Brand New Chery Tiggo 9 1.5T PHEV Summit 5dr DHT AWD

The Chery Tiggo 9 aims to set new standards for value in the seven-seat family SUV Plug-in Hybrid segment. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Review

With the Chery Tiggo 9, conservative looks hide advanced Plug-in Hybrid engineering. This upper mid-sized Chinese seven-seat luxury SUV offers class-leading EV range and an awful lot of space and metal for your money.

Background

So you're after a seven-seat family SUV. You're on a budget but don't want a used car. And despite the current zeitgeist, you don't really want an EV with all its range anxiety and charging caveats. But you need something a bit more tax-efficient than a diesel. And you'd like to spoil whoever will be driving the thing. A challenging set of criteria? Well let's introduce you to a car that claims to be able to tick all these boxes, the Chery Tiggo 9. 'A what?' you're probably wondering. Don't worry, no one else you know will have heard of it either. Chery is a Chinese brand who launched here in mid-2025 with smaller Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 models, basically repackaged but better-value versions of the same designs the Chery Group sells here with Jaecoo and Omoda badges. The Tiggo 9 serves up more of the same, a repackaged version of the Omoda 9. Which means that this Chery flagship model is a powerful petrol Plug-in Hybrid. Let's take a closer look.

Engines and Tech Spec

If you're expecting a big heavy Plug-in Hybrid seven-seat SUV of this sort to be interesting to drive, you're clearly a very optimistic sort of person indeed. This one isn't of course, nor does it particularly need to be. All the engineering here is shared with the Omoda 9 - which actually means it's quite impressive. The drive battery size - 34.5kWh - is simply enormous for a PHEV; there are some full-EV cars with drive batteries not much bigger than that. And it facilitates a simply enormous full-EV driving range figure of 91 miles. To give you some class perspective on that, rival Peugeot 5008 PHEV (which has a battery of just 21kWh) goes only 55 miles on battery energy. And, by the way, has just 198PS of power, with 0-62mph in 8.3s. In contrast, the Chery Tiggo 9 has 428PS and gets to 62mph in just 5.4s. Now you see this step forward being made here. And you also see why the Chery Motor Group wanted to use this advanced powertrain in more than just one model. And advanced it is. With so many braked horses on tap, you might be surprised to learn that the turbo four cylinder unit in question here is just 1.5-litres in size. But it's boosted by a pair of electric motors and a starter generator in the three-speed auto gearbox, hence the prodigious 580Nm torque figure - significantly more than its closest non-Chery Group rivals. None of whom can be used as much like an EV as this car can.

Design and Build

If your choice of large seven-seat family SUV needs to be inconspicuous, the Tiggo 9 will suit you perfectly. If you encountered one, you'd be unlikely to notice it - a perfect car for a private detective. And for a growing family because you get plenty of metal for your money, with 4,810mm of body length across a profile set off by 20-inch wheels and flush door handles. Subtle roof rails and rear privacy glass are standard and the window line rises between the C and D-pillars. From the front, you might mistake it for one of Chery's slightly smaller family SUVs - there's the same wide grille with its brand badge. Flanked by a set of slim LED headlamps below which are a set of three-part daytime running lights framing corner cut-out sections. At the back, there's the expected roof spoiler and full-width LED light bar. The rear overhang is a lot bigger than with the Tiggo 7 and 8; and there's Chery lettering across the tailgate and faux-diffuser bumper trim. Indoors up-front, you get the brand's usual tech-heavy cabin, dominated by a big 15.6-inch landscape-format central touchscreen, powered by an advanced Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chipset. There's also a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a head-up display. This being Chery's flagship model, the interior is absolutely loaded with kit, including a 1.3-metre panoramic glass roof. Thanks to a relatively generous 2,820mm wheelbase length, there's decent second row passenger space, with a bench and backrest that slides and reclines electronically. As usual with an upper mid-sized seven-seat SUV of this sort, the third row seats are really intended for children. With all the seats in place, there's just 143-litres of luggage space. The third row chairs will mostly be flattened by likely owners in regular use to reveal an 819-litre boot. With the second row bench also folded, there's up to 2,021-litres of space.

Market and Model

Chery wants around £43,000 for the Tiggo 9, which significantly undercuts the seven-seat PHEV competition once you take the exceptionally high level of specification into account. Chery, who currently have 25 UK dealers, is only offering the nine here in top 'Summit' trim, which includes just about everything you could want. That means heated and ventilated leather seats front and rear, a key-sensing powered tailgate, automatic parking and an astonishing 540-degree camera surround view system. As well as a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a 1.3-metre panoramic glass roof. The 14-speaker Sony audio system is apparently the most advanced ever fitted by Chery. And the driver's seat has 12-way adjustment with heating, cooling and massaging functions. The front passenger seat reclines fully backwards for what the brand calls 'total relaxation'. The 15.5-inch central touchscreen incorporates wireless 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto'. And there's a cooled 50W wireless 'phone charging mat. The dual-zone climate control set-up has an air purification system and is self-cleaning. Plus the price includes LED headlights, roof rails, big multi-spoke 20-inch wheels and darkened rear privacy glass. All the glass panels, by the way, are acoustically treated for refinement. And a clever 'Pet Mode' keeps the cabin cool if you have to jump out of the car briefly when you're carrying the family dog or cat. There are 19 different standard driver assistance systems. And you get a choice of five colours.

Cost of Ownership

We gave you the EV range figure in our 'Driving' section - 91 miles. Add the fuel driving range to that and you should be able to do up to 650 miles between stops. The combined cycle fuel economy figure is around 200mpg, with 44g/km of CO2. Not all PHEVs can be replenished from a DC public charger but the Chery 9 DC rapid-charges at speeds of up to 71kW, which allows for 30 to 80% spell of battery replenishment in about 18 minutes. The car also offers Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) technology, with a power output of 6.6kW, allow allowing owners to power external devices from the vehicle's drive battery. There's an 8 year unlimited mileage battery warranty for this PHEV. Like other Tiggo models, this one gets a 7 year unlimited mileage warranty and a year's roadside assistance. Affordable servicing plans are available at point of purchase and servicing turnround times will be aided by a UK parts warehouse established in cooperation with DHL.

Summary

For quite a few people, especially family folk, cars are merely a functional item. Like a dishwasher or washing machine, they must be affordable, efficient, functional and easy to use. In many ways, we admire the way that Chery is tapping into this market, offering everything you need and nothing you don't. In this case from seven-seat PHEV family SUV that's properly sized for the three seating rows it offers. You'll be surprised by its power output, its EV range, its equipment levels and perhaps also its price. Yes, the brand is unfamiliar but so is the value proposition. Plenty of attributes then. If you're tempted, we'd understand why.