Chery Tiggo 4 Pro Review: A cost-of-living champion

It’s no secret that new cars are more expensive than they used to be. Thanks to factors like the Covid-19 pandemic, most new cars are noticeably more expensive than they were even just five years ago.

Remarkably, the number of sub-$30,000 new cars - let alone sub-$20,000 - has dwindled to the point where buying an affordable new car isn’t easy.

Yet Chinese brand Chery has launched what it thinks will help the cost of living crisis: the Tiggo 4 Pro small SUV, which is priced from just $23,990 drive away. Remember when new cars were that cheap?

But does the low price make it a good buy or signal potential buyer’s remorse? Here’s the WhichCar guide to the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro.

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JUMP AHEAD

• Pricing
• Performance and economy
• Interior comfort, practicality and boot space
• On the road
• Service and warranty
• Verdict: Should I buy a 2025 Chery Tiggo 4 Pro?
• Tiggo 4 rivals

Pricing

The Tiggo 4 Pro is offered in two specifications:

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Performance and economy

The Tiggo 4 Pro uses the Omoda 5’s turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, making 108kW of power (at 5,500rpm) and 210Nm of torque (between 1,750rpm and 4,000rpm). That’s mated to a CVT automatic transmission and drives the front wheels only.

One advantage to the Tiggo 4 Pro in our opinion is the engine, which is more refined than its naturally aspirated rivals and noticeably gutsier to the tune of 34kW and 38Nm than the lacklustre Stonic. You don’t need to rev it to get the best out of it because its peak torque hits at just 1,750rpm, helping fuel economy.

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The Tiggo 4 Pro is decently refined with relatively low road and engine noise levels, and it’s quieter than the noisy CX-3 at speed, for comparison. The only available transmission is a CVT automatic and while it’s not the most engaging transmission, it’s at least smooth.

The claimed combined fuel consumption for the Tiggo 4 Pro is 7.4L/100km with claimed CO2 emissions of 166g/km. That’s higher than rivals - the 5.4L/100km rating of the Stonic in particular - and we achieved 8.8L/100km in driving skewed towards urban, which is similar to what a CX-3 will return.

Helping offset that a bit is that the Tiggo 4 Pro runs on 91RON regular unleaded and features a 51-litre fuel tank, giving a good driving range.

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Interior comfort, practicality and boot space

For the price, the Tiggo 4 Pro features an impressive cabin that is more practical than you’d expect given its diminutive size, but one that’s also better finished and far more modern than its main rivals.

The dashboard and front door tops are all covered in soft touch plastics, while the dashboard fascia also features a strip of synthetic leather. The synthetic leather trim on the steering wheel also feels nice in the hand, and overall, it feels luxurious compared with some rivals.

The cabin is also more practical than its main rivals with long door bins, a big bin underneath the central armrest, a large tray underneath the centre console and a big glovebox. The two cupholders are also a good size, and there’s even a phone holder ahead of them, though it doesn’t feature a wireless charger.

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Both Tiggo 4 Pro variants use a 10.25-inch touchscreen with the same infotainment software as the larger Omoda 5. Unlike that car, it also includes a row of buttons on the dashboard to help access features such as a home button, the volume and activating the 360-degree camera.

There are also physical buttons for the climate control on the centre console, which is so refreshing for a brand that typically hides those controls in menus in the touchscreen.

The touchscreen itself is easy to use with colourful icons and good screen quality, though it can be a touch laggy. It doesn’t feature satellite navigation, but wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard. The six-speaker sound system in the upper-spec Ultimate sounds good for the price as well.

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Front seat comfort is good thanks to soft synthetic leather trim and generally supportive seats, though it would be nice to see lumbar and under-thigh adjustment added.

The rear seat of the Tiggo 4 Pro is bigger than you expect, and two average-sized adults will be totally comfortable. There are also map and door pockets, an armrest with two cupholders, a single USB-A port and an air vent as well - the latter is nonexistent in this segment, so kudos to Chery. There’s also a light in each door that flashes as part of the door open warning system, which is something that all cars should feature.

The boot of the Tiggo 4 Pro measures 380 litres with the rear seats up and 1,225L with the rear seats folded - in comparison, a CX-3 holds just 264L with its seats up. The boot itself is fairly featureless with just a space saver spare below the floor - we’d like to see a false floor added to give a flat area when the seats are folded.

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On the road

The Tiggo 4 Pro’s driving experience is fairly unremarkable. It’s not sporty nor luxurious; instead, it’s just a comfortable tiny SUV. If you’re looking for something sportier, a CX-3 or a Stonic are definitely better handlers and feature better body control.

The Tiggo 4 Pro is a bit too soft when pushed hard and its soft brake pedal feel and light steering don’t inspire confidence either. But on Sydney’s awful roads, the Tiggo 4 Pro’s softness makes it comfortable which is appeal in an era where so many cars have too-firm rides.

What slightly takes the shine off the Tiggo 4 Pro’s driving experience are its overactive safety features like lane keep assist. It loves to wrestle the steering wheel from you, even when you aren’t straying from your lane.

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When the adaptive cruise control is activated, the adaptive lane guidance functionality constantly pulls at the steering wheel. Thankfully, a long press of the cruise control button turns the active lane steering off.

Like a lot of other new cars, turning the active safety features off takes a good five menu presses, which takes your eyes off the road for too long. A better calibrated lane keep system and easier access to safety functionality would go a long way to making the driving experience calmer and safer - though, to be fair, the Tiggo 4 Pro is not alone in this regard.

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The Tiggo 4 Pro recently earned a five-star ANCAP safety rating, which is impressive for a car priced so cheaply.

It scored 88 percent in adult occupancy protection, 87 per cent in child occupancy protection, 79 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 85 per cent for safety assist.

According to ANCAP, "testing of the AEB Car-to-Car system demonstrated good performance, with collisions avoided or mitigated in all test scenarios, including in many of the AEB Junction and AEB Crossing scenarios. The vehicle’s lane support system also scored highly and was awarded full points. Performance was strong across many of the critical emergency lane keeping test scenarios."

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Service and warranty

The Tiggo 4 Pro is covered by a seven-year/unlimited km warranty with 12 months of roadside assistance that can be extended up to seven years in total if serviced at a Chery dealership.

The Tiggo 4 Pro uses annual/15,000km (whichever comes first) service intervals, and five years or 75,000km of servicing costs $1,400 ($280 annually). That compares well to Mazda’s shorter five-year warranty and $2,200 service cost over the same period for the CX-3.

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Verdict: Should I buy a 2025 Chery Tiggo 4 Pro?

There’s no denying that the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro is a tempting proposition in the small SUV segment, thanks to its low pricing, long list of equipment, peppy drivetrain and modern cabin. It’s also handsome to look at, cheap to service and has great warranty coverage.

The driving experience could be improved, however, with soft suspension and light steering that detracts from driver confidence and an overactive lane keeping assistance system that is difficult to defeat. Plus, while the engine is gutsy for the segment, it’s also thirsty and some rivals give a more fun driving experience.

But importantly, Chery has delivered a car that’s priced how cars used to be priced, with a good list of qualities to match. We expect big sales for the Tiggo 4 Pro because it’s a steal and thankfully too, it has reasonable talent to back up its low price.

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Tiggo 4 Pro rivals

• Mazda CX-3
• Hyundai Venue
• Kia Stonic
• GWM Haval Jolion
• MG ZS