Chery’s first all-wheel-drive SUV in South Africa – What you get for R610,000

Chery has introduced its first all-wheel-drive (AWD) SUV to the South African market in the form of the top-end Tiggo 7 Pro Max Executive.

The 7 strikes the middle ground between the budget-friendly Tiggo 4 Pro and the more luxurious and spacious Tiggo 8 Pro, presumably offering the perfect platform for Chery to market its first AWD vehicle at a competitive price to gauge customer interest before adapting it to its other vehicles.

The 7 Pro Max AWD isn’t on sale as yet, but it is available for pre-order at Chery dealers with deliveries commencing shortly.

If you have your eye on the manufacturer’s AWD pioneer, this is what you’ll get for the sum of R609,900.

What you get for R609,900

The Tiggo 7 Pro Max employs a 1.6-litre, turbo-petrol engine churning out 145kW and 290Nm which is matched with a seven-speed automatic gearbox – a noticeable improvement of 37kW and 80Nm over the 1.5-litre mill that is equipped to the standard 7 Pro.

The AWD Max reports a combined fuel consumption of 7.8l/100km compared to the front-wheel-drive (FWD) derivatives’ 7.0l/100km, bringing its total driving range on one tank from approximately 729km down to 654km.

Regardless of how many wheels power is fed to though, the 7 Pro Max range accelerates from 0-100km/h in 8 seconds flat and offers Normal, Eco, Sport, Snow, Muddy, and Off-Road drive modes.

The AWD underpinnings also assure a more “commanding and responsive drive” when compared to their FWD namesakes, said Chery.

In Executive trim, the Tiggo 7 Pro Max has every ability you would need in a daily driver.

Up front and centre is a 24.6-inch curved display comprising a digital driver’s cluster and a media display, replacing the triple-screen layout of the normal Tiggo 7 Pro.

The system offers functions such as dual-zone climate control, a 360-degree camera programme, navigation, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Furthermore, the SUV comes with front Sports seats wrapped in perforated leather with electric adjustment, an eight-speaker Sony sound system, a 1.1sqm panoramic sunroof, an electric tailgate, an around-view camera system, a wireless charger that has been enhanced from 15W to a powerful 50W, automatic LED lights, and trim-exclusive 19-inch alloy wheels.

Level 2.5 advanced driver assistance systems are included in this particular Tiggo as well, such as adaptive cruise control, lane-change assist, forward and rear-collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, a driver monitoring system, and a multi-collision brake system.

The number of airbags has also been upgraded from six in the normal Tiggo 7 Pro, to eight in the Max.

Each purchase of a Tiggo 7 Pro Max carries a 5-year/150,000km general warranty, a 10-year/1-million kilometre engine warranty, and a 5-year/60,000km service plan.