2025 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro SE+ review

When the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro launched back in August 2023, it came across as pretty decent value for money in a highly competitive part of the market.

Now? It’s unbelievable what you’re getting for your money. That’s down to the fact the brand has slashed thousands of bucks off the asking price, with the start point now below $30k drive-away.

That’s unprecedented in the mid-size SUV segment, and it positions the Tiggo 7 Pro SE as Australia’s most affordable family SUV.

This one isn’t the $30k car – but it’s still incredibly affordable for this SE+ version, which has a number of extra features for an extra few grand.

Read on and you’ll see whether there’s more to it than just a low price and lots of spec in this review.

How much does the Chery Tiggo 7 cost?

The Chery Tiggo 7 Pro was already decent value for money, but the recent reductions to its price have helped it appear in a totally different light in the highly competitive mid-size SUV segment.

With a new entry-level Pro SE offering a heap of tech and spec for less than 30 grand, and this SE+ adding some of the niceties you’d like for a price you’ll still love, there’s a lot to like when it comes to the ‘cost versus kit’ metric. 

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What is the Chery Tiggo 7 like on the inside?

There’s a degree of ‘rinse and repeat’ for the interiors of Chery’s Tiggo lineup, but thankfully that hasn’t led to things feeling tired or worse-for-wear. In fact, for those trading in a pre-loved SUV from the 2000s, it’ll feel like a big step forward in a lot of ways. 

With a mix of materials and different finishes inside, it has a perceived level of quality to it that goes beyond the price point.

There are soft padded bits where they should be, comfortable seats, a leather-lined steering wheel and gearshifter, and if you spend the extra cash to get into the SE+ you also score a huge glass sunroof and heated front seats, but strangely there’s no auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

The amenities are covered, with a wireless phone charger, a couple of USB ports, and decent storage including a pair of big cupholders, big bottle holders in the doors, a decent glovebox, and a large, cooled centre console bin. There’s even a little bag hook near the glovebox.

Of course it has the twin 12.3-inch screen display setup that has become commonplace for some brands, and while they’re bright and colourful, some newer models have better usability (including the related Jaecoo J7).

The media screen is the central control system for most things, though thankfully there is a bar below with fan and temperature adjustability, which is better than having to do it all through the touch panel. It’s just a bit hard to see the controls, particularly in direct light. 

You also have to go through the screen for a lot of stuff relating to the controls for the advanced safety tech, including turning off the lane keeping system and driver monitoring camera, if they don’t behave how you’d like them to.

More on that later, but what is most annoying about the safety controls is that you have shortcuts (swipe from the right edge towards the left) for some elements, but not all (including the driver distraction monitor, which would be great to be able to quickly turn off).

I connected with wireless Apple CarPlay during my time with this car and had no major issues or faults, and the driver info screen is pretty decent too, with some key metrics like fuel use and speedo on show.

The steering wheel has a decent array of buttons and controls, though they can be prone to fingerprints, and there’s a stalk on the side for your indicators – the right side!

There’s also a volume dial and a couple of buttons down near the shifter – and that gear selector takes a little bit of learning, because it’s not a traditional T-bar auto.

It’s an e-shifter, so you just need to pull the selector down for drive or push it up for reverse, rather than push the button in on the side (that is the manual mode button). I hated it the first time I drove the Tiggo 7, and I still didn’t like it this time.

Second-row space in the Tiggo 7 Pro is excellent – far more spacious and family-friendly than in plenty of other medium sized SUVs. 

At 182cm or 6’0” tall and with the driver’s seat set for me, I had inches of knee room, heaps of toe room and loads of head room, with a decent view out the window too, which will keep little ones happy.

My almost-four-year-old daughter commented that she could see a lot more cars from the back than usual.

It has ISOFIX child seat anchor points in the window seats and three top-tethers, and the doors open pretty wide for loading in the little ones, too. 

There are decent door pockets, map pockets on the seatbacks, directional air vents with a small storage space below (and USB-A port) and a drop-down armrest with cupholders. Seat comfort is good, and the floor is flattish, so you can fit three adults across if you needed to.

The boot is another plus for this car, with a decent 356-litre capacity to the top of the seatbacks, which is enough to fit a family-of-three’s worth of weekend luggage with a bit of room to spare. There are two flip-down shopping bag hooks and a bright LED light, plus a 12V outlet.

Best of all, there’s a full-size spare wheel under the boot floor.

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What’s under the bonnet?

The Tiggo 7 Pro lineup is simpler now, with the brand having dropped the all-wheel drive model to make space for the more rugged Jaecoo J7 lineup. 

As with that model though, the Tiggo 7 Pro has a punchy petrol engine – but this SUV is now exclusively available in front-wheel drive form.

It is worth pointing out that while those outputs are competitive for the class, there are some considerations you need to keep in mind about this SUV.

Firstly, the weight capacity. It has a maximum gross vehicle weight of just 1895kg, meaning a payload of only 416kg. That’s lower than most in the segment, and means you’ll need to be careful about overloading it.

And it doesn’t have any towing capacity or capability, either. That’s unusual for a mid-size SUV, many of which are capable of hauling up to 750kg unbraked and 2000kg braked. Hmmm. 

The official combined fuel use number is 7.0L/100km and on my test – which included urban, highway, freeway, commuting and the same stuff you might do in a Tiggo 7 – I saw 7.8L/100km.

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the Chery Tiggo 7 drive?

If you’re expecting a Volkswagen Tiguan- or Toyota RAV4-like drive experience, don’t. It’s not quite that good in terms of overall well-roundedness.

It isn’t as quick to react, nor as natural feeling as those rivals in terms of the drive experience. It’s not a disaster, but it’s certainly not going to scratch the enthusiast itch.

It is fine in a lot of ways, though – ride comfort is pretty good, and it exhibits reasonably good body control over lumps and bumps too.

The steering is reasonably good, with a decent action and responsiveness to it, but the tyres – Atlas A51 rubber in 225/55/18 spec – just don’t quite cut it, meaning that you can feel like you’re not as connected to the steering response as you should be.

The powertrain is okay in some instances, but in others it can feel a little clumsy. That’s partly down to the dual-clutch auto gearbox feeling hesitant at lower speeds, with some engine lag also exacerbating a delayed response, and the front tyres can squeal when you’re taking away from a standstill, with even more drama when it’s wet outside.

If you’re impatient (like me) you might find it to be frustrating, and there’s also a level of remoteness when it comes to the pedal action… the brake isn’t as trusty as some other vehicles, and there’s a doughy nature to the throttle too.

But the safety systems might be the deal-breaker here, because – like many other new vehicles – you need to turn them off every time you restart the car, if you don’t like the way they behave.

For me, the driver monitoring camera system still gets it wrong more than it gets it right, with incessant chiming to alert the driver to their state of distraction… which, in turn, is just another distraction. I was looking straight at the road ahead of me and on multiple occasions the system said I was distracted. Yes, clearly distracted by the job of actually driving!

There is also the emergency lane-keeping tech which isn’t as good as in some rivals, with a pushy action that needs to be switched off each time you get back in, if you don’t like it. 

At least the surround-view camera – standard in the SE+ – is a great bit of safety kit, offering a terrific view and a selection of camera options for you to see around the car. 

So there’s room for improvement, but for those who just want a brand-new car with a host of tech, it might still be a goer.

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

The revised Tiggo 7 Pro range is split into two grades.

2025 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro SE equipment highlights:

• 18-inch alloy wheels (machine finish)
• 225/55 R18 tyres
• Full-size spare
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• Reflector LED headlights
• Automatic headlights
• Automatic high-beam
• LED tail-lights
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Heated, power-adjustable exterior mirrors
• Proximity entry with push-button start, walk-away auto locking
• 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
• 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wired Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
• Satellite navigation
• 8-speaker Sony sound system
• Leatherette upholstery
• 6-way power driver’s seat
• 60:40 split/fold rear seats
• ‘Premium’ steering wheel
• Tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment
• Dual-zone climate control
• Rear air vents
• Front, cargo bay LED interior lights

Tiggo 7 Pro SE+ adds:

• 18-inch alloy wheels (black)
• Power-folding exterior mirrors
• Panoramic sunroof with powered sunshade
• Power tailgate
• Heated front seats
• 50W wireless phone charger
• Frameless rear-view mirror
• Multi-colour ambient lighting
• Cargo blind
• Rear LED interior light
• Surround-view camera system

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Is the Chery Tiggo 7 safe?

The Chery Tiggo 7 Pro has a five-star safety rating from ANCAP, based on testing conducted in 2023.

Standard safety equipment includes:

• Autonomous emergency braking
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Driver attention monitoring
• Lane-keep assist
• Emergency lane-keep assist
• Adaptive cruise control
• Traffic Jam Assist
• Integrated Cruise Assist
• Rear cross-traffic assist
• Safe exit warning
• Speed limit assist
• Front, front-side, curtain, front-centre and driver’s knee airbags
• Reversing camera
• Front and rear parking sensors

The SE+ adds:

• Surround-view camera

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How much does the Chery Tiggo 7 cost to run?

Chery Australia backs its models with a comprehensive seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty for private buyers, but commercial customers have a cap on the kays (150,000km).

There is up to seven years of roadside assistance if you service within the Chery network – you get one year free, then they top it up for you when you go back in for maintenance. Servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

There is a seven-year capped-price servicing program too, with the first five services capped at $289 each, with the sixth priced at $386.09 and seventh at $320.84 – meaning an annual average service cost of about $307.

To see how the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert’s Take on the Chery Tiggo 7

There is no denying the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro SE+ is a bargain family-friendly SUV. The price is a big plus, and it has a heap of standard gear that other better-known brands charge $20k extra for.

Of course there is some compromise that comes with that, and it’s not the most enjoyable thing to drive.

But for those who need an everyday conveyance, and are maybe trading in a 10- or 15-year-old SUV, it’s going to feel like the deal of a lifetime.

Interested in buying a Chery Tiggo 7 Pro? Get in touch with one of CarExpert’s trusted dealers here

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