2025 Chery Tiggo 4 Pro review: Quick drive

There have never been as few choices for new-car buyers on a budget.

Five years ago, there were 49 new models available for less than $25,000 before on-road costs. Today, it’s just nine.

From next month, it will become 10. Growing Chinese car maker Chery is preparing to launch its most affordable vehicle yet, the Tiggo 4 Pro small SUV, priced from $23,990 drive-away.

Is there a reason it’s that cheap, or could Chery’s smallest model be the new-car bargain of the year?

Drive was invited to Canberra for an early taste of a pre-production Tiggo 4 Pro around a closed course, ahead of a full test on public roads once the first production examples reach showrooms in October.

There are two models in the Tiggo 4 Pro range: the Urban, priced from $23,990 drive-away, and the Ultimate, priced from $26,990 drive-away.

There is not a lot of competition from other new cars at this price. In fact, the Urban is the fourth-most affordable new car on sale in Australia, behind the Kia Picanto (from $20,690 drive-away), soon-to-be-replaced MG ZS (from $21,990 drive-away) and about-to-be-axed Suzuki Ignis (from $22,490 drive-away).

The Urban also competes on price with the likes of the MG 3 Excite ($24,990 drive-away with an auto) and Suzuki Swift mild-hybrid (from $24,490 drive-away for a manual), but neither of these are SUVs. The cheapest automatic Mitsubishi ASX SUV is $28,490 drive-away.

About $25,000 would also buy a four-year-old Hyundai i30 or Toyota Corolla without moderate to high mileage for its age (about 50,000km) – based on current listings on Drive Marketplace.

But in both cases, a used car would have only a year or two of warranty remaining – not seven like the brand-new Chery – and the condition of the car, both visual and mechanical, is no certainty.

Don’t think the Tiggo 4 Pro has been stripped of mod-cons to hit the $23,990 price.

A full suite of the latest crash-avoidance safety aids is standard, as well as dual 10.25-inch interior displays with wireless/wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 17-inch alloys, rear parking sensors with camera, LED headlights, leather-like steering wheel trim, keyless entry and start, and dual-zone climate control.

The Ultimate model adds 18-inch alloys, dusk-sensing headlights, a sunroof, heated front seats, leather-look seat trim, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, six-speaker stereo, power-folding mirrors, and even a 360-degree camera.

Sit in the Tiggo 4 Pro for the first time, and you may struggle to understand why this new car is as affordable as it is – by post-pandemic standards, at least.

A pair of 10.25-inch screens stretch ahead of the driver, there are soft-touch leather-look materials on the upper dashboard and armrests, and the gloss black trim gives off a premium feel (though it is likely to be a fingerprint magnet).

Even the steering wheel is trimmed in a leather-feeling material – something not even the base-model variant of Chery’s new $45,000 drive-away electric car gets.

The Tiggo 4 Pro we drove was a pre-production vehicle, so the build quality may not be up to the standards of the showroom-bound versions, but aside from a few squeaks in the dashboard when shaken and prodded, they felt reasonably well screwed together. Whether that remains after 50,000km of family life remains to be seen.

Our limited time behind the wheel means a full verdict will need to wait until later, but on first impressions the front seats – trimmed in cloth in the base Urban, or synthetic leather-look material in the Ultimate – seem comfortable, although not the most supportive.

The steering wheel has tilt and reach adjustment – not common in a car this affordable, where tilt-only is the norm.

Unlike other Chery vehicles, there are physical controls for the dual-zone air conditioning – four toggle switches, controlling fan speed and temperature in each zone – accompanied by big digitised read-outs for the current air temperature setting, air direction and other information.

It is a big improvement over other Chery models – which hide the climate controls in the touchscreen, something that’s far more distracting than turning a dial or pressing a button – though there is still an air-conditioning menu in the touchscreen for some functions.

Chery has also fitted piano key-style switches under the touchscreen for volume, drive mode selection, the 360-degree camera (Ultimate only), and other functions.

There is ample storage space for wallets, keys and phones, with a modestly sized centre console compartment and glovebox, bottle holders in the doors, and more space under the centre console.

The Urban grade gets two USB ports up front (one USB-A, one USB-C) plus a 12-volt socket, dual-zone climate control, and keyless entry and start, with the Ultimate grade gaining a power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, illuminated vanity mirrors, and a sunroof.

Space in the rear is respectable, with enough space for me at 186cm (6ft 1in) tall to sit comfortably behind my driving position, with a few centimetres of knee room, ample toe room under the front seat, and plenty of head room thanks to the tall roof line.

It is not the most spacious car in the small SUV class, but it’s certainly one of the roomiest new cars for rear-seat passengers that $25,000 will buy.

Rear-seat occupants aren't hung out to dry, with soft-touch materials on the armrests, one USB-A and one USB-C port, rear air vents, a fold-down centre armrest with cupholders, small pockets in the doors, three child-seat top tethers, and two ISOFIX anchors. Plenty of these features are not present in cars costing 50 per cent more.

The 380-litre boot is also spacious for a compact SUV – and bigger than most other new cars at this price – with an LED light inside, a space-saver spare wheel under the floor, and 60:40 split-folding rear seats for more room.

Standard in every Tiggo 4 Pro is a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen, with wireless and wired variants of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, AM/FM/digital DAB radio, Bluetooth and voice control.

The menu structure takes some time to learn, though there some unusual English translations sprinkled in, and it’s not as quick to respond as we’d like.

But the screen’s size alone is likely to wow many buyers at this end of the market, and the inclusion of physical climate controls – as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – means you may rarely need to interact with Chery’s user interface.

It is worth calling out the lack of satellite navigation compared to other Chery models, but it shouldn’t be a problem for most drivers, given the inclusion of CarPlay and Android Auto.

The 10.25-inch instrument display is not particularly customisable, and it doesn’t have the simplest layout, but it does the job – and no other new car this affordable has a digital instrument screen this big.

There is no connected-car app available for unlocking or locking the car remotely, opening windows, and other related functions, as are becoming increasingly common on more expensive vehicles outside the Chery brand.

The Chery Tiggo 4 Pro is yet to be crash-tested by ANCAP or its European counterpart, Euro NCAP.

Chery executives told a briefing of Australian media that discussions with ANCAP are underway on safety testing.

Our time in the Tiggo 4 Pro was very brief, on a closed road, and not even in a full production car, so an assessment of the car’s safety features will need to wait until we get the final article on public roads in the coming months.

On paper, it seems to tick all of the boxes, with modern features such as traffic sign recognition, a driver attention monitor, and front-centre airbag (for a total of seven) that are critical to a five-star ANCAP safety rating under the most stringent test criteria.

Chery says the structure of the Tiggo 4 Pro coming to Australia has been strengthened compared to the vehicle launched overseas in 2017, in order to meet the latest safety standards.

However, a long list of technology on the spec sheet does not guarantee it will all work well in the real world.

Drive and other motoring media outlets – as well as customers – have been critical of the intrusiveness and aggressiveness of the safety technology in earlier Chery vehicles, so we are keen to see how the Tiggo 4 Pro performs, particularly given the car maker says it will be tuning driver-assist systems such as lane-keep assist on Australian roads.

Chery is yet to confirm servicing intervals and prices for the Tiggo 4 Pro at the time of publication, but the vehicle is expected to be covered by the company’s seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty.

As a general indication, five years/70,000km of routine maintenance for the 1.5-litre turbo Chery Omoda 5 costs $1400.

It is also too new to appear on our go-to insurance quote calculator. We will be able to answer questions related to ownership costs once the Tiggo 4 Pro arrives in showrooms next month.

Our time behind the wheel was far too short to gauge fuel consumption, but Chery claims 7.3 litres per 100 kilometres in mixed driving, according to lab testing.

It is not particularly frugal for a small turbocharged engine in a compact vehicle. A 1.4-litre turbo Volkswagen T-Roc claims 6.3L/100km, and even the Omoda 5 with the same engine manages a quoted 6.9L/100km – though a GWM Haval Jolion 1.5-litre turbo-petrol claims 8.1L/100km.

Non-turbo rivals are in similar territory to the Tiggo 4 Pro: 7.6L/100km for a 2.0-litre Mitsubishi ASX auto, 7.2L/100km for the 1.6-litre Hyundai Venue, and 7.1L/100km for the soon-to-be-replaced 1.5-litre MG ZS Excite.

The fuel tank capacity is 51 litres, and the engine can accept 91-octane regular unleaded for lower running costs than premium petrol.

We were only allowed a short drive behind the wheel of the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro – three laps of a 2.5km-long closed test course – so we will refrain from making a full judgement on how it drives until we get it on a public road later this year.

But our initial impressions suggest it will be comfortable and easy enough to drive for the tastes of most buyers, without excelling in performance, suspension comfort, handling or any particular area.

The 1.5-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine delivers adequate punch for a car of this size, though it is no rocket ship – and an 80km/h speed limit on this test course means the jury is out on how well it will handle motorway overtakes.

The continuously variable transmission is not the most responsive, and generates a reasonable drone from the engine under acceleration – a typical behaviour of these transmissions – however, when driven sedately, it seems it will be smooth enough for day-to-day motoring.

There was also a hint of jerkiness from the transmission at low speeds, but this is something we will confirm once we get to drive a production car on public roads.

The closed course near Canberra chosen by Chery for this initial test drive simulates an Australian country road, but unlike most roads outside our capital cities, it didn’t have many bumps – so we couldn’t get an accurate feel for how the Tiggo 4 Pro will handle bumpy city streets or potholed rural tarmac.

However, it is clear from the tight corners on the test track that the Tiggo 4 Pro has been designed for comfort, not handling, with soft suspension that translates to plenty of body roll.

In Eco mode, the steering is very light, and has an artificial, computer-game-like feel that doesn't inspire much confidence, even on this quick test drive.

A Sport mode is available to add some heft to the steering, but it will still be too light for many drivers’ tastes (including ours), even at parking speeds.

As for tyre roar and wind noise, it’s hard to gauge in a brief drive on a closed test track, but we didn’t notice the car being particularly loud, nor whisper quiet.

We look forward to testing the Tiggo 4 Pro on public roads soon to see if our initial impressions in closed conditions – both positive and negative – translate to the real world.

No, the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro is not rated to tow.

The payload of the vehicle – the maximum mass of passengers and cargo the car can legally carry before it is deemed to be overloaded – is 411kg, which is enough for four average-sized occupants and their luggage, although five people may push it over the limit.

Overloading the vehicle exposes the driver to fines, or could see insurance claims denied in the event of a crash if the car is found to have exceeded its 1799kg gross vehicle mass (GVM).

Our time behind the wheel was too short to give a definitive verdict on the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, but there is plenty of promise.

For $23,990 drive-away, it offers a balance of features, interior space, technology and warranty coverage that is hard to beat at this price – and for new-car buyers on a budget, that may be all that matters.

It is clear from this initial taste that this SUV won’t excite customers looking for a sporty and enjoyable drive.

But if it proves to be comfortable in the daily grind on public roads – and its safety features are not annoying in the real world – the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro will be worthy of a test drive for buyers on a budget.

It’s too early to make a call on which Tiggo 4 Pro variant we recommend – should your budget stretch to both – but based on the spec sheet alone, the Urban looks like it will offer all most buyers will need, at a compelling price.

The first examples are due in showrooms for test drives and customer deliveries in October. Find your nearest Chery dealer at this link; orders are open now.

If you can’t wait, and are looking for a new car for about $25,000 drive-away, we recommend test-driving the Kia Picanto, MG 3 and Suzuki Swift Hybrid, as they are popular cars that have recently undergone updates adding new technology and safety features.

For buyers craving an SUV, your options are even more limited, but at the time of writing you could consider a Kia Stonic S or GWM Haval Jolion Premium.

You can find plenty of new and used Cherys available now from dealers around Australia on Drive Marketplace.

To stay up to date with the latest Chery Tiggo 4 Pro news, click this link.