Chery Tiggo 4 Pro a well devised and capable offering

Chery South Africa are big on numbers.

Back in September 2014, shortly after introducing the QQ3 1100 cc TXE and QQ3 800 cc TX models, the local Chery distributors decided to make a statement about the little cars’ performance and reliability.

They took five cars to the Gerotek banked oval track near Brits and slogged them flat out around the high-speed three-kilometre facility for 48 hours.

At the end of the run, the leading Chery had completed 2 423 laps, setting a South African and African 48-hour record of 6 300 km for 1 100 cc vehicles, at an average speed of 151.2 km/h. As far as we know, that record still stands – impressive.

When Chery launched the Tiggo last year, it came up with another startling number: one million kilometres. That is what the Tiggo’s engine warranty extends to. No, really – the engine comes with a 10-year, 1 000 000km warranty, while the car has a five-year, 150 000km guarantee. All of which speaks of massive product trust on the part of Chery.

This writer got to add a few of those kilometres on a Tiggo 4 Pro 1.5T Elite SE auto over the Christmas holidays. After almost a month with the vehicle as a house guest, I could mention a number of other reasons to want it.

ALSO READ: There’s more to new Chery Tiggo than just a sweet warranty

For one, its distinctive looks, led by an aggressive grille and LED daytime running lights, a roof spoiler, LED tail lights, a rear diffuser and lights under the front mirrors that beam the word “Tiggo” on to the tarmac.

It comes powered by a four-cylinder, 1 498 cc, turbocharged petrol engine that produces 108 kW of power at 5 500 rpm and 210Nm of torque between 1 750 rpm and 4 000 rpm. The grunt and twist go to the front wheels via a CVT, with the car sitting on spoked alloy wheels in 225/60 R17 rubberware.

It offers anti-lock disc brakes with electronic stability control all round, traction control, hill descend control and six airbags.

Inside, its biggest party trick is a voice control system, activated via a steering wheel button. There is a 10-inch infotainment system that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus two USB ports in the front and one in the rear. Leather-covered seats accommodate four adults in comfort, five in a squeeze, with air-conditioning front and rear.

The Tiggo was easy to drive, with the wide torque band enabling strong pulling ability for overtaking purposes.

The CVT was pretty good, provided one used gentle throttle inputs, and the engine provided enough power to make both highway and inner-city travelling effortless. The steering is light and direct, and vigorous cornering did not produce much body roll.

The only problem was the test vehicle’s tendency to slurp petrol. No matter how much we tried, it could not be persuaded to yield anything lower than 8.7 L/100 km.

These days, with insatiable government greed and other factors sending our fuel prices into outer space, that could weigh heavily against the Chery.

On the other hand, with an engine the manufacturer guarantees for a million kilometres, the Tiggo should surely be reliable in all other aspects. At R349 900 it could just be a clever investment.