. We were pleasantly surprised with how well the engine and transmission work in tandem, with the familiar CVT drone only audible under hard acceleration, which is not required frequently as the engine's sufficient torque output means that partial throttle is the order of the day.

In an urban driving scenario, the Tiggo impresses, with refinement and ride quality that sits about par for the segment in which it competes. While out on the open road, we were impressed with how the product handled a battering from crosswinds during a violent Gauteng thunderstorm, while the NVH at the national limit is entirely respectable.

Safety

The Tiggo 4 Pro range was range was crash-tested by the C-NCAP assessment programme in 2015, where it achieved a 4-Star rating, although we would like to see a more recent evaluation. The model tested comes with ABS, 6 airbags, hill start assist, traction and stability control as well as hill descent control.

Fuel economy

Chery has not released a claimed fuel consumption figure for the Tiggo 4 Pro models, despite offering CO2 emission figures. Out week spent with the latest Tiggo resulted in a fuel consumption figure of 9.3 L/100km, which is on the heavy side for a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol crossover with a CVT; however, our test unit had less than 200km on the odometer when it was dropped off, meaning that once the engine is run it a bit, the consumption may improve slightly.

Pricing

The flagship Tiggo 4 Pro Elite SE we had on test is priced at R359 900, representing great value for money. The model comes with an impressive 5-year/150 000km vehicle warranty and an additional 10-year/1-million km warranty on the engine as well as a 5-year/60 000km service plan. The massive engine warranty is only valid for the first owner of the vehicle and is not transferred when the product is sold as pre-owned.

Verdict

The Tiggo 4 Pro is certainly one of our surprise drives for 2021, showing that the Chery has come along in leaps and bounds in terms of product development, offering well-packaged products that are value-filled in an exceptionally competitive marketplace. The Tiggo is certainly not a segment leader, with its thirsty engine, but it is certainly worth a test drive when shopping in this segment, something we would not have said of its predecessor.