The biggest model offered by Chery is the Tiggo 8 Pro and while it’s still a fresh arrival on our shores with a launch back in February 2022, it has just been facelifted in China.
As a reminder, the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro might be new to South Africa, but it’s been around for some time in its homeland. The Chinese brand has released images and details of the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro facelift as well as a new plug-in hybrid derivative called the Tiggo 8 Pro Kunpeng e+.
At first glance, you can see the front end has been substantially revised, with a bolder and bigger grille on display. There’s a big Lexus feel about it, giving some idea of where Chery is positioning its latest offering. There’s lots of chrome detailing on the X-shaped grille and the headlights have been given a redesign.
Physically, the new model is 4 745 mm long and 1 860 mm wide, with a height and wheelbase of 1 745 mm and 2 710 mm respectively. There’s a sporty theme going on with nice-looking alloy wheels and twin exhausts at the rear to emphasise the sportiness.
The cabin receives the most changes with a 24.6-inch dual-screen layout. There’s a 10-speaker surround sound system from Sony once again. Chery has added a new head-up display system that has speed, advanced driver systems, navigation, and phone functionality built-in.
It appears the turbopetrol engines have been carried over, with 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre options available. The South African-spec Chery Tiggo 8 Pro makes do with the former and our initial impressions suggest it’s up to the task of moving the 7-seater around.
The Kungpeng e+ derivative has an interesting powertrain. Unlike its conventionally-powered siblings, this features a compact 1.5-litre turbo petrol, paired to two electric motors. These are positioned on each axle, giving its all-wheel drive capability. The claims are extraordinary with an economy claim of 1L/100 km and 100 km pure electric range from a 19.27 kWh battery. Again, the gearbox is sourced from ZF.
There are some smart driving modes too, like single-motor pure electric, dual-motor pure electric, direct engine drive, parallel drive, parking charging, and driving charging.
Given the relative newness of both the Chery brand and Tiggo product lines, we suspect we’re not going to see the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro facelift in SA any time soon. However, South African fans of the Chery brand can expect to see the Tiggo 7 Pro touch down around the middle of 2022.
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