Test drive Chery Tiggo 3
In the numbering of generations of the junior crossover of the Chery brand, you can get confused: the new product is declared as the fifth generation, it has the number three in the designation
I can't believe my eyes: the screen of the media system displays exactly the same as the display of my smartphone, responds to touches and allows you to control all available applications. I drive along the crooked streets of downtown Baku with the help of the Maps.me navigator, listen to music tracks from Google.Play and sometimes glimpse the pop-up messages of the WhatsApp messenger. This is not a closed Android Auto with its limited functionality, and not a scanty MirrorLink with two half-living applications, but a full-fledged interface that turned the media system into a gadget mirror. A simple and ingenious scheme that even premium brands have not yet implemented.
It is clear that this is not a matter of technical problems - manufacturers make good money selling standard media systems and do not want to limit themselves to just installing touch screens with simple interfaces for connecting smartphones. But the Chinese take a simpler view of things, and Chery became the first company in our market to offer customers the technology they demanded. Even if it is "raw" - the system screen reacts to commands with a slight delay and may even freeze. The fact is that you can fully connect your smartphone to the car, and you no longer need to pay for the built-in navigator and music processor.
The fact that the magic system appeared on the budget model seems quite logical. Chery's new product costs at least $ 10, and for the compact crossover segment, this is an adequate offer if you compare the basic set of equipment with the Hyundai Creta package.
The price gap will almost make you run to a dealer of a Chinese brand, but it makes sense to take a closer look at the new product - what if a series of upgrades really made the Tiggo a completely European car? In any case, outwardly it looks fresh and cute, and the spare wheel hanging on the stern will appeal to those who lack visual brutality in such youth compacts.
The history of the model, especially in the Russian market, turned out to be quite confusing. The Tiggo was first shown back in 2005 in Beijing under the name Chery T11, and outwardly that car strongly resembled the second generation Toyota RAV4. In Russia it was simply called Tiggo and was assembled not only at the Kaliningrad Avtotor, but in Taganrog. The modernized second-generation crossover was presented in 2009 with a wider range of engines and "automatic".
Three years later, a modified third-generation car was released, which we called Tiggo FL. And already in 2014 - the fourth, which had noticeable external differences, but was not sold in Russia. And after the next modernization, the Chinese consider this same model to be the fifth generation, although, in fact, the machine is based on the same technology as 12 years ago. The name Tiggo 3 is completely confusing, but the five in the lineup is already reserved for the larger car.
To draw parallels with the Tiggo ten years ago, just look at the shape of the doors and the C-pillar. Everything else has consistently evolved over the years, and now the crossover looks more relevant than ever. The lean front end smiled with many facets, winked with modern optics and slightly grinned with sections of fog lights with LED strips of running lights.
There are many details, but not too much - it is clear that they painted with restraint and taste. The exterior of the Tiggo was worked by James Hope himself, a former Ford stylist and now head of the Chery design center in Shanghai. He also made the stern more faceted, and where it was expensive to shred iron, he used plastic pads, including protective ones in body color. In general, there is a lot of plastic on the body, and powerful protective linings appeared on the doors. With a round spare wheel, this whole visual range is in harmony quite normally.
The new salon is just a breakthrough. Extremely neat, strict and restrained - almost German. And the materials are in order: soft in sight, simpler - where hands rarely reach. The seats are also better, with more solid lateral support. But devices with primitive display graphics are rather plain.
But there is only one serious incident - the seat heating keys, hidden inside the armrest box. The Chinese do not need them, and apparently there was no other suitable place in the car. You can't count on the mansions in the back - you sit without hesitation, and okay. The backs of the sofa are folded in parts, but there are hinges only on the back of the backs, and it will not work to transform the chairs from the salon.
There is no four-wheel drive and, apparently, will not be in the near future. In this configuration, the Tiggo 3 would have started direct price competition with other models, and would have lost. But the dealership does not regret it - the client in the segment usually looks for an option for the city and light off-road, focusing more on the price, and not the cross-country ability.
"Clearance decides" - not without reason they say in such cases, and the Chinese crossover offers as much as 200 mm and a very decent geometry of the bumpers. On the dirt tracks of Gobustan, there are no questions at all for the Tiggo 3 - when the front wheels have support, the crossover calmly rolls over deep gullies and crawls over the stones.
They worked with the suspension pointwise: the design of the front subframe and its cushions changed slightly, new silent blocks and a more rigid rear engine support appeared, and the shock absorbers were modified. In theory, the car should now better isolate from road irregularities and carry passengers more comfortably, but in fact only the support worked perceptibly - the power unit transmits almost no vibration to the passenger compartment.
It's uncomfortable to drive the Tiggo 3 on a broken road, although it feels like the car does not care about the holes, and you can drive through them on the go. The suspension seems strong, it is not afraid of bumps, and what pretty shakes riders on a rocky dirt road in conditions of fast off-road driving is in the order of things. It is worse when hard asphalt joints are encountered, which the suspension fulfills with a delay.
In general, the Tiggo 3 does not have a fast ride. The steering wheel is "empty", while at speed the car requires constant steering. They finally discourage them from driving large rolls during maneuvers. Finally, the power unit does not allow for good dynamics. Even according to the official specifications, Tiggo is gaining a long 15 seconds.
The engine of the Tiggo 3 is still one - a 126-horsepower gasoline engine with a volume of 1,6 liters. There is no alternative, and the former two-liter engine with 136 hp output. they will not import it - it turns out to be more expensive and not much more powerful. You can only choose a box: a five-speed manual or a variator with imitation of fixed gears. The Chinese call the crossover with a variator the most affordable in the segment among cars with automatic transmissions.
The variator is poorly tuned - the car starts nervously from a place, accelerates strained and does not rush to brake with the engine when the accelerator is released. In the chaotic Baku traffic, it is not possible to fit into the flow right away - either you start later than everyone else, then you overbrake, upsetting the accelerating car more sharply than usual.
On the track, there is no time for overtaking at all: in response to a kickdown, the variator honestly inflates the engine speed, and he, taking one note, only howls long drawn out, giving out a teaspoon of acceleration. The Tiggo isn't helpless, but overclocking comes with a delay that needs to be taken into account in advance. On the older Tiggo 5, the same CVT is tuned much more adequately.
It will be difficult to fit into the pool of compact crossovers of European and Korean brands, as the Chinese expect, given the current price tag of the Tiggo 3. Rather, the Chinese counterparts Lifan X60, Changan CS35 and Geely Emgrand X7 should be recorded in a number of competitors. An advanced media system will not make Tiggo 3 a leader even among them, but Chery's vector sets the right one. Apparently, the next generation of the model will become quite combat-ready, whether it is the fourth, fifth or sixth according to the calculations of the Chinese.
| Body type | Universal |
| Dimensions (length / width / height), mm | 4419/1765/1651 |
| Wheelbase, mm | 2510 |
| Curb weight, kg | 1487 |
| engine's type | Gasoline, R4 |
| Working volume, cubic meters cm | 1598 |
| Power, hp from. at rpm | 126 at 6150 |
| Max. cool. moment, Nm at rpm | 160 at 3900 |
| Transmission, drive | Stepless, front |
| Maximum speed km / h | 175 |
| Acceleration to 100 km / h, s | 15 |
| Fuel consumption gor./trassa/mesh., L | 10,7/6,9/8,2 |
| Cargo space, l | 370 – 1000 Feet |
| Price from, USD | 11 750 |
