2021 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Review

Chery is on a roll with their crossovers, and they have a decent selection that spans quite a few segments, from the smallest Tiggo 2 to the largest Tiggo 8. Admittedly, we’re not the biggest fans of the middle child, the Tiggo 7, in comparison with the other models in the lineup. The Tiggo 8 seems to be the best of the bunch, however, the brand’s Tiggo 7 Pro is definitely a head-turner and a head-scratcher if you’re picking among the models in the lineup. 

So let’s take a look at the compact crossover in the lineup, the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro. A better version of the Tiggo 7, but is it leagues better or just slightly better? Let’s find out in this review. 

Chery has got the exterior of the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro right in contrast to the quirkier styling of the 7. It’s a night-and-day difference between the two models. The old Tiggo 7 felt that it was a generation behind other models in the lineup, but the Pro gets it right and ushers in a new design motif for the brand. However, it’s a bit of a missed opportunity for Chery to extend the rear taillights all the way. 

The grille is modern and filled with many different surfaces that add a lot of visual interest to the crossover. There are interesting shapes in the grille, which make it a pleasure to look at. It’s just that the elegance is a bit muddied by the body color. It’s visually interesting, and it reminds us of some of the flatter paint jobs of European cars. It’s fun, but it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s really a love-it-or-hate-it hue. If you love it, it’s a nice finish, if you’re not too sold on it, there are different colors that you can choose. 

Other items like the 18-inch wheels make the crossover look good. It’s a nice contrast to the more standard-looking wheels of the other Tiggo crossovers. The Tiggo 8 has a black set which looks good, but the two-tone just looks better. It gives the car a dash of modernity, and a nice classy touch, which is in keeping with the exterior design. On top of that, you get adequate amounts of ground clearance, so unless you’re taking it off-road, you don’t have to worry about scraping your underchassis. 

The dashboard is a nice-looking piece, and is clad with a multitude of surfaces and materials. We’re glad that the crossover uses soft-touch materials in this instance. It looks quite upscale from the infotainment screen to the digital shifter; the interior of the Tiggo 7 Pro is a nice place to be in. Paired with the ambient lights, Chery has created an atmosphere that can be as vibrant as you want it to be, plus the lights can sync to the sound of music, which is good if one of the agendas on your drive is to go on a sound trip. Also, if the sun is out, the panoramic sunroof lets you and your passengers take in the scenery around you. 

There are a few gripes that we have with the 7 Pro, such as the digital gauch cluster. It’s not the clearest, or the most legible, but it gets the job done. As far as looks are concerned, it matches the futuristic motif that we think Chery was going for. However, the touch controls for the air conditioning system is behind a glossy surface, which is very prone to fingerprints and dust. 

In terms of space, you can stretch your legs in the 7 Pro either in the front passenger seat or the rear bench. Apart from that, the cargo space is also pretty good. When you open up the adjustable power tailgate, which is also a rarity at this price point. With all the seats up, you’re looking at 475 liters of usable space, and if you need more storage, fold the second row and we estimate about 1500 liters of space easily made available. 

Because it has a lot of space and its chassis is built with shared Land Rover and Jaguar technologies, the Tiggo 7 Pro rides smoothly over bumps and potholes. It has fully independent suspension in the front and rear, with MacPherson struts and multilink suspension respectively. The cabin was quiet enough for daily driving. The sound insulation also did not allow common road noises, like the hum of a diesel engine, to penetrate the cabin too much. NVH was muffled, though we will say that the wind noise will creep up at speeds past 100 km/h. 

Other than that, we’d say that this car is the most comfortable Chery vehicle in the lineup, and is on par with the rest of the industry for ride comfort. 

As stated prior, the gauge cluster isn’t that inspiring, however, it is fully featured and displays your trip, odometer, speedometer, tire pressure, and fuel consumption. This is all well and good, however, the tachometer isn't the most legible. 

As for infotainment, we’re generally okay with the 10.25 system that Chery has provided. Apple CarPlay comes standard, but Android Auto hasn’t been included in the tech package. However, Android users may still connect and display their phone on the touchscreen through QD Link. It’s an extra step because it’s not baked in to Android, but after downloading the app, you can view your map data and song data on the touch screen of the 7 Pro. As for the quality of the audio, we’re not too sold on the clarity of the speakers. It’s not tinny, but we wish there was more depth to the sound. You can still tune the equalizer settings to be more bass heavy, but during our review we listened to music on the standard setting. You can also see everything around the car with the 360-degree camera, a feature that we love to use in and out of the city. It also helps you avoid curbs and other small obstacles on the road that could dink your wheels.

For the other tech features, it is standard for a well-equipped and affordable crossover. We’re impressed by the power tailgate as well as the ambient lights. Cruise control comes as standard and is expectedly simple to use. 

With driver, front passenger, side, and curtain airbags, you can expect full coverage with the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro. Apart from that, you get Anti-lock Brakes (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Electronic Stability Control (ESC) with Emergency Brake Assist, traction control, hill-start assist and descent control, a tire pressure monitoring system, electronic anti-theft, an engine immobilizer, and ISOFIX tethers. 

Chery is definitely following the standard for safety, and the cars are equipped with everything you need and more. We wish there were some active safety tech, but that’s asking a bit much of its value-for-money price tag. 

As per our testing, we managed to get 7.3 km/L in city traffic and 11.6 km/L when it was clear. On the highway, the Tiggo managed 16 km/L, which is decent. 

After digging around the spec sheet, we found that the Tiggo weighed 1465 kg, which is about right for the category. The result is fair. Not the greatest, but fair. It’s reasonably efficient. 

Out on the road, the Tiggo 7 Pro isn’t the liveliest, but it does have a good pickup when you are deliberate with your accelerator input. The engine responds reasonably well, but the transmission has a slight delay especially when in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Because of that, the Tiggo does well at faster-paced drives when the 1.5-liter turbo motor shines. Torque is adequate and the power delivery is enough for a daily drive and then some. On the highway, the car was decently quick going up to 100 km/h, but not spectacularly so, which is fair for the segment. 

Handing is pretty good, with light steering and a tight chassis. The Tiggo 7 Pro is good in tight spots thanks to its 360-degree camera. The car’s compact dimensions also are pretty manageable and it’s not that wide as well. You also don’t have to worry about bumps and potholes because of ample ground clearance. At speed, the vehicle handles well, only hampered by its weight and its ride height. Body roll is not that much of an issue, but it is noticeable when you’re really trying to corner. 

Does it drive like the spec sheet suggests though? We feel that the 145 hp and 210 Nm of torque from the 1.5-liter turbo engine is correctly stated. We’re not too enthused about the acceleration, but if you want, you can flip it over to sport mode and get heavier steering and a sharper throttle response. This is how we want to drive the Tiggo, and we recommend trying out sport mode here because the variable steering is also quite nice and gives adequate feedback at speed. The Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) has 9 simulated gears, but they’re only active if you call upon it via the manual mode in the digital shifter. Unfortunately, the engine brake isn’t that pronounced, which is typical of most CVTs. 

With a price tag of just P1,198,000, and considering all the features you get, the TIggo 7 Pro is perhaps one of the best values for money in the Chery lineup. It gets pretty close to the Tiggo 8 in terms of value. It comes fully equipped and is a spacious 5-seater. If you want more seats from the Chery brand, the Tiggo 8 is something to consider. 

However, we will argue that this is the best-looking car that Chery has produced thus far. The grille alone is enough for a second look, and if you fancy the bright colors, then it’s something to consider. As a car it has a nice set of features that make it seem more upscale than its price tag suggests. Considering it competes with the Ford Territory and the Geely Azkarra among other compact crossovers, we find the Chery is a good package for the price. It’s also one of the most affordable for the price, undercutting the Territory Titanium+ by about P100,000, and the Azkarra by nearly P400,000. 

Similar in performance to the Territory, the Chery is a value option if you want a compact crossover with a turbocharged motor, a lot of space, and enough features to keep you happy on your drives in and out of the city.