Chery Tiggo 4 Ultimate 2025 Review

At the end of August 2025 – when Mahindra’s drive-away offer for the new XUV3XO wraps up – the Chery Tiggo 4 will share the title as Australia’s cheapest SUV.

If the goal is to scoop up buyers priced out of the usual Japanese and Korean options, it’s a smart move. You can get in a new Tiggo 4 Urban for $23,990 or step up to the top-spec Ultimate being reviewed here for just $26,990 – and sweetening the deal, all listed prices are drive-away.

The Ultimate version significantly undercuts rivals like the Toyota Yaris Cross, Hyundai Venue, Kia Stonic and Mazda CX-3. It’s between $2000 and $9000 cheaper than the entry-level models of those cars. Stack it up against their high-spec versions and the gap blows out from $5500 to $16,000.

If you’re willing to pay more, electric assistance is available in the form of the Urban and Ultimate Hybrid for $29,990 and $34,990 respectively.

The Tiggo 4 was awarded a five-star safety rating from ANCAP based on testing in 2023. This covers the Urban and Ultimate petrol models, while the recent hybrid versions remain unrated.

The Tiggo 4 Ultimate comes loaded with seven airbags, front and rear parking sensors, blind spot monitoring, low-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane keep assist (LKA), rear cross traffic alert (RCTA), a driver monitoring system, adaptive cruise control and a 360-degree parking camera.

Powering the diminutive Chery is a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine making 108kW and 210kW, which is sent to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT). It’s a combo widely used in this segment.

A seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty adds confidence given Chery’s status as an emerging brand, while seven years of capped-price servicing and roadside assistance bolsters peace of mind.

Step into the 2025 Chery Tiggo 4 Ultimate and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the finesse that has gone into the cabin of this compact SUV.

It’s hard to find many significant cost-cutting measures and most surfaces are soft touch, with only a few hard plastics. The dashboard and doors are trimmed in soft textiles and there’s gloss detailing on the centre console that adds to a more premium feel. However, it does look like it’ll be showing wear in a few years.

Dual 10.25-inch displays take focus in the cabin. One is used for the main touch-screen and infotainment, while the other is placed ahead of the driver for the instrument cluster. Below the central screen is a digital climate-control, continuing the upscale vibe.

The top-spec Tiggo 4 gains nice-to-have features like synthetic leather heated seats, a wireless charger and a sunroof, yet it misses out on other premium features like a powered tailgate. Still, the level of finish and detail feels surprisingly polished for the price.

Thanks to its small dimensions and 360-degree camera, manoeuvring into a parking spot is easy – same goes for parallel parking. Space for occupants within the cabin is another pleasant surprise, with more room than you’d expect from a compact SUV.

Storage in the 2025 Chery Tiggo 4 Ultimate isn’t the most user friendly.

There are two small cupholders, squeezed so close together that if you try to fit two small coffees, they’ll be jostling for space. There’s also a narrow slot that looks designed for a phone, but it feels awkward to use and isn’t the most natural place to stash your device.

Beyond that, you might assume the centre console is your only storage option until you spot the carved-out space underneath, which is handy for tossing less-used bits and pieces. The infotainment system is generally clear and straightforward, but we ran into issues with Apple CarPlay failing to reconnect automatically, forcing us to restart the system.

The USB sockets are also inconveniently placed near the front passenger’s knee, meaning if you’re driving, you’re unlikely to reach over to plug in or retrieve your phone without some serious stretching.

On the driving front, the gear selector requires a firm shove to change gears, which became stressful during busy three-point turns when quickly switching between reverse and drive. Some of the audible cues can be triggering, too. For example, the indicator noise could be deemed annoying, but thankfully the volume can be reduced via settings within the infotainment screen.

On the road the Tiggo 4 Ultimate returns a compliant ride quality. Given its use-case, the suspension is soft and tuned more for comfort than sporty handling, so there’s quite a bit of body roll in corners. The brakes require more pedal effort than you might expect but are adequate for everyday driving.

The calibration of the lane support requires attention as it’s somewhat unresolved, especially at freeway speeds. When activated via cruise control, the system can feel as though it’s fighting against you, resulting in a jerky and uncomfortable driving experience.

There are plenty of cheap cars on the market – and a large chunk of them reflect that in the quality of the product. However, the 2025 Chery Tiggo 4 Ultimate is one of those rare finds that flips the script and delivers on bang for your bucks.

Sure, it’s not perfect. The safety systems can be a bit overzealous, the volume of some features are unnecessarily shrill and it isn’t a dynamic benchmark for the segment. Although it’s a lot easier living with these shortcomings when you’ve got an extra $10k sitting in your bank account compared to what you’d spend on a rival brand for similar specs.

At the end of the day when you stack up the long list of features against the drive-away price, for many the Chery Tiggo 4 Ultimate will feel like hitting the value jackpot.

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