Up until now, Toyota has weathered the onslaught of SUVs from China, with the Corolla Cross being one of its trump cards. But these waters could soon get choppy with the arrival of the Chery Tiggo Cross HEV.
Photo: Mark Jones
The arrival of the Tiggo Cross before the introduction of the hybrid powertrain late last year was very underwhelming. The throttle calibration was woeful, the DCT gearbox jerky, and the brakes non-existent.
This negative sentiment has been comprehensively undone after spending some time behind the wheel of the Tiggo Cross CSH (Chery Super Hybrid) in Elite guise. It’s like the two cars came from different factories. The CSH is so much smoother and more refined than the traditional Cross, and it has the firepower to gun down the big dog: the top-selling Toyota Corolla Cross HEV (hybrid electric vehicle).
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 within this budget-sensitive part of the segment is a massive win in favour of this Chinese offering.
Chery is backing up this value-for-money offering with a five-year/150 000km warranty, a 10-year/unlimited mileage battery warranty (for the first owner), and a five-year/60 000km service plan.
The Toyota Corolla Cross HEV comes with a shorter three-year/100 000km warranty and an eight-year warranty on the battery. However, it also comes with a substantially longer six services/90 000m service plan. And no funny first-owner fine print stuff.
The next big talking point is the Tiggo Cross HEV’s performance. When you first read that the car comes with 1,5ℓ naturally aspirated engine that develops a mere 71kW of power and 118Nm of torque, you might think it’s dead in the water.
But read a bit further, and the picture changes dramatically, as the addition of a battery-powered electric motor shoots the claimed numbers up to 150kW and 310Nm, respectively.
Almost too good to be true, right? Are the Chinese taking a chance in overstating their numbers here? Can a small 1,83kWh battery make this much of a difference?
The Corolla Cross HEV has a 1,8ℓ naturally aspirated mill that Toyota rates at 72kW. With electrical assistance, this number only marginally increases to 90kW, while the torque remains at the quoted 142Nm.
We don’t know what’s inside that Chery battery, but the Tiggo Cross HEV destroys its Toyota counterpart in a sprint and everyday driveability. At 8,18 seconds, the Tiggo is more than four seconds faster to 100km/h and hits the national limit a full seven seconds earlier.
Even more decisive is the 12-second gap when the cars accelerate from 60km/h to 140km/h.
One anomaly (and there are always some when road testing Chinese cars): The Chery Tiggo Cross HEV would not go over 150km/h.
Where they are very much in the same league is fuel consumption. We got a figure of 5,4ℓ/100km when we spent a few months in the Toyota Corolla Cross HEV, and managed the same number in the Chery Tiggo Cross HEV.
Both offer exceptional fuel economy, but the Chery’s 50ℓ tank (compared with the Toyota’s 36ℓ) allows you to go a lot further between refills.
Is the Tiggo Cross HEV perfect? Of course not. The steering is ridiculously light, the car also had a few rattles right off the bat, and it just didn’t feel as solid as the Corolla Cross HEV.
Will you regret your decision in a few years’ time? No one knows. But at the price point and with the performance on tap, the Chery Tiggo Cross HEV is impossible to ignore.
Chery Tiggo Cross CSH Elite
Engine: 1,5ℓ turbo-petrol + hybrid electric
Transmission: dedicated hybrid transmission
Power: 150kW
Torque: 310Nm
Fuel consumption (tested): 5,4ℓ/100km
Licensed mass: 1 387kg
Price: R469 900
