Faster and more frugal Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max raises the stakes

Chery’s flagship continues an auspicious reboot for the Chinese brand at a price that can’t be ignored, writes

Chery has introduced a rangetopping Max model to its Tiggo 8 Pro line-up of crossover SUVs, with added power, safety and luxury.

It landed in November 2022 to celebrate one year since the carmaker returned to SA as a wholly owned subsidiary of Chery China. It’s been an auspicious reboot for a brand that once peddled cheap and notvery-pleasant cars, and local customers have welcomed Chery’s new, higher-quality vehicles. In one year the brand has sold more than 10,000 units and grown its network to more than 70 dealers.

Until now the range-topping Chery was the Tiggo 8 Pro priced at R574,900. The new Tiggo 8 Pro Max bumps up the price to R629,900 and brings a lot of extra features to the deal, including tinted privacy glass for the rear windows, thicker windscreen and front side windows for better noise insulation, as well as a black artificial leather interior that differs from the dark tan upholstery of the Executive model.

The equipment list is further enhanced with electrically adjustable front seats, an eightspeaker sound system and wireless mobile phone charging. The car unlocks when you approach it with the remote key in your pocket, and self-locks when you walk away.

It is a high-end spec sheet, offering considerably more for the price than legacy rivals such as VW, Kia and Hyundai.

Advanced driver assistance systems include forward collision warning, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control with emergency braking assistance, lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring. Some of these systems can be annoying with their beeping alerts but they can be disabled, and the car remembers your settings so you don’t have to switch them off each time you start it.

The performance boost comes from a 2.0l petrol motor with outputs of 187kW and 390Nm, in place of the 1.6l petrol turbo engine (145kW/290Nm) serving duty in the rest of the Tiggo 8 range. It gives this crossover a sportier spring in its step, cutting the 0-100km/h time from 8.9 seconds to 7.3 seconds. Power’s fed to the front wheels through a seven-speed Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT).

The car feels zesty in all three of its modes (Eco, Normal and Sport), delivering lively off-themark and overtaking acceleration that never leaves one craving more power. As a bonus the 2.0 engine recorded even better fuel economy (at 9.6l/100km) than the less powerful 1.6 turbo (10.5l) we tested last year — though Chery’s factory figures claim the 1.6 is more frugal.

It’s a refined car with minimal noise intruding into the cabin, and the engine is hushed apart from getting a little vocal at higher revs. The car feels solid, underlining the recent strides this Chinese brand has made in build quality.

With its 196mm ground clearance and high-profile tyres this crossover should be able to tackle gravel roads.

The ride quality is reasonable, though we were’ surprised that the fat tyres didn t filter out bumps a little better. The suspension errs on the firm side which causes some jittering on rougher surfaces. Handlingwise there is little cause for complaint and the high-riding car scoots through corners confidently.

This seven-seater’s large cabin takes five adults comfortably, with two child-sized seats in the third row. The middle row can be adjusted for legroom and backrest angle, while the back and middle rows fold flat to expand luggage space to cavernous proportions.

Chery’s new-found finesse presents an interior with softtouch surfaces, smart silver veneers and diamond pattern stitching on the seats. A modern, digitised look prevails with ambient lighting and touchscreens, in a neat and uncluttered setting. Touch controls for the infotainment and climate systems are supplemented by slim silver buttons for those who prefer analogue interaction.

When you approach an intersection the view of the car’s surroundings are shown on the infotainment screen, providing extra eyes on the traffic situation. The car has a wide-angle centre rear-view mirror which takes getting used to; initially I felt a little car sick looking at it.

Overall, this range-topping Chery seems an impressive effort. Refined, roomy and modern, the seven-seater is packed with features at a price that challenges five-seaters in the segment.

New-generation Chinese vehicles are still an unknown quantity in terms of long-term build quality, though Chery’s 1million kilometre engine warranty for the first owner is a statement of confidence in the product.

THE CAR FEELS SOLID, UNDERLINING THE RECENT STRIDES THIS CHINESE BRAND HAS MADE IN BUILD QUALITY