Chery has reintroduced its SUV innovative vehicles, which it produces with high technology, to the market as 7Pro Max and 8Pro Max with up-to-date technologies. The new facelifted Tiggo7 ProMax has a 1.6-liter 145-horsepower engine with 275Nm of torque. When we evaluate our test vehicle with its exterior design; We see that our Tiggo7 ProMax has an increased body width of 1862mm and a length of 4513mm. I can say that our vehicle has been designed as a whole, especially when viewed from the side section, under the shoulder line “Volvo” and “Range Rover” design language and some of its features. The Tiggo7 ProMax has lines that also reflect the strong “Lexus” lines, especially by its long front hood. This includes the new front grille frame and the new design language, with color lines reminiscent of electric vehicles.
At the rear, there is a rear taillight group with a completely redesigned trunk, while the tailgate can be opened and closed automatically with the help of a key. We tested our Tiggo7 ProMax using approximately 2,000 km (between Istanbul and Ankara) and using it continuously for 5-6 days, including all road conditions.
In the current version of Chery Tiggo7 ProMax, we can say that it has managed to present the elements that appeal to the eye, especially with quality “interior workmanship”, in order to offer an experience to its users with many innovations in interior design, especially in terms of hardware and technology. When we look at the interior design of the vehicle, the front cockpit and upholstery, there is a trouble-free workmanship on medium hard leather and other surfaces, especially in the parts from the front chest to the torpedo. Door interiors, armrests, leather surfaces included. Metal objects that are used in the bright area, which are only functional inside the doors, are not included in this scope. They need to be worked on more in terms of workmanship and quality. Front speaker metal door exits.
Especially when we look at the quality of ergonomics of the driver’s seat, seating position and usability, the seat is 2-way electrically adjustable, as well as the complete leather seat and headrests are presented as a whole design (volvo-like), although it is seen that it does not offer much service to the user as your headrest and head restraint on long roads, it has a moderate comfort. However, we see that the front passenger seat sitting on the side does not have a height adjustment (up-down), although it is electric (forward-backward). Both seats have heating and cooling features. However, it has been tested that cooling does not perform very well even in the last stage in hot weather, especially for long journeys and long periods of time.
Although the passenger seating area at the rear of the vehicle is comfortable in terms of head and legroom, the ergonomic seating angles of the rear seats, which have an uncomfortable seating position in terms of rear stable seat angles and an angle design that is not preferred on long roads, need to be improved more. However, the air conditioning outlets and usb outputs at the back are sufficient in terms of their functions.
When the rear seats lie flat, a very large and long storage area is created.
The length of the vehicle is up to 4513mm and up to 2500mm, which means that you can fit your long items by moving the front right passenger seat forward.
ENGINE – DRIVING:
Built on the T1X infrastructure of the 7-Speed Automatic DCT transmission on the Chery Tiggo7 PROMAX, the 4-cylinder 1.6 TGDI engine produces 145HP power and 275Nm torque. In a 1.6-liter SUV vehicle and with a net curb weight of 1567kg, I witness that the vehicle accelerates so quickly and smoothly, including the first take-off and intermediate accelerations, with this engine. Under normal conditions, I would not have expected such coolness and acceleration from the 1.6-liter 145-horsepower engine. Chery Tiggo7 was particularly surprised by the success and performance of the smooth engine. Therefore, I am actually curious about where and how the engine is made, what origin it is. We couldn’t find much detailed information about this. However, even though it is a Chinese vehicle, we came across a printed output production label on the vehicle stating that the test vehicle came from Chery in Germany.
We tested our vehicle with 225/55R19 Kumho brand tires on it for 2,000 km day and night in all road conditions. The standard ex-factory tire brand of the vehicle offered for normal sale is Continental. With the acceleration of the vehicle, it has a structure that does not tire the user on long roads. There are no defects in the transmission gear shifts of the vehicle and they are smooth. The engine of the vehicle continued in the same performance and mode without getting tired with more km on long roads.
The vehicle has 3 different driver usage modes: “Eco-Normal-Sport”. The driving modes of the vehicle are quite successful, while the interior lighting and LED lights vary according to the driving mode, they can be any optional color. The vehicle’s braking system is located at the front, while there is an Air-Cooled Disc, while there is only a Disc at the rear. The vehicle’s suspension systems include McPherson brand suspension at the front and multi-point independent suspension at the rear. Under these equipment, we evaluate our driving test in the presence of our experts. The Kumho brand flat tires on the test vehicle make the vehicle very hard. It made it difficult for him to hold on to the road. In terms of comfort, it was observed that it compromised on comfort in the vehicle due to its hard and uncomfortable flat tires.
While it is tested that the vehicle can travel at high speeds, on wide curvy roads, in performance use, without being prone to slipping, it should be taken into account that the tires on it can also create insecurity, especially in heavy rain and wet road conditions.
Since there is a lot of air intake and circulation under the vehicle at high speeds and in windy weather, difficulties in holding on to the road and unsafe moments were also experienced during test use. However, apart from this, it has been observed and tested that it manages to hold on to the road without overflowing its lane safely by entering the corners in a very comfortable way, similar to driving a car, without any slipping from the front and rear (including high accelerations) on narrow bends on dry roads. In terms of the torque and engine power of the vehicle, it was observed that the front wheels and axle were slightly idle during the test, the front wheels and axle were slightly idle, the front side was slightly airborne, and the vehicle had some difficulties in holding on to the road.
In the safety use driving features of the vehicle; The cruise control system has been tested for smooth positive operation through the steering wheel. The front and rear 360-degree road and vehicle tracking radar system of the vehicle can track the movements of the vehicle passing you during the journey up to 75 meters and show it to you on the front instrument panel. Since all the safety measures of the vehicle are activated when you start the vehicle, I turn off some of the safety measures of the Chery Tiggo7 Pro MAX feature, which intervenes every time in use, when I hit the road. If you adopt and get used to the use of the Max safety package in road conditions, I think this is not a problem. It can be completely adjusted according to the driver’s wishes. But it is necessary to do this every time and again. Another safety package aspect is the laser infrared eyes located just behind the steering wheel. Driver fatigue constantly tracks your head and eye movements. At first, I wasn’t bothered by the way the car reacted with focus on the road. But then, unfortunately, I used the vehicle by wrapping it in multiple layers with “electrical tape”. Because I was constantly disturbed by the fact that it followed my eye movements with an infrared ray laser, even if it was harmless to my eyes and head. Also, that part emits a lot of heat. When you touch it with your hand, it is quite warm during long journeys. I was also disturbed by the heat it emitted and turned the air conditioning ventilation grilles towards the steering laser part. I also thought that this might make my eyes uncomfortable and tired with further use.
In the use of the car, I experienced the lack of a manual shift option on the F1 steering wheel shift pedals or the use of the new diamond-encrusted gear. I did not have any problems with the front instrument panel during use. The Hud screen, which is in the Pro8max option, is not available in our Po7max vehicle. We also noticed that although the car has a navigation option in the menu, it is not offered as standard equipment. It has been observed that the system, which follows the lane, blind spot, rear collision avoidance warning, tracking the vehicle in the lane and road route vehicles on the front instrument panel, reflects late on the front instrument panel for about 1 or 1.5 seconds. Especially when the vehicle is in the lane tracking indicator in the stop position. Thanks to the artificial intelligence-supported speech and response (beautiful female voice) of the vehicle, you can automatically make some commands with the help of voice commands such as turning on and off the windows, air conditioning, music. However, although the voice assistant sometimes responds to you in English, it does not understand anything that is said in English. The voice assistant responds and speaks in English or Turkish, but does not detect English requests. In addition, it was observed that in rainy weather, the front wipers could not fully perform their function and timing in automatic mode. During the use of the vehicle, it was observed that both the music volume was turned on and off, air conditioning settings and other electronic functions were sometimes performed on their own, and at some times they did not fully perceive the commands given. (For example, turning the music volume on and off on the steering wheel, changing the air conditioning setting, wipers did not respond most of the time while the vehicle was driving.)
Although the angle of the windshield of the vehicle is very well designed at speeds of 110-120km, it reflects and feels the speed a little too much. During the brake tests of the vehicle, the Tiggo7 ProMax, which has very powerful front brakes, responds as a sudden shock during a single press on the brake on dry ground at speeds of 90-120km. At higher speeds, it responds well to the first pressing of the brake. When you put more than one hard pressure on the brake, you have difficulty getting the same reactions. The brake can sometimes bulge and air in hard pressure attempts. It has been observed that with the activation of the abs in sudden braking tests on wet grounds and in weather, a mechanical rubbing sound from the brake also gives a sound into the vehicle. Although Chery’s brakes are very good at first, with more work on them, a smoother system can be obtained in all conditions and conditions. In the brake test in rainy weather and slippery ground, the vehicle showed a lot of slippage in deceleration with Kumho brand tires that could not hold on to the road on it. Although the vehicle was very suitable for off-road and off-road use in terms of chassis and body structure, it was not very suitable with the tires on it. He struggled to get hold on light gravel ground, climbing the slope.
In addition to being a gasoline and serial engine, the vehicle is almost as quiet as an electric vehicle at reasonable speeds on long roads in use. Its insulation is successful. Sony music system is good. During our test at average reasonable speeds, there was a fuel consumption of 7.5 liters per 100km. In our vehicle test, the experience, contribution and knowledge of our expert editors in 5 different jobs were effective.
Test Author – Photo: Özgür Sunay