Exploring the Chery Tiggo 9 PHEV: impressions from a 1400km journey in China to the Shanghai Auto Show

After many hours in the air and landing in Beijing, the first order of business before any driving was done was heading to the local traffic department to get sorted with a temporary Chinese driving permit.

A small hiccup meant that I couldn’t receive my driving permit on the same day, which ultimately meant that I’d miss my flight to Yichang, the starting point of the long-range road trip. 

Early the following morning, accompanied by a Chery representative, we headed back to the traffic department after getting hold of the correct documents. We presented everything required to the official assisting us, and in less than 30 minutes, we walked out with my driving permit – talk about impressive efficiency.

Later that morning, we caught a flight to the road trip convoy’s next overnight stop, in the city of Wuhan. That afternoon, the convoy arrived at our overnight hotel, and this was my first interaction with the Chery Tiggo 9 PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle).

My first impression was that it certainly is a looker, and if you’re familiar with any of the larger Tiggo products available in South Africa, you’ll most likely notice some similarities, but in a bigger and more premium package. 

Exterior

Up front, you get LED technology for the headlights, with the daytime running lights found lower down. The familiar diamond grille effect is also present in this Tiggo 9 PHEV. The rear end is simple but classy and boasts a solid LED light bar that runs across the tailgate. 

Tech-infested interior

The cabin of the Tiggo 9 PHEV is tech-infested, and featured front and centre is a large 15.6-inch HD infotainment touchscreen which boasts wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Operating the mega-sized screen is effortless, thanks to a very responsive system with icons easily within reach, and an overall crisp and bright screen.

As with most vehicles that stem from the Far East, many of the vehicle controls are found within the infotainment system, which at times may be a bit of a challenge to navigate while driving.

One gripe over our long-range test was that the vehicle doesn’t remember settings, which you may disengage whenever you start the car up, from your previous drive.

One example of this was when I would turn off the lane departure system whilst driving, however when parking for a comfort break, and jumping back into the car to drive off, the system would be back on, resulting in having to fiddle with the settings in the infotainment system to turn the setting off again.

The feedback was, however, given to the Chery technical team, and one can only hope that it will be implemented when the Chery Tiggo 9 eventually makes its way to South Africa. 

Overall, the cabin of the Tiggo 9 is quite spacious and practical. Up front, you get a 50W wireless fast charging pad, and it’s positioned in front of the air vents, which means that when you have the air-conditioning on, the vents will cool your phone – a great feature considering that wireless charging pads overheat smartphones.

The center armrest has a storage binnacle beneath it, which is also cooled by the air-conditioning.

The rear seats offer an impressive amount of legroom, even for tall adults. This is thanks to a wheelbase of 2800mm and a width of 1925mm.

The Tiggo 9 is a seven-seater; however, I couldn’t test the legroom in the third row of seats and if my experience of testing seven-seater SUVs is anything to go by, the third row will most likely be better suited to young children, or if you’re able to squeeze an adult, it will be for a short period.

Under the skin

Moving on to the oily, the Chery Tiggo 9 PHEV features a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, paired with three electric motors in the AWD derivative. Total system output is rated at 455kW and 920Nm of torque, with the 0-100km/h sprint completed in just 5.7 seconds.

The battery capacity sits at 34.6 kWh and offers a claimed EV driving range of 170km. 

Driving-wise, the Chery Tiggo 9 PHEV offers plenty of shove, especially when performing overtaking manoeuvres. In bumper-to-bumper traffic and city driving, the Tiggo 9 PHEV will utilise the battery and drive in EV mode. The SUV comes into its own in and around the city.

Throughout our road trip, we only used about 80% of the battery, thanks to the available regenerative braking. We are told by Chery representatives that the technology in the battery doesn’t allow for the battery to drop below 20%, to preserve its overall lifespan. 

The arrival of the Chery Tiggo 9 PHEV in South Africa is expected in Q4, with local specification and pricing to be announced closer to the launch date.