Chery is back! Well, sort of…. In August, media members attended what turned out to be a static display of pre-production new-gen Chery models on the East Rand. The object of that exercise was to announce Chery’s return to South Africa after an absence of three years. This week, pretty-much the same group of media members travelled to Gerotek Testing Grounds near Pretoria to get what turned out to be a first-drive sample of the new Chery Tiggo 4 Pro. Now, we are informed that the actual launch will only take pace towards the end of November.
It was bit disappointing to discover that we wouldn’t know the retail price of the new Chery Tiggo 4 Pro until the late-November launch. It was also a bit frustrating to realise that the function based at Gerotek included no on-road driving segments. Testing cars at a test facility is all very well, but to get a real impression you need to drive them on proper roads. This wasn’t to be the case, and with seriously wet weather closing in on us, it was all a bit fraught as we tried to form some sort of impression of the new car, in terms of dynamics.
I can tell you this. First impressions are that this is a huge step forward for Chery. This we knew from the August static display, but seeing is one thing, experiencing, however marginally, is another. The new Chery Tiggo 4 Pro is much more contemporary-looking than the previous model. Its styling is well-integrated and includes all the modern visual must-haves like full LED lighting, a waterfall grill and aggressive cut-outs on the bumper to house the likes of fog lights. And yes, in essence it seems to be a no-nonsense package.
The Chery Tiggo 4 Pro is going to be marketed as one of the less-expensive entry-level compact SUVs. Yet Chery South Africa’s executive manager Tony Lu claims it will also be “one of the most advanced SUVs” in its class. Just what that class will be is not 100 per cent clear yet. We will only know that when pricing is announced in late November.
A stylish exterior, then, is all-new for Chery, (those machine-cut alloy wheels in 17-inch sizing help a lot too) and here the Tiggo gets more than a passing grade. As for the interior, when we opened the door of the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, we were impressed with how integrated the design is, and at the level of quality finishes used in the cabin.
The dashboard top is of a pleasing soft-touch material, and this is augmented (on the Turbo model) by some well-fitted leather panels, including contrasting stitching, that definitely raised the game further. The door covers are of the soft-touch variety and the upholstery on the Turbo model is also in leather with some neat-looking subtle contrasting stitch-work.
I was particularly impressed with the dashboard layout. The pop-up 10,2-inch touch screen is neatly integrated into a recess in the dashboard, so it doesn’t appear as a sort of floating afterthought. The instrumentation is digital, via a TFT colour screen, and the sizing of this ranges from 3,5-inch to 7,0-inches, depending on the spec level ordered.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility is obviously offered, but there is also a DVD player, which will please older buyers who are battling to find outlets for their vast catalogues of music on DVD.
Space-wise, the roof line of the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro is quite high, and this makes access easy, particularly to the rear seats. There is more-than-adequate rear legroom for a car of his size, which measures just over 4,3 metres in length, with a wheelbase of 2 610 mm. Ground clearance, by the way is also very good, as we discovered when we took the Tiggo over a gentle off-road course at Gerotek. Off-roading is not going to be one of the new Tiggo’s party-tricks, but it’s nice to know that when covering bad dirt roads the ground clearance is said to be between 170 and 180 mm (local specs have still to be released).
The previous Tiggo had bad directional stability on tar but was excellent on bad dirt roads. This new updated Chery Tiggo 4 Pro has an all-new suspension system with McPherson struts up front and a multi-link rear suspension. Driving it at moderate speeds on the Gerotek facilities – we did not have use of any of the high-speed tracks – the traction from the front-wheel-drive layout felt reasonable. It would take a proper test at higher speeds to discover just how good it is. I have to say at slow speeds I felt the steering to be just a little remote. Stopping power should be good with discs brakes all round.
As for performance, overseas reports rate the Tiggo4 Pro Turbo with a top speed in the region of 190 km/h and a 0-100 km/h time of under 10 seconds. The engine, displacing 1,5 litres, delivers 108 kW and a solid 210 Nm of torque. We only were able to sample the turbocharged model with a CVT (Continuously Variable) transmission. A six-speed manual model with the turbocharged engine will also be available, as of late November.
The entry models will be powered by a naturally-aspirated version of the 1,5-litre multi-valve petrol engine, delivering 85 kW and 141 Nm of torque. This model will be available with a five-speed manual ‘box or a CVT.
In the little driving I did, I found just a touch of throttle lag if the pedal was floored from pull-off, with the turbo engine management in Sport mode (there is an “economy” setting too). But the engine picked up nicely after that, with reasonable mid-range torque. There wasn’t space enough on the Gerotek mountain track to discover much more than this, as even 70 to 80 km/h feels fast on this narrow, twisty track. Ride control under these conditions seemed quite good.
All said, it’s a nice little package, with no obvious flaws that I could detect. It all, of course, depends on price. Chery was previously noted for offering the cheapest cars in South Africa when it was represented here , first under the McCarthy and later under the Motus Group. Now it is being marketed here by Chery South Africa, a whole-owned subsidiary of Chery in China. Some 30 dealerships are set to be appointed, and next year the larger Chery Tiggo 7 and Chery Tiggo 8 SUVs will make their bow here.
No doubt, many of media members who have attended the two Tiggo “prologues” will be on hand in late November for their third bite of the new Chery, so-to-speak, to witness the pricing structure that Chery comes up with. I am expecting it to be well priced, enabling Chery to make a big splash in the ultra-competitive lower end of the compact SUV-cross over segment. As more and more people move away from hatchbacks over the next few years, this is where the big market action is going to be. That said, the timing of Chery’s return to SA with a very viable product may just turn out to be inspired.
By Stuart Johnson
