Johannesburg - The Chery brand is officially back in South Africa, promising a far more sophisticated line-up of vehicles than the somewhat questionable offerings of the past. First to arrive is the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, which is a compact SUV that’s similar in size to the Peugeot 2008 and Hyundai Creta.
The Chery Tiggo 4 Pro is available in five variants, priced between R269 900 and R359 900 and if you’re having any trouble trusting the durability aspect, Chery is offering an unprecedented 10-year, one million kilometre engine warranty, although it only applies to the first owner of the vehicle and also stipulates that the vehicle must be serviced at a Chery outlet. Covering the rest of the car is a five-year/150 000km warranty and a five-year/60 000km service plan is part of the deal too.
All Tiggo 4 Pro models are powered by 1.5-litre petrol engines, but buyers can choose between a more cost-conscious normally aspirated version with 85kW and 141Nm on tap, and a perkier turbo variant that’s good for 108kW and 210Nm. The former comes standard with a five-speed manual transmission and the latter with a six-speed unit, and both are optionally available with a CVT gearbox.
But what features do you get?
The Chery Tiggo 4 Pro is available in four model grades, namely Urban, Comfort, Elite and Elite SE. The importer has not gone into detail about what features the various model grades have, but a previous communication did mention that all model grades have air conditioning, electric windows and automatic headlights.
The more luxurious versions add items such as automatic climate control, powered sunroof and intelligent voice command system.
The Tiggo 4 Pro is one of the company’s first vehicles to ride on the new ‘6D Longitudinal Beam Structure’ platform, and more than two thirds of the vehicle's structure is built with high- and ultra-high strength steel.
There are currently 30 Chery dealerships in South Africa, and the importer plans to expand that footprint in time.
Watch this space in a few days for our driving impressions from the launch in Johannesburg.
Chery Tiggo 4 Pro Pricing (2021)
1.5 Urban manual - R269 900
1.5 Comfort CVT - R299 900
1.5T Elite manual - R319 900
1.5T Elite CVT - R349 900
1.5T Elite SE CVT - R359 900