7/09/2025

theSunday Special XIV ON SUNDAY SEPT 7, 2025

Hard buttons are a great touch.

Gloss black panels makes dust particles stand out.

Both the Hybrid and Turbo variants have similar interiors but the devil is in the details.

wheelbase, is 4,318mm long, 1,830mm wide and 1,670mm tall. In comparison, the Ativa has an 85mm shorter wheelbase, is 253mm shorter, 120mm narrower and 35mm lower. The Honda on the other hand has a 125mm shorter wheelbase, length that is shorter by 258mm and is also 50mm narrower and 62mm lower. If you are curious about the other segment rivals, the Proton X50 and the Honda HR-V, well, the Tiggo Cross is both wider and taller than both and shares identi cal wheelbase length to the Honda HR-V. But the Proton X50 has a 10mm shorter wheelbase. It may not seem like it, but the Chery Tiggo Cross is a big car. Just like Shakira’s hips, the spec sheets don’t lie either. WHAT ABOUT THE INTE RIOR? It’s a generous blend of moder nity, function and quality. In typi cal Chery style, you get twin digital screens at the front, but both are in fact one giant screen, Mercedes Benz style. Both the infotainment and instrument cluster measure in at 10.25-inch each. As for trimming, you get faux leather upholstery as mentioned earlier, but I particularly like that you still get hard buttons for the necessities like audio volume con trols, air-conditioning and such. Despite the presence of dual zone air-conditioning, I also like that both driver and passenger get their own fan blower switches. Just to clarify, both front pas sengers can have their own tem perature setting but not different fan speed. If there is one thing that I don’t like about the interior, it would be the gloss black panel for the air conditioning display. This is a matter of personal preference of course, but gloss bland tends to make dust stick out. And that annoys me.

Terengganu, I saw a fuel con sumption figure of 3.1-litres per 100km, and this went up to 5.4 litres per 100km during the uphill climb after the Karak toll. By the time I handed the car back to the team from Chery, the average fuel consumption was 3.6-litres per 100km. Now let’s get a little nerdy and do the math and take on a “theo retical” approach to this. So, assuming that the Tiggo Cross Hybrid can sustain 3.6-litres per 100km. With its 51-litre tank, the Chery Tiggo Cross Hybrid has a theoretical range of a stunning 1,417km. That is of course a best-case scenario figure, but even if the Hybrid could do 1,200km per tank, that would still be an impressive figure. WHAT ELSE DOES THE CAR HAVE TO OFFER? Keep in mind that this is a car that counts the Honda WR-V and the Perodua Ativa as direct rivals. The Honda is priced from RM89,900 and tops out at RM107,900 for the flagship vari ant. The Perodua on the other hand ranges from RM72,600 and maxes out at RM73,600. The Chery on the other hand is priced at RM88,800 for the Turbo and RM99,800 for the Hybrid. You may think that the price difference may not seem all that different between the trio, and I will agree. But the one thing that will surely sway your opinion in favour of the Chery is the interior of the car. As comparison to the Ativa and the WR-V, the Tiggo Cross feels premium with soft touch surfaces, solid instead of hollow door pan els, dual-zone air-conditioning, wireless charge pads, and even a 540° camera. In terms of spaciousness, the Tiggo Cross feels bigger and the dimension sheet verify that. The Chery has a 2,610mm

There are some differences between the interiors of the Turbo and Hybrid. Though the overall layout is the same, the Turbo has its steering buttons finished in matte where else the Hybrid gets glossy buttons. The Turbo also has physical buttons to engage and disengage the electronic parking brake, and the auto hold assist function. Curiously, the Hybrid does not have this. WHAT ABOUT SAFETY? There’s a difference between the two variants here, so I will start with the Turbo. You get six air bags, the usual array of passive safety systems such as electronic stability control, emergency brake assist, traction control and brake assist system, among others. As for advanced driver assis tance systems, there’s lane depar ture warning, blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alert, and even adaptive cruise control. It is not as extensive as what you get in the Hybrid, but it is good enough. As for the Hybrid, it comes with seven airbags, identical passive safety systems to the Turbo and a nearly complete Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. This includes blind spot moni toring, rear collision warning, rear cross traffic alert and braking, among many others. But what stands out is the door opening warning system. This is where the car alerts rear passen gers if there is an obstacle coming towards the car, indicating if it is Door Opening Warning system is rare in this segment.

Electronic gear shifter looks like it has been inspired by the aviation industry. Front passengers get dual-zone air-conditioning.

The gloss black buttons are unique to the Hybrid variant.

safe to open the door or not. There is a tiny car icon that lights up when it is not safe, and the only other car in the segment to have this system is the Proton

inline-four, Power: 147PS Torque: 210Nm Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch Price (as tested): RM88,800 We like: Good design, well built interior. We don’t like: Gloss black panels. SPECIFICATIONS (Hybrid) Engine: 1.5-litre, naturally aspirated, inline-four with dual electric motors Power: 204PS Torque: 310Nm Transmission: e-CVT Price (as tested): RM99,800 We like: Refinement, power delivery, well-built interior. We don’t like: No physical button for electronic parking brake and auto hold.

X50. Impressive! CONCLUSION

There is no denying that the Chery Tiggo Cross is an impressive small SUV, especially its price tag. It offers a good step up for those looking to switch to something more premium from the likes of a Perodua and for those who want something different than the usual array of Protons and Hondas. It is also brilliant for those look ing for something small and effi cient to go about their daily busi ness. In fact, there is almost no faulting it. SPECIFICATIONS (Turbo): Engine: 1.5-litre, turbocharged,