Chery Tiggo 9 (2026) Review

Introduction

The brand Chery might be more familiar than you think.

If you’ve seen new vehicles driving about with ‘Jaecoo’ or ‘Omoda’ written on them, they are two sub-brands, owned by Chery. Jaecoo and Omoda are among over a dozen Chinese car manufacturers who've set up shop in the UK recently.

Some of them, particularly the likes of BYD, have impressed, offering surprisingly refined performance despite being previously untried and untested on British roads. Chery might own a couple of other brands, but it’s recently started marketing cars under its own name as well. The Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 are SUVs – and now it’s the turn of the big daddy, the large Tiggo 9.

It is based on the same T1X platform as all Chery’s other models, including those of sub-brands Jaecoo and Omoda, but this one is the biggest – the flagship. 

It will compete with Hyundai's Santa Fe and Peugeot's 5008, amongst others, but while not the most crowded section of the market, it’s still a fiercely competitive segment. We have taken the Tiggo 9 for a test drive to find out if it’s any good. 

At A Glance

If, on first glance, you thought you were looking at an Audi, you’re not.

Granted, that doesn’t take long to work out – it isn’t identical at all – but the entire Tiggo line-up appears to take inspiration from the German giant, with a wide, hexagonal grille completely dominating the front end. Its air-intake-like cheekbones house daytime running lights, while thinner, pointier headlights nestle above them following the bonnet line.

Rugged cladding runs along the lower edges, including the wheel arches, while a crease in the lower doors adds definition to its sides.

The third-row window extends far back, minimising the thickness of the rear windscreen pillars. Meanwhile, the rear end looks sophisticated, with a horizontal lightbar across the tailgate that opens just above a large, cladded bumper. It is a handsome car – and has presence. It has certainly got enough about it to take on the competition.

Key Features

The Tiggo 9 is available in just one trim level, called Summit.

It gets 20-inch alloy wheels, a 15.6-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, a digital radio, voice control, a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, and a head-up display. It also boasts a 14-speaker Sony premium sound system, ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, heated and ventilated front and rear seats (the front with massage function), and a heated steering wheel.

If that wasn’t enough, it includes 12-way electric driver’s seat adjustment with lumbar support, six-way electric front passenger seat adjustment, a panoramic sunroof, and a powered tailgate. It also accommodates a wireless smartphone charger and a ‘540-degree’ camera system, which we’ll explain later. A 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol mill, plus electrical power, provides propulsion. But if you're rolling your eyes, wondering how that’ll pull along a large seven-seater, prepare to widen them.

Firstly, the electric motors: there are three of them – one at the rear, and two up front, so all-wheel drive is a given. Secondly, when combined with the engine, the result is a surprising 428PS and 428lb/ft (580 Nm) of torque, providing more than twice the power of the next SUV in Chery's range, the only slightly smaller Tiggo 8. Known as the ‘Super Hybrid’, it's a plug-in hybrid (PHEV). But unlike most PHEVs, the engine can act as a generator, recharging the battery without needing to plug it in (this kicks in automatically when the battery level reaches 20%).

Range and Batteries

The Tiggo 9 comes with a 34.46kWh battery (33.46kWh usable) with a 91-mile all-electric range.

That is nothing special compared with all-electric cars, but for a PHEV, both battery size and range are very impressive indeed. In fact, its range makes it the class-leader amongst seven-seater PHEVs. It would be the outright industry leader, but no sooner had it reached for the crown than its offspring-brand took it with the Omoda 9’s 93-mile range, though both use the same battery.

The previous record-holder was the Volkswagen Golf eHybrid, with 88 miles. Of course, don’t expect to achieve this in practice – anything around two-thirds of the claimed range is on par with expectations. Many factors can impact real-world range, including ambient temperature and your driving style.

Performance & Drive

With so much power, the Tiggo 9’s 0-62mph time will be intriguing. It is 5.4 seconds in what appears to be an unassuming, seven-seater SUV – that’s quicker than an equivalent Audi Q7 PHEV.

The torque turns what should be a challenge – accelerating this 2.2-tonne behemoth off the line – into a piece of cake, with decent traction and an almost instantaneous surge of power. Getting up to speed when joining, or overtaking on, a motorway is effortless, and the engine doesn’t shriek even when you put your foot down most of the time. There is only a three-speed transmission, but it works better than you think. The engine can drive the front wheels when needed, though engineless driving is possible – in fact, probable – at lower speeds, only utilising the petrol unit when really needed.

That said, you can select from various modes ranging from all-electric to always having the engine on. However, the 'Smart' setting is likely preferable, as it effectively automates the engine use to maximise efficiency. The suspension is soft, offering civilised ride comfort, though the large alloys add an edge to thwacks over potholes and poorly maintained roads. On lumpier surfaces, the car feels unsettled, bouncing around on its springs and taking time to resettle. In that respect, the sophistication of premium brands, which provide greater tautness without sacrificing comfort, demonstrates the gap between them and the Tiggo 9. However, cornering is satisfactory for a car of this size.

At lower speeds, the steering is very light, belying the car’s size and bulk, making it more bearable to drive around town. But around faster bends, it’s precise and smooth, if still a touch too light, and resists body roll better than we’d expected.

It is certainly nicer to drive than some rivals, with wind and road noise reasonably well damped out. Still, it lacks the out and out refinement of premium marques – and other than putting a smile on your face when you floor the throttle, nothing about the driving experience could really be described as engaging. There are all-wheel drive modes, including Snow, Sand, and Off-Road, and although these do what they say, we doubt the Tiggo 9 will be leased by many people who intend to drive through bogs.

It certainly won't be leased for towing huge caravans, as, despite its power and might, its limited towing capacity of 1,500kg (braked) is lower than nearly all its foes – and less than half that of many premium-brand PHEVs. The regenerative braking can feel a tad unpredictable, often jolting you to a halt at the last minute as you slow to very low speeds. Though, the braking ferocity can be adjusted, but only via the touchscreen.

Charging

The Chery Tiggo 9’s class-leading all-electric range is matched by its 71kW DC charging speed.

Again, it’s nothing special compared with fully electric cars, given that some can charge at 350kW nowadays. That said, DC charging is less common on PHEVs, so many can only reach a tenth of Chery's speed.

A 30-80% (DC) top-up takes around 18 minutes, while using a home wallbox at its maximum AC rate of 6.6kW, a 0-100% top-up takes five hours and twenty minutes. The combined range when added to a full tank of petrol is a fantastic 650 miles. That means you could drive from London to the Cairngorms without having to faff about refuelling.

Running Costs & Emissions

The Tiggo 9 returns 470mpg, emitting 14g/km of CO2 – though the former drops to 41mpg if the battery is drained to its minimum, so it helps to keep it charged and not over-rely on the petrol lump doing it for you.

It will be a good choice as a company car thanks to low Benefit In Kind tax – its 91-mile range puts it in the 6% band (7% for 2026/27), which is low for a PHEV – though fully electric cars go in the 3% band (4% for 2026/27).

Road tax is just £10 for the first year, but £195-a-year thereafter (subject to annual increases) – but because the car’s asking price is above £40,000, you’ll be subject to the Expensive Car Supplement. That will add £425-a-year (again, subject to annual increases) to your road tax bill in practice.

Reliability is an unknown – Chery is new to these shores, so it’s impossible to know how it’ll compare against other Chinese makes that have arrived here recently, let alone long-established manufacturers.

Interior & Technology

The Chery Tiggo 9’s interior is impressive. While it’s not quite a minimalist cabin like Tesla, it's undoubtedly part of the way there, with only a handful of buttons laid out in one place on the centre console, and a few more on the steering wheel.

The chunky steering wheel features a lovely silver double-spoke at the six o'clock position, while the cabin is bathed in soft, plush surfaces with nice finishes. Your attention, though, will be stolen by the large infotainment touchscreen, which at 15.6 inches offers brilliantly crisp graphics on a modern interface and is superbly responsive. It is not all good news, though. The infotainment system is over-complicated, with lots of sub-menus and endless options to flick through. Only computer whizzes with time on their hands will be able to get used to it quickly. 

There are no paddles behind the steering wheel to tweak regenerative braking – it is done via the screen, and the air conditioning is controlled there, too. There is a climate panel and heated seat controls conveniently placed for second-row passengers, though. There is a second, smaller 10.25-inch digital driver’s display behind the steering wheel, offering equally clear graphics. It looks nice and supports customisable layouts; however, it’s tricky to see everything without the wheel being unnaturally positioned.

Despite nice finishes on the softer materials, they ever so slightly lack the robustness of some competitors. Such compromises are inevitable, though, and it feels excessively harsh to hold the Tiggo 9 to Audi Q7 standards when it’s little more than half the price of an equivalent model.

Overall, Chery has done a great job in terms of masking any cheapness with pleasant, sophisticated aesthetics – and many of the tackiest plastics are concealed from view.

Practicality & Boot Space

It is easy to find a comfortable driving position in the Tiggo 9. Not only is the cabin as spacious as you could hope for, but the front seats also have electric adjustment, heating, ventilation, and a massage function. There is a commanding driving position, offering a great view of the road below, while the windscreen pillars aren’t particularly broad, aiding forward visibility at junctions. It is not bad out of the rear either, as the back row of seats gets a larger window than in many SUVs, with the glass extending far back towards the rear pillars, which are thinner than you’d expect.

Regardless, front and rear parking sensors are included, along with a 540-degree surround-view camera (so-called because it displays an image on the screen that lets you see through the car as if it's transparent). Being a large SUV, space is plentiful – even the tallest of front seat occupants won't be struggling for headroom or legroom. Meanwhile, unsurprisingly, the cabin is pleasantly wide.

It is a similar story in the middle row, too, with plenty of room to sprawl out, and three adults can sit next to each other in comfort on longer journeys. Two adults in the third row will be a squeeze, though – in fact, these seats are more suitable for children or the vertically challenged, but that’s typical of many seven-seater SUVs. Boot space measures 143 litres with all seven seats in place (a pitiful figure, but again fairly typical of seven-seaters). Thankfully, this expands to a very pleasing 819 litres with the third row folded down.

The second row of chairs folds over in a 60:40 configuration, ballooning the boot capacity to 2,021 litres. However, the Peugeot e-5008 and Kia Sorento PHEV offer a more versatile 40:20:40 split. But there’s no underfloor storage nor a ‘frunk’ (front trunk) and, despite the cabin offering plenty of places to put belongings, the glove compartment and door bins aren’t as big as we’d expect for a car of this size. You will find more storage in the central armrest cubby, and beneath the floating centre console, as well as a tray to hold two smartphones.

Safety

The Tiggo 9 has yet to be assessed by Euro NCAP crash-test experts.

However, both the Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 have now received five-star ratings following recent reassessments after Chery changed the design of a curtain airbag system, which had failed to deploy correctly in earlier tests. This resulted in both initially getting four-star ratings.

On their retests, both scored 82% for adult occupants, 85% for children and 78% for safety assists. The latter category, which is, of course, on the Tiggo 9, includes many safety gadgets, such as automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert, blind spot monitoring, and traffic jam assist. You also get automatic parking assist, intelligent high and low-beam control, integrated cruise assist, intelligent speed assist, and a driver monitoring system.

Options

There is no options list for the Tiggo 9. Like its other cars, Chery has thrown everything in as standard on a single trim, which is to be commended. You can, though, choose the body colour – white is standard, while black, dark grey, slate grey and dark green cost extra.

Rival Cars

As we said earlier, the Tiggo 9 isn't in the most crowded segment, but given that seven-seater SUVs are often the flagship of a range, competition is stiff. 

The Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe, and Peugeot 5008 are all offered as PHEVs, along with the Mazda CX-80. At the premium end of the market, there’s the Volvo XC90 PHEV, as well as several seven-seater Mercedes SUVs.

It is worth noting that Volkswagen’s Tayron, Audi’s Q7 and BMW’s X5 are seven-seaters, but the PHEV versions are only offered with five seats due to the battery placement, while BMW’s X7 PHEV isn’t yet available. If you’re after an all-electric model, the Peugeot e-5008 and the Kia EV9 are worth considering, although the latter is more expensive.

Verdict & Next Steps

The Chery Tiggo 9 is vastly practical, offering a spacious, comfortable cabin, impressive performance and surprisingly good handling for such a big car. It is also superbly equipped as standard – and costs significantly less to lease than most contenders from more established brands.

The Tiggo 9 has a near-record-breaking PHEV electric range, rapid charging, and is packed with technology. However, you'll be over-reliant on a complicated infotainment system, while the interior's pleasantly sophisticated looks mask a lack of quality in some of the plasticky cabin materials.

All that said, you cannot overlook the fact that this is a lot of car for the money, with an equipment list that even premium brand challengers can’t match as standard. As such, if you can live with the touchscreen’s irritations and accept there’ll be some drawbacks, the Chery Tiggo 9 is an utter bargain given the price of its competitors.

Where to next?

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**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Chery Tiggo 9

**Correct as of 19/01/2026. Based on 12 months initial payment, 5,000 miles annually, over a 48 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 12 monthly payments, or £5,471.52 (Plus admin fee) Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.