7/09/2025

Contributing Editor Keshy Dhillon / keshy@piston.my Editorial

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SUNDAY | SEPT 7, 2025

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Small but mighty Tiggo Cross will put more expensive cars to shame with refinement and premium feel BY KESHY DHILLON

ant shoots up to 204PS and 310Nm of torque. In terms of driving feel, the Turbo feels spirited, it feels happy to spend time at the other end of the rev band and can sustain some high speeds for prolonged periods without feeling like it is trying too hard. Even though it may be down on power from the Hybrid variant, it is 79kg lighter than the Hybrid, which feels eager from the get-go thanks to its instant electric power delivery. The Hybrid feels smoother and more effortless. That is of course partly due to the amount of power available on tap, but also because it truly is a smooth operator. No matter if you’re just starting off from a traffic light or trying to get up to speed on the highway, you will never feel starved for power. Just to manage your expecta tions though, acceleration is not exactly neck snapping, but you do feel a gentle shove into the faux leather seats. The other two things that you notice in the Hybrid model is just how smooth it feels. That is because there is no gearbox in the traditional sense. Chery says the Tiggo Cross has an e-CVT gearbox, but in reality, that’s just a fancy acronym that means power is sent directly to the wheels through the electric motor. And the other thing about the Tiggo Cross Hybrid is just how economical it is. The official fuel consumption figures stand at 5.4 litres per 100km. During my drive back from

the segment includes such heavy weights as the Perodua Ativa, Honda WR-V, Honda HR-V, and the new Proton X50. We recently drove it to Terengganu and back. The Chery Tiggo Cross is avail able in two variants – the Turbo and the Hybrid, and we drove both. We drove the Turbo to Tanjung Jara in Terengganu, and the Hybrid back to Kuala Lumpur – a distance good enough to get a proper feel for the car and what it has to offer. The Tiggo Cross Turbo is pow ered by a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged aluminium engine producing 147PS and 210Nm of torque. Power is sent to the front wheels through a six-speed dual clutch transmission. The official fuel consumption figure for the Turbo is rated at 6.3 litres per 100km. The Hybrid model on the other hand is powered by a 1.5-litre, naturally-aspirated engine that produces 102PS and 125Nm of torque. However, it also packs two elec tric motors, one drives the wheels and another works to provide power to the first motor. The latter draws juice from a 1.8kWh battery and when that runs low, the engine works as a generator to recharge the battery. And if you’re wondering, yes, the engine can also provide power directly to the wheels, particularly at high speed. So, with the electric motor working concurrently with the engine, power for the hybrid vari

IF YOU don’t understand the automotive segments, don’t fret, it took me a while too. I have been reviewing cars and motorcycles for the better half of 20 years and sometimes I still get it wrong. So just as a quick refresher, the A-segment generally refers to small cars such as the Perodua Axia. After that is the B-segment which are for sub-compact cars such as the Honda City and Toyota Vios. Then there is the C-segment with more spacious and better equipped interiors – cars like the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and the Mazda 3. The D-segment are for larger sedans such as the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Past that is the E-segment for luxury sedans and of course it goes up to the F-seg ment. But these days it is not as straightforward as it seems. You have the SUVs that are also defined by their segments and crossovers just muddy everything. And then there are cars like the Chery Tiggo Cross, which sit between segments because of its size and specifications. It is technically a B-segment SUV, but some argue that it could even nudge into the C-segment thanks to its features and generous size. It’s not difficult to understand why some may say that because it really does have a list of features that more expensive cars struggle to match. But let’s follow the rules and position it as a B-segment SUV, and it has its work cut out for it as

The interior is wrapped in faux leather while the driver’s seat gets electronic adjustment.

Boot space is good for 3 adults, their equipment and luggage for an overnight trip.

The spare wheel is only available in the Turbo variant.