Chery Tiggo 8 1.6T Aspire 5dr DCT

Ten Second Review

Add Chery's Tiggo 8 family SUV to your list if you're looking for a great value family seven-seat SUV. This Chinese contender might not be particularly full of character, but it's is well equipped, spacious - and efficient in the Super Hybrid PHEV form we'd recommend.

Background

If you're looking for a family SUV, it's increasingly difficult to ignore the growing number of Chinese options. Few of which you'll have heard of. Here's another, the Chery Tiggo 8. Let's start with the brand - Chery, China's largest car exporter. It already sells two of its sub- brands here, Omoda and Jaecoo - and they're doing rather well. So well in fact the Chery's decided to also launch in the UK under its own name. The most established Chery product line is that for Tiggo SUVs, globally available in various forms for over 20 years. Enough of a track record then for the Chinese conglomerate to feel confident about launching Tiggo models here. To begin with, we get the compact Tiggo 7 and our subject here, the bigger seven-seat Tiggo 8, which can also be had in PHEV Super Hybrid form. Let's take a closer look.

Engines and Tech Spec

There's a choice of two Tiggo 8 powertrains. The brand offers a straightforward 1.6-litre petrol model with 147PS and 275Nm of torque, but this unit is not particularly efficient. Much better though, to stretch yourself a little further and get the Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid PHEV. As that name suggests, the unit used by this Plug-in Hybrid variant is quite advanced. It's a 1.5-litre petrol engine assisted by two electric motors (one on each axle) which are energised by an 18.4kWh LFP (lithium-ion phosphate) battery supplied by CATL. Combined output is a healthy 204PS with 365Nm of torque. And 0-62mph occupies a reasonably rapid 8.5s en route to 112mph. If you keep it charged, the car will be able to cover up to 56 miles before it is engine cuts in. Up to 745 miles is possible when fully using both power sources. As usual with hybrids, you have to have an automatic gearbox, in this case, Chery's single-speed 'dedicated hybrid transmission'. Only the front wheels are driven. Don't expect very much driving involvement - but customers in this segment are really looking for that. So they won't mind the light steering. What they will want is a complete set of ADAS camera safety features - and the Tiggo 8 doesn't disappoint, though you can expect some of them to be quite intrusive.

Design and Build

You won't be choosing a Tiggo 8 if you want your family SUV to make a statement to the neighbours, but it's quite a smart thing in its own way. The huge latticed grille at the front makes an aggressive overtaking statement. And there are silvered skid plate panels front and rear which, together with the black wheel arch cladding and roof rails, supply the necessary SUV vibe. There are big 19-inch wheels. Inside, the Tiggo 8 follows the usual segment trend with a large 15.6-inch central infotainment screen standing proud of the dashboard and incorporating 'Hello Chery' voice control. The faux leather-stitched wheel has some welcome physical switches - with more buttons on the raised centre console. Through the wheel, you view an oblong 10.25-inch instrument cluster. There's a wireless phone charger and faux leather seats. Thanks to a relatively lengthy 2,710mm wheelbase length, second row seat space is fine but don't expect to be able to fit adults in the third row comfortably: Chery describes this as a '5+2'. Getting to the third row can be challenging; it's easy to bang your head on the relatively low roof as you enter. As for cargo room, well with all three seating rows in place, there's just 117-litres of boot space, but that rises to 494-litres with the third row stowed. With everything flat, there's up to 1,930-litres of space.

Market and Model

Prices start at around £28,500 for the conventional 1.6-litre petrol Tiggo 8; think more like £33,500 for the Super Hybrid PHEV model. Either way, there are two trim levels - base 'Aspire' and top 'Summit'. 'Aspire' trim includes 19-inch wheels, a power-adjustable driver seat, a 50W wireless mobile 'phone charger, wireless 'Android Auto' and 'Apple CarPlay' and a 540-degree panoramic view camera. Plus Adaptive Cruise control with integrated cruise assist. The plusher 'Summit' version adds a panoramic roof, a 12-speaker Sony audio system, a heated steering wheel, vented first row seats, heated and vented first and second row seats, four-way power adjustment and massaging for the front passenger seat and a head-up display. As you'd hope, safety is prioritised with all variants and the Tiggo 8 has been awarded a five-star ANCAP safety rating, featuring an array of 10 airbags and 14 driver assistance systems. These include the usual things - autonomous emergency braking with front collision warning, speed control assist with a speed limit information function, lane departure warning, lane departure prevention and a driver monitoring system. Plus a few you might not expect; Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Blindspot Detection, Emergency Lane Keeping, and Rear Cross-Traffic braking.

Cost of Ownership

You shouldn't have particularly high expectations for efficiency when it comes to the base 1.6-litre petrol turbo Tiggo 8; it's quoted at 36.2mpg on the combined cycle. For the Super Hybrid PHEV, combined consumption is quoted at 235mpg; in reality, expect the kind of returns you might previously have got from a good diesel in this class so you'll get a decent range (up to 745 miles) from the 60-litre fuel tank. The Super Hybrid's CO2 reading is 31g/km. The Super Hybrid charges at up to 40kW and will need 20 minutes to charge from 30 to 80%. Or the car can self-charge on the go. There's an 8 year unlimited mileage battery warranty for the PHEV. Both models get a 7 year unlimited mileage warranty and a year's roadside assistance.  Affordable servicing plans are available at point of purchase and servicing turnround times will be aided by a UK parts warehouse established in cooperation with DHL.

Summary

So is it time to try something this different if you're shopping in this segment? Well you really are getting an awful lot for your money here. Most brands struggle to sell you a conventionally-engined five-seat mid-sized SUV with decent spec for £30,000-£35,000. But for that sum, Chery wants you to offer you a seven-seat upper mid-sized model, potentially with Plug-in Hybrid tech. It really is an impressive piece of market positioning. You can see why the established makers are worried about the Chinese onslaught. This is what it looks like in the metal. Of course, there are all the usual Chinese maker caveats with the Tiggo 8; an unknown brand (so unknown residuals), a relatively restricted dealer network and a minimalist screen-dominated cabin that not everyone will get on with. But there's lots of electric range from the PHEV model and loads of standard kit across the line-up, plus smart, inoffensive looks. And globally this car is part of a very well established model line, so it should be reliable. Overall, we can understand why you might want to take a second look.