Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Urban 2024 Review

The three-variant 2024 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro range kicks off with the $39,990 drive-away Urban we are testing here.

Pricing then steps up to the $41,990 drive-away Elite and then tops out with the $45,990 drive-away Ultimate, which is the only version that’s all-wheel drive rather than front-wheel drive.

That pricing means the Tiggo sits above the drive-away starting price of its obvious Chinese opposition, the GWM-Haval H6 and the MG HS, as well as the Indian Mahindra XU700.

Instead, it is pitched near the starting drive-away prices for the cheapest versions of the class-leaders such as the Mazda CX-5, Kia Sportage and the Toyota RAV4, which starts around $44,000 (depending on location).

Along with competitive pricing, the 2024 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Urban brings with it a long equipment list.

Big-ticket items you often don’t see in an entry-level model include a panoramic sunroof, dual-zone climate control, heated and powered front seats and artificial leather trim for all pews and the flat-bottom steering wheel.

Multi-hued 18-inch alloy wheels, including a full-size spare on an alloy wheel, roof rails, keyless entry and start and a chilled centre console box are other appreciated items.

The richness of the presentation is embellished by plenty of chrome, a heap of it in the huge grille that is the most dramatic aspect of an otherwise bluff and conservative exterior styling treatment.

There are some misses that are reserved for the more expensive Tiggo 7 variants, including a power tailgate, a security blind for the cargo area, power folding mirrors and front seat ventilation and memory.

One other thing missing from the Tiggo 7 is towing capability – it’s not even rated to tow the commonplace 750kg unbraked trailer limit. Chery Australia is in discussion with HQ about this, but says there’s no timeline on a resolution.

The Chery Tiggo 7 Pro comes with a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, up to seven years roadside assist and a competitive capped-price servicing program based on 12-month/15,000km intervals.

The 2024 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro range gets a maximum five-star ANCAP rating based on the latest 2023-2025 protocols.

It also has a long list of driver assist systems including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control, various forms of lane centring, keeping and departure prevention, rear collision and cross traffic warning, as well as braking, speed-limit monitoring, driver monitoring and blind-spot detection.

All that is an impressive list, but sadly there are some shortcomings when it comes to the tuning and the amount of faffing about that’s required to disable them. More on that shortly.

There are eight airbags including front-centre, driver knee and curtains. The headlights are automatic LED with a follow me home function. In addition to the aforementioned spare tyre there is also tyre pressure monitoring.

The Urban gets a reversing camera with guides rather than the 360-degree camera of the higher grade models. Further assistance comes from front and rear parking sensors.

There are three child seat top tethers and two ISOFIX mounts.

Located in the Urban’s centre lidded bin you’ll find a safety hammer with a seatbelt cutter – just what’s needed to escape a trapped car.

The 2024 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Urban makes quite the impact with its two 12.3-inch LCD screens for information and instrumentation spread across the dashboard behind a single piece of glass.

The instrument panel can be tuned through three different looks and also have the ‘TurboDog’ embedded sat-nav take over the screen.

There’s heaps of acreage here for things like an active driving display that digitally shows the Tiggo’s position on the road in relation to other traffic. It’s not the most accurate of graphics, though; cars ahead are shown driving off the road when they aren’t and in wet weather adjacent roadside barriers were shown as vehicles.

The Tiggo 7 includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but we could only get an iPhone to hook up via an Apple cable.

Other Urban tech includes wireless phone charging, one USB-A and USB-C connector up-front and one USB-A connector in row two. There’s also Bluetooth audio streaming, AM/FM radio (no DAB) and an eight-speaker Sony-branded sound system to pump out the audio.

The tech package is completed by ambient lighting and a voice command system that proved a bit hit and miss.

The entire 2024 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro line-up is powered by a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine of Chery’s own design that mates with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission to drive the front wheels in the Urban and Elite, while all four wheels are driven in the Ultimate.

In Australian tune the engine produces 137kW at 5500rpm and 275Nm over 2000-4000rpm. That’s down from the 290Nm it makes in China, which helps explain the 290T badge on the rear-end of the Tiggo, but not why it’s still stuck on the Australian cars.

The official fuel consumption claim of the 2024 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Urban is 7.0L/100km on the ADR combined cycle, with the aid of auto stop-start. The engine meets the Euro 6b emissions standard and specifies 95 RON fuel as a minimum.

On test, our Tiggo never looked like getting anywhere near the claim, finishing up with a 9.4L/100km fuel consumption average.

This is far from a cutting-edge result for a medium SUV, especially when you consider a RAV4 hybrid is litres more efficient per 100km as well as using cheaper 91 RON (the Toyota is more expensive to buy up-front of course).

The 2024 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Urban isn’t going to win any prizes for being an involving or well resolved vehicle to drive, but it is a step forward from its smaller relation the Chery Omoda 5 in a couple of ways.

First off, the driver assist systems aren’t as egregiously intrusive and the ride and handling balance of the Tiggo is a step in the right direction.

But being better than the Omoda 5 is a low bar to clear and the Urban is still an annoying vehicle because of the amount of systems that have to be deactivated each time you set off – unless you enjoy being binged and bonged at constantly for various and sometimes undiscernible reasons.

Undoubtedly the worst offender is the driver attention monitoring, which is way too zealous and eager to admonish the driver if it thinks eyes are wandering from the straight ahead for even a few seconds. Even a quick glance at the touch-screen draws a verbal and written rebuke.

Turning the monitoring off is a multi-step process that has to be repeated every time the vehicle is started. The same is true of traffic sign monitoring and emergency lane-keep functions, both of which are almost as annoying and intrusive as the driver monitoring.

But there is evidence the Tiggo 7 Pro’s family of lane departure, keeping and centring is better tuned than the Omoda 5. There were far fewer dramatic and alarming tugs at the steering wheel and less false alarms because the road surface was being misread.

It helped to understand the capabilities of the system – not that the e-manual in the info screen was much good here. Basically, keep the cruise control in its most basic form everywhere except on straight and well-marked roads such as freeways.

Engage the self-steering lane-centring then and it does a good job. Once the road gets at all curved it loses its mind, binging and bonging and switching on and off.

Expect an unpalatable graunching intervention from the ABS if you set cruise control at a speed lower than you are currently traveling at.

The less electronic nannies you have engaged the better the car drives and the less distracted the driver is – which is surely the opposite of what the intent of these things should be?

Left to its own devices, the Tiggo Pro’s mechanical make-up – MacPherson strut front suspension, multi-link rear-end, electric-assist power steering and all-round disc brakes – the Urban motors along OK.

It’s too soft in its set-up, which makes the experience squidgy, rolly and pitchy with front-end push in corners from the unconvincing Atlas tyres added to the mix. It loses composure over bumps and potholes. At least it’s well-damped when it comes to noise and vibration.

But at least for low-speed urban work it makes some sense. Steering is rubbery but light, so good for urban twirling. The turning circle seems OK, although Chery couldn’t furnish us with a number.

Not all the Urban’s issues are reduced by deactivating some sensors. Nope, while it quickly becomes clear the engine itself is a willing worker, its co-operation with the gearbox is haphazard.

Be at all generous with the throttle and there is uncouth wheelspin as too much boost dumps too suddenly into the system.

Worse, at a set speed on a flat road the car eddies and surges, never quite able to settle. Climb a hill and the gearbox loses composure, hunting obviously between the gears as it tries to maintain momentum. It’s gobsmacking that a car makes it into production in the 21st century behaving like this.

Speaking of changing gear, manual mode produces slow shifts not usually typical of DCTs. The process is achieved via the stubby lever (no flappy paddles) and it’s quite easy to get fumbled-up because the swap between manual and auto is achieved via a button on its side that would normally act as the détente. You can find yourself trying to get reverse when you’ve accidentally swapped to manual – or vice-versa.

The manual mode also changes by itself, kinda reducing its usefulness.

Speaking of modes, there are eco, normal and sport drive modes, although there was little meaningful behavioural change generated by flicking between them.

Because it is FWD the Urban is not really an off-roader, but it does come with hill descent control.

Measuring up a little shorter and wider than a Mazda CX-5, the 2024 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro makes the most of its bluff shape to release maximum interior room.

That’s most obvious in the second row, where there is generous space in all directions for two passengers beyond 180cm. They are also looked after with comfort features including adjustable air-con vents, a USB-A port, small and large storage options and an armrest with twin cupholders.

The seat is firmly cushioned and the forward view is a bit limited by the single-piece front seats, but the side view is excellent through big windows.

The boot is also generously sized, starting at 626 litres and expanding to 1672 litres with row two split-folded – that’s heaps better than the CX-5. Again, it’s the width as well as the length that helps here, with awkward items like full-size mountain bikes (with the front wheel removed) comfortably accommodated.

There’s not that many features in the boot. Just a few hooks, but no nets or storage cubbies to stop small items rolling about. Under the floor there’s plenty of room to tuck stuff in and around the spare tyre and rim, though.

Head up front and the Urban belies its entry-level status with an upmarket presentation that combines tasteful trims and materials that are often soft to the touch with a cohesive and modern design.

The screens spread across the dashboard dominate first impressions, but once you settle in there are more prosaic things to appreciate including heaps of storage options. The front passengers are separated by a bridge-type centre console that includes an open lower area.

The driver gets a reach- and rake-adjustable steering wheel to help get into the right position. There’s also a big left footrest that is well angled (not all are). Less helpful is the powered seat that adjusts for height only at the rear and not at the front. There’s also no lumbar, but the seat does offer good support and is generously sized.

The Urban loses some of its lustre because of the amount of drilling round that has to be done in the infotainment screen. It’s just more complicated than it should be to access and operate functions such as media. It simply encourages the use of smartphone mirroring – just remember your cable!

At least there are separate air-con controls on the dashboard so you don’t have to drill in for them.

The instrument panel is simpler to figure out, although having its steering wheel controls on the left horizontal spoke and the switches for the infotainment panel on the right spoke seemed counter-intuitive. Something that didn’t get addressed in the swap from left- to right-hand drive maybe?

The 2024 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Urban is a frustrating mix of good and bad. Its pricing is competitive, it’s got lots of equipment and a long warranty, its interior design is attractive and its cabin space is generous.

But get rolling and all that good work is undermined by a poorly calibrated drive experience. There’s no reason we need to be drowned in audible warnings and over-active monitoring – nor should they have to be repeatedly switched off.

Nor should the drivetrain be so poorly tuned or the chassis lack the ride and handling balance most of the stablished brands comfortably achieve.

All the elements are here to make a good car – they’re just not cohesively assembled together.

If near enough is good enough for you then maybe the Urban will suffice. Personally, I’d wait until Chery did better job of tuning their vehicles for Australian conditions – something it has already promised to do.

So until Chery delivers on its promise and gets the Tiggo right it would be wise to look elsewhere. There are better choices in the medium SUV class.

2023 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Urban at a glance:
Price: $39,990 (drive-away)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 137kW/275Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 7.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 162g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2023)