2027 Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid review

Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) have been late bloomers in Australia, but an influx of affordable Chinese options has quickly seen the powertrain technology spike in popularity Down Under.

One of those newer entrants from China is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid – or Chery Super Hybrid (CSH) – which is one of the most affordable PHEV SUVs on the market, starting from just $34,990 drive-away.

The model we have on test, however, is the flagship 2027 Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Ultimate, which at $38,990 drive-away remains sharply priced not just alongside its direct rivals, but PHEVs in general.

Sales of the Tiggo 7 have more than doubled of late, which likely has something to do with the arrival of the PHEV version which was only launched 12 months ago. At the time of writing, the Tiggo 7 lineup has posted year-to-date sales growth of 159.5 per cent to 6674 units, making it Chery's second-most popular model line locally.

With a quoted 1200km of combined driving range, the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid promises budget-friendly everyday efficiency with a comprehensive suite of creature comforts in Ultimate trim.

While it all sounds like a no-brainer on paper, our launch review included some pretty strong feedback around the powertrain and steering/chassis calibration. So, we've spent some more time with the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid post-launch to see if those bugs have been ironed out 12 months on.

Spoiler alert, the signs are quite positive.

How much does the Chery Tiggo 7 cost?

Pricing for the Chery Tiggo 7 lineup kicks off from just $29,990 drive-away for the entry-level Urban with its turbo-petrol powertrain. The flagship Super Hybrid Ultimate tested here is $9000 dearer.

The Chery Group has a popular duopoly at the lower-end of the PHEV market, with the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid being one of the market's most affordable PHEV SUVs at its revised pricing (~$4000 cheaper since launch), and it's closely matched by the related but more premium-positioned Jaecoo J7 CSH-P priced from $39,990 drive-away.

GWM has the Haval H6 PHEV (from $40,990 drive-away), while the Geely Starray EM-i starts from $37,490 plus on-road costs (or about $41,000 drive-away based on a Melbourne postcode). BYD is hot on Chery's heels for the 'cheapest PHEV' title, with the Sealion 5 Essential starting from $33,990 plus on-roads or ~$37,600 drive-away, and will soon introduce the smaller Atto 2 DM-i PHEV, which should undercut the larger Sealion 5.

Outside of the Chinese brands, you can get into a Mazda CX-60 P50e Pure PHEV from $53,990 drive-away, while the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV ES starts from $58,990 plus on-road costs. The cheapest Toyota RAV4 PHEV starts from $58,840 before on-roads.

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What is the Chery Tiggo 7 like on the inside?

While the exterior has changed a bit since the Tiggo 7 'Pro' first launched a few years back, the cabin has remained largely the same.

With plenty of faux leather surfaces, contrast top-stitching and wood-effect trim inserts, the Tiggo 7's cabin doesn't feel 'cheap', though in some ways it might feel a touch chintzy.

A lot of that comes down to the overload of different textures and patterns, namely the piano-black and striped wood-look elements harshly contrasting with the carbon-fibre-look dashboard insert and the flourishes of silver trim.

Our press vehicle also had over 21,000km under its belt, so it was good to get an idea of how the various trims and upholsteries have held up over prolonged use. Other than the leather-look seat trims going a bit shiny and marking in some areas, it was actually not bad.

Our main gripe is, unsurprisingly, the susceptibility of the gloss-black trims to fingerprints and smudging. It just makes it look dirty all the time, particularly on the steering wheel with its piano-black multifunction controls.

One of the key selling points is the high level of standard specification and showroom wow factor. No doubt the swathes of leatherette and contrast stitching and piping do a lot of the heavy lifting, as do the twin 12.3-inch displays that sit ahead of the driver and atop the dashboard in a unified housing.

For the driver's instrument cluster you can opt for virtual dials or a more simplified layout. Personally, I much prefer the former thanks to the ability to better view the power meter and its more conventional and upmarket appearance. There still seems to be a slight delay in the speedo and power meter displays, as I've reported with other Chery reviews, but the animations and response from the driver and infotainment displays are generally pretty good.

Chery's infotainment interface is fairly simple save for the menu structure of the vehicle settings embedded in the display, with a smartphone-like tiled layout. I generally used wireless Apple CarPlay which worked fine during our time with the Tiggo 7, which you'll need to do if you want to use navigation features since there's no native system.

The Tiggo 7 offers some touch-capacitive climate controls on the dashboard, though they're small and fiddly to use on the fly – plus temperature is on the left-hand drive side – while the rest is buried in the touchscreen. It's fine to have both options, though any adjustment brings it up on the display which covers up whatever else you're using, such as smartphone mapping.

At least storage and practicality up front is pretty good, with plenty of nooks, cubbies and crannies to stow your odds and ends in.

The bridge-type centre console leaves some free space underneath to leave a bag or something similar, though you'll also find Chery's seatbelt cutter and window breaker tool tacked into the base.

A sliding drawer beneath the dash hides large toothed cupholders and a wireless smartphone charging pad, and there's a deep cubby under the front-centre armrest too.

Finally, the door bins can accommodate well-sized bottles and other loose items, and there's a decent glovebox ahead of the front passenger as well.

The second row offers good space for adults behind adults, with plenty of head, knee and leg room for people over six feet tall sitting behind their own preferred driving position.

You might find the seat bases a little flat, but that also means you can seat three across without too much hassle, and the floor is similarly almost flat. You also get directional rear air vents behind the centre console, and a fold-down centre armrest with cupholders if you don't need the middle seat.

ISOFIX anchor points on the outboard seats and top-tethers behind all three rear positions cater for the little kiddies, and other amenities include a single USB-A outlet under the rear air vents and map pockets behind both front seats. You can also recline the seatbacks somewhat, which is handy if a passenger wants to snooze.

Further back, Chery oddly doesn't quote a boot capacity for the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid. The petrol version offers 356L measured to the top of the rear seat backs, and 549L to the roof. There's no figure with the rear seats folded, though the resulting cargo area is pretty square and mostly flat.

*Chery Tiggo 7 1.5T figures quoted

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What's under the bonnet?

The Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid pairs a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine with an electric motor and 18.4kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery.

Annoyingly, Chery's trip computer doesn't allow you to properly reset it after filling up or at a set point in time, rather showing your 'Last 50km'. When the vehicle was returned, our 'Last 50km' figure was showing as 5.4L/100km as the vehicle had been driven with a depleted battery in HEV mode, largely on the freeway.

However, we saw under 1.0L/100km at various points during our loan when the Tiggo 7 was charged and prioritising EV mode, as you'd expect from a plug-in hybrid. Chery boasts 1200km of combined driving range from a full charge and a fuel tank of fuel, which seems achievable given fuel capacity is rated at 60L.

It's also worth noting Chery doesn't quote total system outputs for the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid's powertrain, and unlike the larger Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid the transmission is a one-speed 'Dedicated Hybrid Transmission' or 'DHT', compared to the three-speed unit used in the Tiggo 9 and Omoda 9.

As for charging, the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid offers both AC and DC charging, with the latter possible at up to 40kW and replenishing the battery from 30 to 80 per cent in as little as 20 minutes.

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the Chery Tiggo 7 drive?

After my colleague Max had mixed feelings about his on-road experience with the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid, I was keen to see if any of his complaints had been addressed.

With sufficient charge in the battery, the Tiggo 7 will usually default to EV mode, but with enough throttle it will 'kick down' into HEV mode and give you all it has to offer, should you need it to.

In normal driving the Chery does a pretty good job at being a faithful commuting companion, thanks to the electric motor's 310Nm of torque being available from rest, which helps shift the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid's 1788kg mass with relative ease.

The quiet nature of EV mode makes it a pretty refined drive, with good insulation from the outside world mixed with the faint whirring of the electric motors under acceleration. While Chery quotes an all-electric range of 93km on the more lenient NEDC test cycle, unless you have the vehicle in EV+ it will kick into HEV mode at around the 20-25 per cent charge mark.

It means you can quite easily do 70-75km of emissions-free running on a full charge before this happens, and when the petrol engine turns over it's so seamless you may not even realise it's on.

I also didn't experience any of the sudden surges of power or off-the-line hesitancy that Max encountered at the launch a year or so ago. Hit the throttle hard and you will probably spin up the front tyres, but I didn't have any moments of panic while getting no response until about 75 per cent throttle and then getting front wheelspin.

Driven with measure, the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid does a fine enough job, but I was let down a little by the vague steering and the at-times wobbly ride.

The tiller is incredibly light in its standard setting and quite vague about-centre, making the Tiggo 7 feel wooden and a bit floaty in its steering steering response. You can toggle a 'Sport' mode for the steering, which ups weight and quickens response a touch, but does little for actual feel or feedback.

As for the ride, I didn't find it overly firm, though there is a harder edge on initial impact which can then upset the softer secondary response. The Tiggo 7 will roll in corners and pitch under hard acceleration and braking, as well as occasionally take one or two more body movements than you'd like to settle after larger undulations, particularly at higher speeds.

It's far from a deal-breaker and, as I said earlier, when driven with measure it's pleasant enough, but if you're a keener driver or want something that feels a little more tightly tied together, you might want to look elsewhere – not that you'll find much better for similar money.

Chery's driver assistance suite is getting better, but I still haven't driven one of the brand's vehicles – across the Chery, Jaecoo and Omoda stables – in which the Integrated Cruise Assist feature (which combines adaptive cruise control and lane-centring) worked reliably.

As I've experienced in the past, using this feature will often see the Tiggo 7 hug the left side of the lane or violently yank the steering wheel out of your hands if it thinks you're too close to the lane markings – then other times won't do anything and let you drift over markings.

Used on its own, the adaptive cruise control is fine, and the blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert also work as you'd expect. Ultimate versions also score an excellent 360-degree parking camera with 3D projection view, which makes placing this SUV in tighter shopping centre carparks pretty darn easy.

We also didn't have any real issues with the driver attention monitoring, though it will be quick to alert you that your eyes have wandered if you glance at your mirrors or the infotainment system for too long. The audible overspeed warning isn't as intrusive as some others, and can be switched off via the touchscreen-based menu.

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

The Ultimate grade sits atop the Chery Tiggo 7 hierarchy.

2027 Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Urban equipment highlights:

• 18-inch dark matte alloy wheels
• Tyre repair kit
• Automatic LED projector headlights
• LED tail-lights
• Rear fog light
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Heated side mirrors
• Synthetic leather upholstery
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel
• 6-way powered driver’s seat
• 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
• 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• DAB+ digital radio
• Intelligent voice command
• 1 x front USB-A port
• 1 x front USB-C port
• 1 x rear USB-A port
• 6-speaker sound system
• Dual-zone climate control

Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Ultimate adds:

• 18-inch machined alloy wheels
• Puddle lights
• Power-folding side mirrors
• Panoramic sunroof
• Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
• Driver’s seat memory function
• 4-way powered front passenger seat
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Wireless phone charger
• 8-speaker Sony sound system
• Interior ambient lighting

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Is the Chery Tiggo 7 safe?

While the petrol-powered Tiggo 7 Pro scored five stars in 2023 ANCAP crash testing, the latest range including the plug-in Super Hybrid variants are currently unrated.

Standard safety equipment includes:

• 8 airbags incl. front-centre
• Adaptive cruise control
• Autonomous emergency braking – AEB
• Blind-spot monitor
• Driver monitoring system
• Lane-change assist
• Lane-keep assist
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Rear parking sensors
• Reversing camera
• Safe exit assist
• Traffic jam assist
• Tyre pressure monitor

Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Ultimate adds:

• Front parking sensors
• Surround-view camera

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How much does the Chery Tiggo 7 cost to run?

The Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid is covered by the Chinese brand's seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. Roadside assistance is thrown in for the first 12 months, and then another 12 months is activated with each scheduled service at your authorised Chery dealership.

Regarding maintenance costs, the first five years are pretty affordable, with the major sixth service (90,000km) throwing out the average due to its $1291.31 quoted price.

Services one, three and five cost $299 apiece, while two and four cost $349. For the first five years, you're looking at a total of $1595 or $319 per annum – much more reasonable.

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert's Take on the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid

Countless new Chinese brands and models have been launched in the 12 months since it was released, but the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid continues to offer incredible bang for your buck in the mid-size SUV space, and is pretty efficient when used as intended.

At $38,990 drive-away for the fully loaded Ultimate grade with a plug-in powertrain, it's tens of thousands cheaper than rivals from established brands like Toyota, Mitsubishi and others.

Given the savings, plenty of people will make concessions for some of the shortcomings, whether it's the derivative design, uninspiring driving experience, occasionally unresolved tech, or the smattering of different interior trims and textures which either date the cabin or make it feel a little chintzy.

But the sharp price, long list of standard equipment, long-range PHEV efficiency and general everyday comfort should make the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid appealing to many Australian family SUV buyers who are on a budget and looking to reduce their fuel bills. It's also cheaper than its key rivals from other Chinese brands – namely BYD, Geely, and its Jaecoo cousin – while the long warranty cover adds some peace of mind.

If you're in the market, looking to get as much metal for your money as possible, and open to buying one of the newcomers from China, it's well worth a look.

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MORE: Explore the Chery Tiggo 7 showroom