Chery Tiggo 7

FIRST DRIVE Chinese brand's first UK car promises value-for-money family motoring. We put the PHEV version to the test

- Alastair Crooks

IT'S hard to keep track of all the new Chinese brands entering the UK market, but as our deep dive into Chery at its launch event suggested, this is one to be reckoned with. Our experience of the company begins with the Tiggo 7, which is a rival to the Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage.

There are lots more alternatives to the Tiggo 7 from within the wider 'Chery Automobile' group, which includes the Omoda and Jaecoo brands.

The three are looking to consolidate on very strong recent sales figures, with the Jaecoo 7 becoming the sixth bestselling car in the UK this August and the group growing its market share to 2.96 per cent – up from 2.1 per cent – as recently as June.

There's no reason why the Tiggo 7 shouldn't have similar success or even eclipse the Jaecoo 7 because they share the same platform, technology and engines. More crucially, Chery is focusing on affordability and the Tiggo 7 costs from £24,995 for the 145bhp turbocharged 1.6-litre pure-petrol.

The plugin hybrid Tiggo 7, which Chery calls 'Super Hybrid', costs from £29,995. That makes the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid the UK's cheapest plugin hybrid.

Don't go thinking Chery has achieved this price by stripping the Tiggo 7 of the car is packed with kit. The entry-level Aspire has twin 12.3-inch screens with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, LED lights front and rear, a six-way powered driver's seat, dual-zone automatic air-con and a wide-view rear camera.