First Drive: Chery’s Tiggo 9 arrives as brand’s new seven-seater flagship

What is it?

As with so many other Chinese brands, Chery isn’t wasting any time when it comes to developing its UK range of vehicles. Sitting alongside sister brands Jaecoo and Omoda, Chery – the automotive giant which sold over two million cars worldwide in 2024 – is now furthering its ambitions in this country by introducing a new range-topper, the Tiggo 9.

As with other cars from the brand, the Tiggo 9 is arriving to bring an upmarket look and feel for a price that’ll undercut much of the competition. Is it any good, though? We’ve been driving it to find out.

What’s new?

Sitting above existing Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 models, the new Tiggo 9 is a dedicated seven-seater designed to take on the likes of the Skoda Kodiaq and Mercedes GLB, as well as more upmarket models like the Volvo XC90. It’s also a car which has been designed to be pretty simple to work out in terms of price and engine; there’s just one powertrain to choose from and a sole, highly specified trim level.

In fact, at £43,105, the Tiggo 9 undercuts many of these alternatives when you consider the amount of equipment it offers as standard, but more on that later.

What’s under the bonnet?

As mentioned, the Tiggo 9 is only available with a single powertrain. It’s a plug-in hybrid setup which puts a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine at its heart, linked to a pair of electric motors and a three-speed automatic transmission. Combined, you’re getting a respectable 422bhp and 580Nm, equating to a 0-60mph time of just over five seconds.

However, the real focus of this setup is efficiency. Thanks to a large 34.46kWh battery, the Tiggo 9 can bring a claimed electric range of up to 91 miles – one of the longest offered by any PHEV – while a rapid charging speed of up to 71kW means you can take this battery from 10 to 80 per cent in just over 20 minutes. Emissions of just 38g/km CO2 are sure to make the Tiggo 9 an attractive proposition for business users, too.

What’s it like to drive?

There’s a nicely commanding view of the road ahead from the driver’s seat in the Tiggo 9. The windscreen stretches high above you, too, so visibility is great up front. Once on the move, you spend much of your time on electric power and with that 91-mile range, there’s not much concern about running out of power. Ask more of the throttle and the 1.5-litre engine will make itself known and though it’s a little coarse, things aren’t too bad. The car manages between electric and petrol power well, too, so there’s little need to fiddle about with the settings.

It’s a shame that the Tiggo 9’s ride is a little coarse, though. It seems to struggle with smaller lumps and bumps, sending a shimmer through the car. Larger imperfections really do thump through the car, too. However, with its light steering, the Tiggo 9 feels more easily manoeuvrable than you’d expect a car of this size to be, while a variety of cameras and sensors help when it comes to parking.

How does it look?

The Chery Tiggo 9 has a pretty anonymous design, with influences taken from the rest of this brand’s range. However, there’s very little to get annoyed by; it’s not controversial in the slightest and with plenty of chrome elements dotted here and there, it does bring an upmarket feel.

There are five exterior colours to choose from on the Tiggo 9, too, ranging from Arctic White through to a cool-looking Forest Green shade.

What’s it like inside?

There’s a whole lot of space to enjoy inside the Tiggo 9. Those up front have a decent view of the road ahead and there are plenty of storage options, too. The heated and ventilated seats are comfortable and well-padded and they’ve got a massage function as standard, too.

Switch to the middle row and there’s a good amount of space, too. Both head and legroom are more than plentiful and these seats can also be moved forward or back depending on need. For instance, if you’re sitting seven-up, you’ll probably need to move these seats further forward to give those in the rearmost seats more space.

Speaking of which, what’s the space like back there? It’s probably best to see them as ‘occasional’, certainly for adults. They’re best suited to kids and though you can get a full-sized adult back there, it’s not all that comfortable. With all seats in place, you’ve got a very usable 143 litres of boot space to play with, rising to 819 litres with the third row down and an impressive 2,021 litres with the second and third row of seats folded flat.

What’s the spec like?

Prices for the Chery Tiggo 9 start from £43,105 and, with just one specification on offer, there’s little way of increasing that price too much. All cars get acoustic glass for better sound insulation, a 12-way adjustable driver’s seat, a heated steering wheel and a cooled wireless charging pad for topping up smartphones.

At the core of the Tiggo 9’s offerings is a 15.6-inch central touchscreen and a 10.25-inch infotainment system. While the Tiggo 9 is largely devoid of physical buttons, there are some shortcuts on the screen so you can easily get to heating and ventilation controls – though we always believe that proper buttons would be much easier. In addition, the screen’s width means that when you’re driving, the shortcut buttons for ‘home’ can be obstructed by the steering wheel, making them a pain to find. An update to move them to a more central point would be a good idea.

However, we can’t fault the speed of the touchscreen and with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto being provided wirelessly, it’s easy to pair your phone.

Verdict

In many ways, it’s hard to argue with the Chery Tiggo 9. It’s spacious, well-specified with all of the equipment you could need and brings one of the longest electric-only ranges from any plug-in hybrid on sale, which means there’s plenty of scope for lower running costs.

It’s a shame that the driving experience leaves a little to be desired, given its uncomfortable ride, but if you’re after a car with space for the family and enough equipment to keep the most avid of screen-pressers happy, the Tiggo 9 feels like a safe choice.