Chery Tiggo 7 Pro takes leisurely family holiday to the Max

With the influx of a whole raft of Chinese cars flowing into the South African market of late, I was quite excited when I got to try out the new Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max Executive AWD for my trip to the bush last month.

Now I must be honest, purchasing a Chery has never been something I considered buying. Purely because in my mind it was a brand that has never really been synonymous with luxury and reliability. But when I stepped into this vehicle I quickly realised that my perceptions were living in the past and it was time to wake up and smell the coffee.

The cabin is a beautiful place to spend your time with the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max sporting dual 12.3 inch-screens, eight-speaker Sony sound system, a 50-watt wireless phone charger, smart-looking centre console, revised 360-degree surround-view camera system and heated and ventilated leather sports seats.

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Look ma, no hands!

One of personal favourites – and a big hit with my 10-year-old twin boys – was the voice command system. The words “Hello Chery” were almost overused on our trip to Dikhololo. Everyone in the car wanted to see all the things the car could do without pushing any buttons.

From turning on the radio and air conditioning to controlling the mesmerising panoramic sunroof, the voice command system was a massive hit all around in the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max.

The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox mated to the 145kW/290Nm 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine made the actual driving experience a very pleasant one. Besides the slight lag when it switched between gears it is one the better automatic vehicles I have driven.

It really is a car for all conditions with driving settings ranging from Eco mode all the way to Snow and Mud mode. I was ecstatic to switch to the off road setting when we arrived at the terrible dirt roads that welcomed you to the bush.

Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max a smooth operator

Generally the 12km road is so terrible that it feels like it is 50km, but the car almost made it feel like we were driving a tar road. We went for a few game drives during our stay at Dikhololo and even though we didn’t see many animals, it didn’t matter because the off-road drive was smooth and my boys enjoyed sticking their heads out of the sunroof and enjoying the nature around us.

Space is also no problem for the SUV with plenty of room in the boot to fulfil the needs of a travelling family and my twins had plenty room in the backseat to accommodate busy growing boys.

Although to my untrained eye the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max‘ pros massively outweigh the cons, there were a few things that bothered me slightly.

I am all for safety in the world we live in today, the one safety feature that got on my nerves was that little sensor placed on top of the steering wheel – or, more importantly the sensitivity of that contraption. Turn your head away from looking at the road for a few seconds – even if it is to just check your mirrors – the warning comes on the dashboard telling you to concentrate on the road. At first I thought it was a clever novelty but after a few hours it became slightly annoying.

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Worth the price tag

And don’t even try and drive for more than an hour because you’ll receive a stern warning to take a break and have a cup of coffee. But this is part of a comprehensive list of active systems making the car very safe.

Then on the comfort side – more of an inconvenience than a con – the drivers seat adjusts automatically when you turn the car on and my rather large 1.97m tall frame got quite a fright when the seat started moving forward like the walls closing in on you in a horror movie.

The Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max also automatically switches to Eco mode every time you turn the car on, but I am really just nitpicking now.

All-in-all though it was a very enjoyable experience, leaving me wishing I had more time to properly enjoy all the gimmicky features this wonderful vehicle has to offer. And for a high-end car with all the bells and whistles it is definitely worth the R609 900 price tag.