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Improved flagship Tiggo 8 Pro still offers a lot of tech and spec for the money, but is equally still in need of sorting out in a few areas.
Seated behind the wheel of the left-hand-drive, facelift Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max days after the Shanghai Auto Show in April came with the notion that it would soon find its way to South Africa no matter what.
As such, getting a first-hand experience would lead to a significant advantage once it eventually arrived. That, though, wasn’t the case.
NOW READ: Updated Tiggo 8 Pro Max offers huge value for money
For one, foreigners are not allowed to drive in China. Secondly, sampling the Tiggo 8 Pro Max took place on a gymkhana course laid out in the parking lot of a Chinese theme park. One quite close to the carmaker’s main factory in Wuhu.
It meant that getting to grips with the Max and forming an opinion came to nothing. The course was too short and not exactly set up to test certain criteria.
Still part of blossoming cherys
Waiting for it to launch in South Africa presented the only real way to carefully scrutinise it in detail.
While it would appear natural to drone on about Chery’s meteoric rise to success and incredible turnaround since returning to South Africa in 2021, for not wanting to sound repetitive, the focus here is placed squarely on the Max. Like the rest of the Tiggo 8 Pro range, it accounts for the least of Chery South Africa’s local sales.
Of course, the reasons are easy to fathom. The Tiggo 8 sits atop Chery’s range with a starting price of R609 900 for the entry-level 290T Executive. Steep in comparison to newly-added Tiggo 4 Pro LiT‘s price tag of R279 900 and R422 900 Tiggo 7 Pro Distinction.
At R669 000, the Max is the priciest model Chery currently sells locally. This is likely to rise significantly before year-end by the already confirmed all-wheel-drive derivative.
In typical Chinese vehicle fashion, the front-wheel-drive Tiggo 8 Pro Max’s asking price presents an incredible proposition given not only the range of tech but also seven seats and a groundbreaking 10-year/1 000 000 km engine warranty.
Visually appealing Chery
The mixed signals provided by the 290T Executive tested last year were, therefore, the sole point of reference when the Max arrived. Our test car was decked out in the same stunning purple hue known in other markets as Rodent Purple.
Excluding the colour, the Max’s visual changes, since passed down to the Executive but not the entry-level Distinction Chery has opted to discontinue, are minor and need careful studying when viewed from the front.
These include a thicker grey border around the grille and model-specific diamond-cut 19-inch alloy wheels. Plus a special start-up sequence for the Matrix LED headlights and an illuminated Chery logo.
At the rear, the makeover has been more extensive. Besides quad exhaust outlets, Chery has restyled the faux diffuser and fitted a full-width LED light bar.
The restyling is completed by the Chery name badge moving to below the thin illumination. The tweaks certainly do not diminish the Tiggo 8 Pro Max’s visual presence as a stylish and aggressive-looking SUV.
Hugely improved interior…
Open the door; Chery has been more thorough as the previous black leather, Audi-esque climate control panel, combination of the 10.25-inch infotainment system and instrument cluster, and piano key black centre console have all been dropped in one foul swap.
Taking their respective places is a brown leather upholstery option and a completely new bridge-type centre console with imitation-grained wood. And a new dashboard complete with touch-sensitive climate control buttons and a new dual 12.5-inch instrument cluster and infotainment system. The latter still with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as the Hello Chey voice recognition system.
The facelift expanded to include a new steering wheel and a combination of type-A and type-C USB ports. Plus new air vents and a wireless smartphone charger at the base of the console. Chery also upgraded the materials and fitted the mouse-pad-like gear lever from the Omoda C5. The speakers for the eight-speaker Sony sound system, meanwhile, were moved from the A-pillar to the doors.
…but not perfect
Almost akin to a new model instead of a facelift, the interior, is still not without its foibles. The least being the brown colouration not everyone will appreciate.
Besides the trip computer still lacking a memory function, resulting in all driving data being lost every time the ignition is switched off, the driver’s seat is still positioned rather high. Even when dropped to its low setting, the view of the instrument cluster is obscured no matter how high the steering column is.
The digital rear-view mirror also requires more than a few days to get used to projecting an image closer than it is.
About the Chery tech…
It isn’t all bad, though, as the new centre console has lifted the interior’s aesthetics in a way the previous setup did not.
Despite being the top-spec model, Chery has thrown more spec into the bargain. The Max comes with electric, heated and ventilated front seats. It also has a panoramic sunroof, hands-free electric tailgate and integrated satellite navigation. Plus a 50-watt wireless smartphone charger and a dashcam.
Above the already present features that will take up the rest of this article, the Tiggo 8 Pro Max’s seat comfort is good, and space is supreme.
While the third row remains admittedly skewed towards junior family members, adjusting the second row’s backrest does allow more space.
Boot space varies from 193 litres with all seven seats up to 892 litres with the third row down. Dropping the third turns the Tiggo 8 Pro Max into a van with a total luggage capacity of 1 930 litres.
What about the engine?
The biggest sensation is the 2.0 T-GDI engine that rectifies the sluggish 1.6 T-GDI the Executive uses. Still hooked to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, the engine develops 187 kW. And, as indicated by the 390T badge on the boot lid, 390 Nm of torque.
Unchanged from the pre-facelift Max, the combination is explosive. As one friend bluntly put it in the passenger’s seat after a few minutes, “die ding [insert expletive of choice] of”.
It sure does. Unlike the 1.6 T-GDI, the 2.0-litre spools up so quickly and without the low-down turbo-lag that the Max feels really fast.
The incredible surge, punch and rapid acceleration aren’t without a few pitfalls. Too sudden throttle inputs will result in wheelspin when setting off, something the all-wheel-drive will hopefully rectify.
For its part, the dual-clutch box’s shifts are smoother. But not 100%, as on a few occasions, it would hesitate and shift down abruptly. That being said, it is nowhere as erratic as on the 1.6, making the continual lack of paddle shifters even more disappointing.
Dynamics still not polished
The Max’s dynamic prowess goes the other way as the steering is still devoid of feel and only improves with the selection of Sport mode. Selecting this also means a sharper throttle response. This has the knock-on effect of considerable torque steer and sure wheelspin if overexuberant with the loud peddle.
Comfortable on smooth surfaces, the suspension doesn’t take kindly to imperfections, unlike in the Executive, which rides on 18-inch wheels.
Finally, the topic of fuel consumption continues to hamstring most Chinese vehicles. Whereas the 1.6 T-GDI registered a high 10.5 L/100 km, spending more time with the Max on the highway saw the instrument cluster register an impressive 7.8 L/100 km.
Back to town driving and the daily commute saw the readout plummet to as high as 12.1 L/100 km at one point.
Conclusion
More accomplished but still not perfect, and in some cases overcomplicated, the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max shrugs off its deficiencies by appeasing to what most buyers immediately look for from a new vehicle: value for money.
The level of tech and kit, seven seats and punchy engine make its sticker price a bargain no comparative rival can match like-for-like.
Through in the engine warranty, a seven-year/90 000 km service plan and a five-year/150 000 km warranty, the Tiggo 8 Pro Max speaks for itself as a package that cannot and won’t be ignored easily.
NOW READ: Chery celebrates South Africa success with Max(ed) Tiggo 8 Pro
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