In a market where competition is tough, Chinese manufacturers have seemed to up their game majorly. Here we have Chery’s new Tiggo 7 Pro which slots between the Tiggo 4 Pro and Tiggo 8 Pro in the automaker’s local SUV line-up.

Tiggo 7 Pro exterior design

The Tiggo 7 Pro looks stylish and boasts a beautiful hexagonal grille, LED headlamps and taillights, along with LED daytime running lights, LED fog lamps and sequential turn signals. It also sports some good-looking 18-inch alloy wheels. A highlight for us is the hexagonal grille with its three-dimensional diamond-shaped brightwork. The edge-to-edge lightbar taillight looks phenomenal.

Tiggo 7 Pro interior design and technology

Inside, it’s quite a pleasant place to be in. You get a 10.25-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The driver also gets a 7-inch display that shows all the vehicle’s information. There is plenty of use of soft-touch material with the dreaded piano black surfaces, but that is not a deal-breaker. It’s quite spacious as it easily sits 5 adults with plenty of head and legroom.

Performance and drivability

Powering the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro is a turbocharged 1.5-litre engine that produces 108kW/210Nm. Power is sent to the front wheels via a CVT transmission. The CVT transmission is one of the best we’ve tested with its 9 simulated gears. The Tiggo 7 features radar guided cruise control and lane keep assist, but the former tends to take a bit long to get up to speed after slowing down. It takes corners like a champ and is light on its feet. The suspension is however a tad firm when it comes to regular driving. It’s also a bit on the thirsty side. Chery claims the average fuel-consumption of the Tiggo 7 Pro is 6.8 l/100 km, however we managed a best of 9.5 l/100 km.

Safety

In terms of safety features the Tiggo 7 Pro comes with lane keep assist, blind spot monitor and radar guided cruise control, ESP (Electronic Stability Program), RTA (Rear Traffic Alert), AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking). TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System), ABS (Antilock Braking System), and BAS (Brake Assist System).

Verdict

Coming in at R444,900 for the range topping Executive model, you do get bang for your buck as it is not only stylish but is packed with a tonne of features.