2026 Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Urban review

Talk about perfect timing: the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid arrived at just the right time to capitalise on piqued consumer interest in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

It also arrived making waves as the most affordable PHEV on the market. At $40K drive-away, it was leaps-and-bounds cheaper than the established competition such as the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and a fair chunk of change cheaper than the BYD Sealion 6.

However, it has since been usurped by the new BYD Sealion 5 on price – that sharply priced model is a few thousand dollars more affordable.

While it does have a lot going for it, and plenty to boast in the name of (effective) all-electric motoring, the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid does have its pitfalls. Read on to find out why this PHEV is not all it's chalked up to be.

Two model grades comprise the Chery Tiggo 7 line-up for Australia. Handily, both feature the same powertrain and driveline configuration: a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a single electric motor and Chery’s single-speed ‘dedicated hybrid transmission'.

Chery doesn't supply an overall combined figure for both power sources, but the petrol and electric motors make 105kW and 150kW respectively.

The Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Urban I tested costs $39,990 drive-away nationwide, though it was finished with premium paint ($600) to bump that price to $40,590 drive-away.

Even though it's an entry-level specification, there's plenty to like in the Urban model grade. Features include twin 12.3-inch displays for infotainment and driving information (driver's cluster), a six-speaker stereo system, synthetic leather upholstery, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 18-inch alloy wheels, a power-adjustable driver's seat, and tyre pressure monitoring.

If you spend $4000 more you can get yourself into the Ultimate specification, which brings ambient lighting for the cabin, a sunroof, an eight-speaker Sony sound system, a 50-watt wireless phone charger, heated/ventilated front seats, a 360-degree camera system, and rear privacy glass.

If you ask me, that's arguably not enough to justify the extra spend, but you might like ventilated seats more than me.

In its competitor set, the Chery Tiggo 7 is one of the most affordable cars of its type – it's cheaper than a BYD Sealion 6 (which starts from $42,990 plus on-road costs), and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (which costs from $57,990 plus ORCs). Keep in mind, Mitsubishi is sprucing its Outlander PHEV range early in 2025, so the price is likely to change for that too.

The newly launched BYD Sealion 5 does pip it on price, from $33,990 plus on-road costs, meaning you'll be into one of those models for about $37K drive-away.

The Tiggo 7 is rated to go 93km on electric power alone, though this is based on NEDC testing, which is less stringent than other regimes other manufacturers quote.

This is a difficult one to quantify, because a plug-in hybrid's fuel efficiency is only as effective as the driver who's behind the wheel. If you continually top up the 18.3kWh battery, it's going to be zero litres per 100 kilometres. If you don't charge the battery at all, you'll see numbers approaching 10L/100km.

For what it's worth, Chery claims the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid returns a fuel efficiency of 1.4L/100km on a combined cycle. Frustratingly, the only fuel readout I could get from the Chery's infotainment system was over the last 50km. This meant that, for as long as I drove the Tiggo 7 throughout my week testing it, the only fuel data recorded was for the most recent 50km travelled... In any case, my number was 4.1L/100km.

It's important to note that the Chery can be run on all-electric power as long as you can keep its 18.3kWh battery charged. The brand claims it'll go 93km on electric power, and I managed to travel roughly 70–80km in the car before it kicked over to the petrol motor.

The Super Hybrid system is subtly different to other PHEV systems in that it retains approximately 20 per cent of its battery charge for use in series-parallel hybrid mode. Effectively, once the PHEV system reaches 20 per cent charge, the car will operate like a regular series-parallel hybrid, such as the Toyota Prius.

Cherys (not Cherries!) in Australia are backed by a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, seven years of capped-price servicing, and seven years of roadside assistance.

It also gets a specific eight-year/unlimited-kilometre battery warranty to cover its high-voltage componentry.

Servicing over three years costs $947, while stretching that out to five costs $1595.

Insurance costs are set at $1710 for 12 months, which is a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

The Chery Tiggo 7 carries a five-star ANCAP safety rating awarded in 2023 – when the brand relaunched in Australia – but this is only for the petrol variants with a 1.6-litre engine.

As such, the Super Hybrid variants with the fuel-efficient powertrains go unrated.

However, there's a fair amount of safety kit included with the car – and most of it didn't annoy during my week with the car.

For example, the lane-keep assist worked as it should and prompted the steering wheel to steer back into the lane, while the speed sign recognition worked fairly well.

Some less-than-desirable inclusions were more frustrating, such as the driver monitoring system that continuously beeped when I was looking at the infotainment screen. A notable omission was the lack of lane-centring to match the adaptive cruise-control system.

The Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Urban comes with a presentable interior. You might even recognise Mercedes-Benz-style bits and pieces from models past, with Chery mimicking the German brand's design hallmarks such as the speaker grilles.

However, while it's nice to look at, it could be more comfortable for the driver. I'm not short, at 194cm, but I – and my Drive colleagues – weren't a fan of the tight footwell. The transmission tunnel is far too close to the driver's left knee, and you're constantly butting up against the centre console as you round corners. To top it off, the steering wheel wouldn't go high enough for me.

The seat itself is covered in a decent leatherette material, but the actual shape of the pew didn't conform to my body. The bolsters pinched my back too tightly, and the seat base was too firm under the outermost layer of plush covering.

The materials all look nice from afar, though there are some hollow-sounding plastics that remind you that it's one of the cheapest of its ilk on the market. Carbon-effect trim, in particular, feels over-the-top and a little bit too try-hard for a plug-in hybrid SUV.

Thankfully, storage options are plentiful. While the Chery's centre console design is frustratingly wide, at least it does have storage underneath so you can stow wallets, keys and a phone.

You'll just have to place them around a bracket that houses the hammer to break the windows in the event of a rollover. God knows why Chery decided to eat up useful storage space by putting this object smack-bang in the middle of this tray, but there you go.

Otherwise, there are dual cupholders, a deep centre console compartment (where the window-break hammer should have gone), and a glovebox.

In the second row, there was good space behind my own seat, which cements that the Chery Tiggo 7 is a properly packaged medium-sized SUV. There's good head room and leg room, plus a long seat base so that your under-thighs are supported. It also stocks map pockets, a fold-down centre armrest with cupholders, and a single USB-A port.

At the boot, there's no power-operated door on this spec level. Rather, you open the boot manually like the good old days. Unfortunately, the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid misses out on a proper spare wheel – instead you get a tyre repair kit.

Chery doesn't supply boot capacity figures for the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid. However, the non-hybridised Tiggo 7’s boot offers 356 litres of space with the second row of seats up, and a total of 1676L with them folded.

Chery's infotainment software hides behind twin 12.3-inch displays – one for the driver and one mounted on the dashboard. There's no wireless phone charger to top up your phone, but there's wireless smartphone mirroring for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also misses out on native satellite navigation – buyers need to utilise phone-based maps instead.

Navigation through the software isn't the most straightforward, and there's a lack of labels to describe what each 'tile' or feature is on the home screen. That said, the processing power seemed fine in my experience, and I was a fan of the camera quality (even though it wasn't full 360-degree coverage at the entry-level spec).

Some air-conditioning controls are found on a panel beneath the screen, which is handier than placing the lion's share of these adjustments within the screen, but these are actually difficult to read because the panel becomes glary in direct sunlight – you often can't tell when the A/C is on or off, for example.

There is no provision for using any of the Chery-developed smartphone applications in Australia, so you can't remotely precondition the cabin, for example.

The Chery Tiggo 7 is a handsome SUV from the outside, though it bears no trademark stylistic features.

From the outside, it doesn't present as though you're getting a base-spec model grade – the 18-inch wheels look nice and the black accents surrounding the panel trim pieces contrast with the body colour well.

The car's charge port sits on the driver's side of the car, at the rear.

It wasn't a great start for the Chery and me, admittedly – I'll try to briefly explain why.

This is a car that goes without a dedicated on/off button, so it can be difficult to determine whether the car's ready to go or not. In Chery's view, all you'll need to drive off is to simply place your foot on the brake pedal and shift gears. The digital dash lights up to prompt you of this, but there's still an element of 'Will it, or won't it?' about whether the car will slot into gear without you pushing a dedicated button.

Likewise, there's the chance that you'll accidentally leave the car turned on if you duck out of the car to grab something inside the office – as was the case with our photographer.

Following that, you need to have a seatbelt on to put the car into gear. I wholeheartedly understand why the brand's done this, but it can be frustrating when you're trying to simply move the car forward a few inches in your driveway. This is the case when you're trying to move out of the way of something, like your wheelie bins, for example.

Once you've got the car in gear and you're away, you need to make sure you're at a complete halt for the car to switch between drive and reverse. It blocks this shift in direction even if you're rolling at just 1km/h, so this is another frustration that you have to learn with the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid.

Beyond that, the Tiggo 7 is relatively easy to get along with on the road. There's fair visibility out of the cabin, the hybrid system prioritises electric power for as long as possible, and the dimensions are easy to place into a reverse parallel parking spot.

Speaking of that electric power, it's surprisingly spritely all on its own. With 150kW on tap instantly, the Chery is more than capable of getting up to speed whether you're ramping up to speed in traffic or rolling onto a freeway down an on-ramp.

There are dedicated driving modes to force the PHEV system to use its petrol power or its electric battery (EV mode, HEV mode), plus dynamic modes (Eco, Normal, Sport) to sharpen up the dynamics, but changing these doesn't move the needle all too much.

The Sport driving mode adds a bit of heft to the steering quality, but it's no night-and-day difference – the system was disappointing in its light feel and was frustratingly slow for around-town activity.

Body control isn't a highlight, either. It pitches and rolls in corners at higher speeds, and lacks composure when rounding corners through town. The trade-off is excellent bump absorption over speed humps and sustained corrugations.

Also lacking responsiveness was the throttle. You lean on the pedal, and it takes but a second for the car to perk up and offer the matching acceleration – it's yet another thing that you have to work around and 'learn' with respect to the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid.

Examples of the Chery Tiggo 7 are abundant on Drive Marketplace, including the Super Hybrid variants.

You can also visit Chery's own website to find a dealership, plus specify your own Tiggo 7 build.

If you're looking for more pricing, specifications, and the latest offers on the Chery Tiggo 7 range, click here.

On sheer value alone, the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Urban is a tantalising prospect. It works really well as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, even if it can't hit the exact claims for driving range or efficiency.

I was a fan of the way Chery presented the base-spec model grade – it definitely felt more premium than its price positioning suggests – and the size of the cabin came in handy for transporting the family.

But, the driving experience left some to be desired, and there were some frustrating run-ins with certain elements of the cabin experience (such as the tight front-row space, or the low-rent materials).

If you're looking at the numbers and you think a PHEV could be the answer to cheap motoring, the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Urban is a strong way to go. But the heart may lose out here, as this car doesn't quite have the polish to be mentioned alongside established rivals like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

Tom started out in the automotive industry by exploiting his photographic skills but quickly learned journalists got the better end of the deal. With tenures at CarAdvice, Wheels Media, and now Drive, Tom's breadth of experience and industry knowledge informs a strong opinion on all things automotive. At Drive, Tom covers automotive news, car reviews, advice, and holds a special interest in long-form feature stories.

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