Tiggo Cross hybrid means business

»» For once you get a Chinese engine that's exceptionally frugal in town driving.

- Mark Jones

e said earlier that we thought new Chery Tiggo Cross HEV was going to be a disruptor, based on the car's on-paper credentials only.

The caution was because the normal Tiggo Cross minus hybrid did not receive a favourable review from The Citizen Motoring team. The throttle calibration was woeful, the DCT gearbox jerky and the brakes were non-existent.

Besides the car's better price that put it above VW's T-Cross in the pecking order, there was no way one could recommend this model derivative in good faith.

But simply put, this negative sentiment has been comprehensively undone after spending some time behind the wheel of the Tiggo Cross HEV derivative.

It's like the two cars came out of different factories. It's so much smoother and more refined the normal Tiggo Cross and this one now also has the firepower to gun down the big dogs in Toyota's top-selling Corolla Cross HEV.

Coming in at R469 900 for the top of the range Elite spec, the Chery Tiggo Cross HEV is comfortably better priced than the Corolla Cross HEV in XR spec at R545 200.

A R75 300 difference in sticker price in this budget sensitive part of the segment is a massive win in favour of this Chinese offering.