Chery Tiggo 7 Pro test drive
Down with indulgence: evaluating the new Chinese crossover, forgetting about the place of its production
It seems that this is really happening. The endlessly elusive horizon was suddenly so close that you can touch it with your hand. The Chinese - those who "give them a few more years, and ..." - really learned how to make cars. Normal. full-fledged cars, do you understand? Geely already has a good Atlas and a really good Coolray, a lot of "Hawail" - coupe-like and different - and now Chery is catching up to competitors in the regions.
The last generation Tiggo 7 crossover, presented just four years ago, stood one step away from the border that separates cars and their imitation. He no longer had frankly disastrous and terrifying qualities, but in a simple interior there were enough ergonomic absurdities, and on the move everything happened both sluggishly and shaking. The successor immediately raises the stakes, entering the market with the "iPhone" prefix Pro - although here the Russian marketers of Chery are playing with their souls. In China, only the top version of the Tiggo 7 has three proud letters - with a 1,6-liter turbo engine with 196 forces and a robotic transmission. In our country, the crossover is sold only with a "standard" iron - a supercharged "four" 1.5, developing 147 hp, and a variator. But called Pro.
However, this bragging is easily forgiven, it is worth penetrating into the interior of the novelty. Restrained but stylish architecture, excellent finishing materials, almost sinless assembly - it's a pleasure to be here, joking aside! Individual solutions are absolutely delightful: how do you, for example, the "music" control keys, which are pressed and clicked in the same way as in Audi? And an ideal (you can't say otherwise) located area for wireless charging of a smartphone? More importantly, for the "Chinese", steering wheel adjustment is finally becoming the norm, so you can get a job behind the wheel without any problems.
True, it was not without sin: the climate control sensor unit looks like a temporary plug in place of something real, the cup holders are not designed to store the glasses themselves, the digital dashboard flickers and is practically unreadable.
But here these are just shortcomings, and not blatant shoals that make one ask the question: "Guys, have you ever seen cars at all?" In some Peugeot 3008 or Honda CR-V, there will be no less commensurate oddities, and in terms of the overall level of performance, many venerable competitors like Kia Sportage and Toyota RAV4 will remain behind.
That being said, the Tiggo 7 Pro naturally kills everyone when it comes to packaging. The most sophisticated version costs $ 21, which is about the same as the mid-entry Sportage and Qashqai. At the same time, there is dual-zone climate control, leatherette throughout the cabin, electric seats, an all-round visibility system, a hefty panoramic roof and other buns, for which in modern Russia it is customary to ask for no less than $ 695.
And for most customers, all of the above will be enough to seriously think about buying. Also appreciate your driving habits, like refined handling? Then you hardly need a compact crossover. But if you happen to ride behind the wheel of the Tiggo 7 Pro, you won't have to heal mental wounds: the car drives quite adequately.
Yes, the steering is synthetic and tasteless, and the variator under full throttle does not try to imitate the change of virtual stages and, in the old fashion, makes the engine wail on one note. But with a calm city driving, you notice already intelligible responses and a good interconnection on the accelerator, passport 9,9 s to a hundred are enough for rebuilding, and the softened suspension and cool soundproofing, no joke, allow you not to think about anything at all on daily trips. Machine and car. Nice one. With beautiful diodes in a cozy salon.
All this works under one condition: you live in a city with good roads. The suspension of the Tiggo 7 Pro still does not like serious irregularities, and it does not so much hit the passengers as it suffers itself: from knocks and vibrations, the car becomes simply a pity, and you have to slow down. Yes, and four-wheel drive is not supposed to this Chery - in combination with a variator, this rather rigidly sets the framework for adequate operation. In other words, a good urban crossover as it is. And if you seriously start looking for something in this class, you will no longer be able to ignore it.
