When Made In China does not leave a bad taste in your mouth

When I picked up the Chery Tiggo for a test drive, I was a little apprehensive about the whole test drive experience as the ‘made in china’ issue was lingering at the back of my head. After an hour on the road, it did not ring any emotional bells and left me absolutely unmoved as I parked it outside my house for the rest of the night.

The next day all this changed. Why? Well instead of writing it off, a day with the Tiggo running errands for the family and moving children about changed my mind and left me with a better taste in my mouth after saying Tiggo once more.

It is a good vehicle if you factor its total appeal of being cheaper to buy than the competitors and offers decent list of equipment and features. As an appliance, it is almost what people need and in that respect the Tiggo crossover/wagon/SUV or whatever it’s supposed to be, is satisfactory.
Tiggo Interior

The Tiggo’s passenger cabin is roomy enough for four adult passengers, but it will seat five. The quality of the dash materials, and the overall fit and finish in the Tiggo’s interior is average in this class. The textured dash plastics have a reasonable look and feel, and the fake metal centre trim looks and feels like plastic.

Tiggo’s come with standard cloth seats, but my top-of-the-line model had leather seats, seat stitching, side bolsters and head restraints. The centre stack includes an AM/FM/CD/MP3 player with four speakers. The rear seating area has plenty of headroom and legroom for two adults – the front seats are raised allowing generous foot room under them.

The split rear seatbacks are easy to fold down with one hand. Lift a lever on the top of the seatback, and the seats articulate as they fold, creating a flattish surface level with the cargo area.

Specifications for the Tiggo are as follows: seatbelts for five, 2WD drivetrain, 3-spoke steering wheel, dual SRS airbags, CD player, heated front seats, antilock brakes, electronic brake distribution, and power steering.

Standing behind the Tiggo, you will see that the rear hatch looks similar to the 2nd generation Toyota RAV4.The hatch opens easily, and reveals a large opening coupled with a high roof and comfortable seats, a side-hung door and an impressive 1935 litres of luggage space with the rear seats folded, or 837 with them up it makes for a good family vehicle.

Tiggo Driving Impressions

Sure it’s a good value and has a nice interior, but the main reason we like the Tiggo was that it drives like a higher class of vehicle. Its 1,971cc DOHC engine with a 10.2:1 compression ratio produces 129 horsepower at 5,550rpm and 178Nm of torque at 4,500rpm and is a really smooth-revving and quiet powerplant. We found the Tiggo responsive off the line, and the gearbox smooth shifting. The engine is only available with a 5-speed manual at the moment.

The Tiggo sits a modified sedan car platform, which accounts for its civilised ride and handling, at least by SUV standards. Suspension is fully independent, able to handle uneven surfaces with little thumping or pitching, yet entering a turn too quickly provides a reminder that an SUV will never handle like a car.

If you really overdo things or unwittingly hit a slippery patch then things can get a little hairy. Interlinked with throttle, brakes, and traction control, the system senses understeer or oversteer, helps compensate until you find yourself again heading in the intended direction.

The 4-cylinder engine assisted by a 5-speed manual provides ample acceleration. The four is noisy once the revs exceed 3000 rpm, otherwise it is a quiet vehicle. Perhaps Cherry engineers should cut back on the soundproofing in the belief that younger SUV buyers, at whom it is aimed, like a little roar with their ride.

Tiggo Conclusion
At RM80k, the Chery Tiggo 2-liter manual is a reasonably attractive SUV that manages to keep the price down with equipment levels that are only the necessities – not many people require 4WD.

Chery Tiggo Specifications
Engine: 4-cylinder DOHC

Displacement: 1971cc

Max power: 95kW @ 5500rpm

Max torque: 178Nm @ 4500rpm

Transmission: 5-speed manual

Top speed: 169km/h as tested

Price: RM81,000.00

2 Responses to “Behind The Wheels: One Big Cherry On The Road”

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