All-paw Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max in need of a bit more fermentation

The Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max, in all-wheel-drive configuration, has been a long time coming for South Africa ever since its reveal at the Shanghai Auto Show last year.

While supposed to have become a reality near the end of 2023 as the first all-wheel-drive Chery, the all-paw gripping Tiggo 8, based on the flagship 2.0 T-GDI engine Max, only debuted last month after a comparatively short social media teaser campaign.

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Ranked behind the Tiggo 7 Pro Max as Chery’s first model with an all-paw gripping system, the arrival of the Tiggo 8 Pro Max AWD posed a further a question; had the system solved the traction control problems brought on by the overzealous throttle programming that plagued the facelift Tiggo 8 Pro Max tested last year?

What makes it AWD?

Distinguished from its sibling only by the AWD logo on the tailgate, the test unit even came decked-out in the same Roland Purple paint option that featured on the original 1.6 T-GDI Tiggo 8 Pro driven two years ago.

Based on the flagship Executive means the AWD sports the same 19-inch alloy wheels as the two-wheel-drive, plus the same extensive array of tech and safety features.

In fact, the remainder of the alterations have taken place underneath the Tiggo 8 Pro Max’s skin.

Besides the system’s ability to transfer the engine’s 187kW/390Nm from the front to all four wheels in 100 milliseconds, Chery has uprated suspension, increased the size of the fuel tank from 57-litres to 61-litres and fitted a torque splitting system it says provides an even spread of twist between front and rear axle.

At the same time, three additional modes have been added to the drive mode selector for a total of six, namely Snow, Mud and Off-Road to the standard issue Eco, Normal and Sport.

Incremental at best, but also not uncommon, the expected “dumming” down of the Tiggo 8 Pro Max’s eagerness to spin all of its power away, while successful, presented an annoyance the moment the AWD arrived, albeit for another reasons.

Hit-and-miss

Given the nature of the newcomer’s styling, the status quo is unchanged as it remains a stylish and eye-catching thing prompted-up not only by its wheels, restyled rear facia and colour, but also the illuminated Chery badge on the grille that drew significant attention and finger pointing.

Inside, the changes applied to the Tiggo 8 Pro’s interior showcased in Shanghai remains a mixed bag as the aesthetic triumph and use of upscale materials are let down by the brown leather upholstery not everyone will find appealing.

As part of the changes, the previous Audi-esque climate control display has been dropped in favour of an aluminium-look touch-sensitive panel on the dashboard, the centre console redesigned and the pair of 10.25-inch displays eschewed in favour of a dual 12.3-inch setup.

Neat looking as ever and seemingly easy to get a grip on, the issues experienced on the two-wheel-drive remains; the complexity of the infotainment system’s interface and the lack of sufficient steering column adjustability to fully display the cluster.

Safety gone annoying

The main issue though involves not the somewhat disappointing sound quality of the 10-speaker Sony sound system – two more than the front-wheel-drive – but the addition of a new Driver Alert system that uses an eye-detection radar binnacle on the steering column.

Part of the Tiggo 8 Pro Max’s catalogue of safety tech, the supposed benefit of the scanner become a massive irritant as tasks such as activating the climate control, talking to passengers or even scrolling through the infotainment system would cause a message to flash-up on the instrument cluster saying, “You have been distracted for too long. Keep eyes on the road”.

Unable to be switched off as all the other systems are, a further issue also presented itself in the bizarre omission of a deactivation function for the start/stop system.

Present on the two-wheel-drive but not the AWD, the system’s abruptness became a worry on hillier sections as it ”disengaged” the Hill Start Assist system with the engine switched off.

This led to instances of the Tiggo 8 Pro Max rolling backwards the second one’s foot is lifted from the brake pedal, before the system proceeds to re-start the engine.

An unusual occurrence not experienced on any Chery product to date, the setup significantly soured the all-wheel-drive to the point that the virtues found on the two-wheel-drive become harder to notice.

Turning the other cheek

Taking one’s focus off the irksome system, the mentioned qualities involves a spacious interior and more than enough leg-and-headroom in the second row without cursing the dual-pane panoramic sunroof in the case of the latter.

In spite of the still annoying digital rear-view mirror, the tacky grained wood trim on the floating centre console and the voice recognition system not always recognising the Hello Chery prompt, the Tiggo 8 Pro Max AWD remains awash of tech that would require an article of its own to mention.

The continuing main drawing card of products hailing from the People’s Republic, the features does require a fair degree of familiarisation from the get-go.

Doing this eventually led to the discovery of how to monitor the fuel consumption that would reset every time the ignition turned off. The solution? Select Trip B on the trip computer and keep it there instead of resorting to the self-resetting Trip A.

As impressive as before, the resolution of the 360-degree around-view camera system remains intact, as did practically.

While the third-row is aimed at small children, who will require assistance getting seated due to the second row sliding forward and not tumbling, utility space is as expected from a seven-seater with 193-litres being available in “full house” guise.

With the third row lowered, space increases to 892-litres and to 1 930-litres with the middle row also folded to create a completely flat floor.

Losing grip

Comfortable and refined on the road requires setting-off though and while reigned-in by the all-wheel-drive system, any hopes of a measured departure has sadly been blighted by the misaligned throttle setting and programming of the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

Whereas setting off in the front-wheel-drive requires a measured accelerator input, the same doesn’t apply to the all-wheel-drive due, it must be said, to the even torque spread as mentioned.

The downside though is a delayed response almost similar to low-down turbo-lag, plus a momentary pause in each upshift when accelerating.

Yet another bizarre aspect of the AWD not detected on the front-wheel-drive, the drivetrain’s programming makes the Tiggo 8 Pro Max feel lethargic and not as spritely as its sibling.

Aspects likely to have been expected from the all-paw system, though not on the scale presented, the all-wheel-drive Tiggo 8 Pro Max did feel a lot more composed and not as nervous as the front-wheel-drive when susceptible to sudden surface changes.

While the less-than-ideal artificial electric steering is still present, the new suspension does result in a firmer ride, but arguably to the AWD’s advantage as it feels more controlled than the two-wheel-drive.

Although no changes have been made, the spongy brakes have also disappeared, but not the sensitivity of the mousepad-like gear lever that requires a steady hand not to inadvertently put the transmission in manual mode when shifting from Park to Drive or to Reverse.

With a visual readout present, the seven-day and 456 km spell in mixed driving conditions saw the Tiggo 8 Pro Max AWD register an indicated best consumption figure of 9.7 L/100 km – not only heavier than the two-wheel-drive’s 7.5 L/100 km, but also for any Chinese vehicle excluding a traditional body-on-frame SUV.

Conclusion

As much as its dramatic South African relaunch three years ago continues unabated, the arrival of the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max 390T Executive AWD DCT to give it its full designation, comes as somewhat of a mixed-bag considering the pre-launch hype.

Priced at R731 900, the dearest Chinese car on-sale in South Africa today, the Tiggo 8 Pro Max AWD remains remarkable value considering not only the seven-seats, space and features, but now also all-wheel-drive.

Yet, it remains dynamically compromised and in need of a safety systems rethink to avoid owner frustration in the long-run, a trait South Africans are well known for.

Once rectified, it presents more than just an enticing buy for comparatively little money, however, one in need of final tweaking to be seriously considered as the proverbial segment bargain of the century.

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