Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max: It’s a mouthful

by Chris Riley What is it? It's a mouthful, that's what it is. The Chery Tiggo 8 Pro is a large, seven-seat SUV, sitting at the t...

by Chris Riley

What is it?

It's a mouthful, that's what it is.

The Chery Tiggo 8 Pro is a large, seven-seat SUV, sitting at the top of a rapidly expanding lineup.

That lineup now numbers six SUVs including the smaller Tiggo 4 and  Tiggo 7 -- plus a fully-electric EV.

Tiggo 8 is petrol-powered, comes in three grades and is well equipped for the price, but has plenty of competitors in this segment -- so due diligence is required.

What’s it cost?

The Tiggo 8's styling is contemporary but somewhat generic.

There's three grades from which to choose -- Urban, Elite and Ultimate.

Urban is priced from $41,990 driveaway, Elite from $43,990 and Ultimate $47,990 -- all driveaway.

The first two are front-wheel drive, while top of the line Ultimate brings all-wheel drive to the equation.

The latter is the subject of our review.

Tiggo 8 wears Chery’s signature diamond point grille, with quad tailpipes, 18- or 19-inch alloy wheels, plus LED head and tail lights.

It's designed to deliver a high-end motoring experience, with an upmarket interior across all three variants.

Entry-level Urban is equipped with dual 12.3-inch screens, one for infotainment and the other for the driver, in a curved display.

It comes with adaptive cruise control, auto high beam, walk-away locking, speed sign recognition, auto lights and wipers, front and rear park sensors, power-fold auto dipping mirrors, ambient lighting, plus heated and cooled seats.

There's also an air quality system that automatically engages the purifying system when it detects polluted air.

Elite adds a power tailgate, heated exterior mirrors, built-in dashcam, third row air vents with fan speed control, illuminated “Tiggo” door sills and a retractable cargo blind.

To this Ultimate brings a panoramic sunroof, privacy glass, puddle lights, fragrance system and the no-cost option of dark brown synthetic leather. 

All three grades come with Bluetooth, built-in navigation, AM/FM radio, intelligent voice commands, and wired CarPlay and wireless Android Auto.

Urban and Elite get eight-speaker Sony sound, Ultimate has 10 speakers in all with stylish metal grilles.

Separate touch buttons located just below the touchscreen provide direct access to frequently used controls, but can be difficult to see in direct sunlight.

But Chery’s voice command system allows drivers to change radio stations, open windows and make changes to the air conditioning without taking their hands off the steering wheel.

There's USB-A and USB-C ports front and back, another USB-A port near the rear vision mirror, plus 12 volt outlets in the front and cargo area.

Wireless phone charging is also standard.

About the only thing missing from the menu is DAB+ digital radio -- not sure why?

Tiggo 8 receives a full five stars for safety, with a comprehensive list of active and passive safety features.

These include 10 airbags including a front centre bag and driver's knee airbag, a 360-degree camera and both front and rear collision warning with auto braking.

There's also rear cross traffic alert, emergency lane keeping, lane departure warning/keeping, blind spot warning and driver fatigue monitoring.

Of note, Elite and Ultimate come with a built-in dashcam.

Tiggo 8 is offered in a choice of eight colours, only one of which, Lunar White, is a no cost option. 

The rest -- Star Silver, Rhine Blue, Loran Violet, Mercurial Grey, Technical Grey, Aurora Green and Space Black -- will set you back $600.

Tiggo 8 is covered by a 7-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, 7-year capped price servicing and up to 7 years of roadside assistance.

What’s it go like?

Tiggo 8 reminds us of the previous, Mitsubishi-built Outlander.

It measures 4720mm in length, 1860mm wide and 1705mm high, with a 2710mm wheelbase.

Urban and Elite roll on 18-inch alloys, with 235/55 profile rubber. Ultimate scores larger 19s, with lower profile 235/50s.

A space saver spare wheel is provided in the event of a flat tyre.

All three grades come with three rows of seats, split 60:40 in the second row and 50:50 for the third row.

ISOFix and top tethers child seat anchors are provided for the second row of seats.

Access to the two third row seats is accomplished from the driver or road side of the car with a second row seat that tilts and slides forwards.

It's not exactly the safest option.

Over on the kerb or passenger side of the car, the procedure is more complicated because you need to drop the seat back before you can move it forward.

Hmmm . . . So, what happens to access to the third row when a child seat is fitted?

The Ultimate has three seat memories, but no matter how many times we tried to store the settings, the seat kept trying to crush us up against the steering wheel on our return. A bit scary.

Luggage space, meanwhile, with the third row in use is a modest 117 litres, growing to 479 litres with the third row folded and 739 litres with both second and third rows folded.

All grades are equipped with what Chery describes as its most powerful petrol engine to date, a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder unit that produces 180kW of power at 5500 rpm and 375Nm of torque from 1750-4000 rpm.

It's paired with a quick-changing 7-speed dual-clutch style automatic transmission, with power to the front wheels in Urban and Elite -- and to all four wheels in Ultimate.

There's three drive modes -- Eco, Normal and Sport -- plus Snow, Mud and Offroad modes in Ultimate.

Chery wasn't kidding about the turbocharged petrol engine.

It packs a punch and Tiggo 8 is surprisingly quick out of the gates, especially with four-paw grip to help put torque to ground.

In fact, the wagon easily kept pace with a Golf R that we lined up against, ripping in rapid succession through its seven gears.

The engine is reasonably quiet and smooth too.

However, the twin-clutch transmission is not the smoothest when it comes to low-speed manoeuvres.

A deft touch is required to stop the car leaping unexpectedly forward, even with just a dab of the throttle.

This can be problematic when nosing the wagon closer to a wall or parked car in front.

Dual clutch transmissions are noted for this kind of behaviour.

The one size fits all suspension tune is comfortable for the most part around town, but jars when it finds potholes or speed humps.

Out of town with a bit of speed on the dial the wagon lacks control as it floats and bounces along back roads, with little engine braking to keep it in check -- even in sport mode.

The stubby transmission selector is difficult to use and it is not really clear how you get from auto to manual mode (or back again for that matter).

In this respect, some gear change paddles would be a desirable addition.

The brakes are grabby and lack some bite.

Then again, the Tiggo 8 is a family wagon, not a bloody sports car.

The infotainment screen looks simple enough to operate with clear graphics, but it can be hard to find what you are looking for.

Fortunately, unlike the Omoda E5 that we drove recently, a row of physical buttons are provided just below the screen for quick access to oft-used items, as well as a roller volume control in the centre console.

And just when we thought Chery had sorted out its distorted rear view mirror, it was back again with its strangely elongated vision. Damn.

Driving in heavy traffic on the motorway, we became aware of a vehicle close but not quite visible as prepared to merge left.

The thing is the blind spot warning system was too slow to register the fact.

It all adds up to a vehicle that is good but could be a whole lot better with some refinement.

Finally, with a 57-litre tank, fuel consumption for two -wheel drive grades is 8.1L/100km, or 8.7L with the all-wheel drive -- and it takes premium 95 unleaded.

By the time we returned the Tiggo, it was showing a long-term average of 11.4L/100km after close to 5000km -- a fair bit more than the claimed figure.

In case you were wondering, Tiggo 8 has a maximum braked towing capacity of 1300kg.

What we like?

• Sharp performance
• Seven seats standard
• Well equipped for price
• Walk-away locking

What we don’t like?

• Peaky throttle response
• Constant safety warnings
• Takes premium unleaded
• Modest 1300kg towing rating

The bottom line?

With seven seats, the Tiggo 8's competitors include but are not limited to the Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan X-Trail.

It beats them all on price and that is the primary problem for Japanese (and Korean) car makers as the Chinese invasion shows no signs of slowing.

The thing is, as well as being cheap, Chinese vehicles are getting safer and better with each outing.

While the Tiggo 8 is no game changer, it could be just the ticket for families on a budget -- and aren't they all.

 

CHECKOUT: Chery adds its first fully-electric model

CHECKOUT: Chery Tiggo 7 Pro: The battle lines are drawn