2025 Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid review
The Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid is Australia's most affordable PHEV, with a staggering start price of just $39,990 drive-away for the base model Urban, while the more richly-specified Ultimate is $43,990 drive-away.
That positions it some $20,000 less than a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and it even undercuts the aggressively priced BYD Sealion 6 PHEV (from about $45,000 drive-away).
It doesn't miss on equipment either, with standard inclusions like LED lighting, 18-inch alloy wheels, twin 10.25-inch screens inside, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, power driver's seat adjust and more. The pricier one adds different wheels, a panoramic glass roof, heated and ventilated front seats, driver's seat memory settings, a wireless phone charger and a surround-view camera system.
That's in addition to the full host of active safety tech you'd expect, including autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control and even speed sign recognition and a driver monitoring camera system.
Thankfully, there are no incessant unnecessary chimes, and the safety systems are pretty well considered.
This five-seat SUV is spacious and well appointed inside, though taller occupants might find the passenger front seat a little high. The back seat is comfortable and spacious enough for adults, and there are the requisite child seat considerations (ISOFIX x2, top-tether x3).
It has a decent boot that is big enough for a family's worth of suitcases, but sadly misses out on a spare wheel, making do with a tyre repair kit instead.
The powertrain comprises a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine teamed with a grunty electric motor, and they both employ a single-speed hybrid transmission to send power to the front wheels only. There's no AWD model available.
It has a claimed EV driving range of 93km from its 18.3kWh battery pack, which is going to do the job for the majority of commuters to get to work and back in full EV mode. It can drive up to 120km/h in EV when the battery charge is above 30 per cent.
Once you deplete the battery to a certain point (typically around 20 per cent) it will employ the petrol engine and run in HEV (hybrid) mode, using the engine when it's necessary, or employing the electric motor to keep things moving, or using a combo of both. And it is a very smooth and extremely quiet operator.
I didn't get to do a full EV range test, but most vehicles at the launch event got at least 75km of EV driving before the engine kicked in, and when it did, the efficiency was impressive. With a 'depleted' battery in HEV mode, I saw a displayed average fuel consumption of just 4.5L/100km. While that's clearly higher than the claim, it should still mean a theoretical full-fill distance of at least 1000km.
Now, if you're an enthusiastic driver, this one mightn't tick the box for you. It is rough riding over bumps, and the steering is light and hard to judge despite having some nibbly feedback at times.
The tyres fitted to the Tiggo 7 aren't great, considering they need to harness so much pulling power at the front axle, and while there are adjustable settings for the regenerative braking, it has a pedal feel that is unnatural when you're trying to cruise along in traffic.
If you want, there's a clever cruise control system that can start, stop and steer for you, but I found it too unnatural.
The brand offers a seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty for the vehicle, and eight years/unlimited km for the battery pack. Servicing is every 12 months/15,000km, and there's a seven-year capped-price plan, too.
As a commuter car it could be a very cost-effective option. But it may also be worth considering the seven-seat Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid, which is just a bit pricier but delivers a better drive and more practicality.
3.0 stars
Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid
FUEL USE: 1.4L/100km
BATTERY: 18.3kWh
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