Should you lease or buy the Chery Tiggo 7? I’ve done the maths
Car changing is a big deal
The Chery Tiggo 7 is one of the best-value SUVs you can buy, but you might actually be better off leasing one rather than paying cash or financing. Mat Watson explains why.
This is the Chery Tiggo 7, and it’s a Chinese alternative to cars like the Dacia Bigster and Nissan Qashqai. Its main appeal is value for money, because it costs just £25,000 and comes with stacks of standard kit.
That’s the same price as a mid-spec Vauxhall Corsa, a much smaller hatchback, but before you run out and hand over your cash, you should think about the best way of getting your hands on a Chery Tiggo 7: buying or leasing?
To help you decide, I’ve crunched the numbers to see which option works out cheapest over three years and 30,000 miles.
Remember, you can buy a brand new or used car right here on Carwow. And you can sell your car, too. We’re here to help you through every step of your car-changing journey.
Chery Tiggo 7 review in brief: why should you consider this car in the first place?
To put it simply, the Chery Tiggo 7 is fantastic value for money. The basic petrol model costs just £24,995, and you can save an average of £2,700 on one through Carwow at the time of writing.
For that sort of cash you could also consider something like a mid-spec Vauxhall Corsa, which is much smaller and less practical, or a Dacia Bigster which has less standard equipment.
All Tiggo 7s get twin 12.3-inch screens, adaptive cruise control, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors and LED headlights. For just £3,000 more you can upgrade to the top-spec Summit model, adding a surround-view camera, heated and ventilated front seats and a power tailgate.
It’s not great to drive on a twisty road thanks to the vague steering, but it’s a refined motorway cruiser and it’s easy to navigate around tight urban streets. If you’re after a no-nonsense SUV which is cheap to buy and well-equipped, the Tiggo 7 should be near the top of your shortlist.
Buying a Chery Tiggo 7: how much will it cost you in total?
The price you pay for your car up front doesn’t tell the full story of how much it’ll actually cost you over your ownership period. You need to take things like depreciation and tax into account.
Let’s take my ideal Chery Tiggo 7 as an example. I’d go for the top-spec plug-in hybrid model because it has all the toys you’ll ever need, and the hybrid is much smoother and more economical than the petrol version. This will cost you £32,995.
Then you have to pay road tax, which on the hybrid will cost you £115 in the first year and £200 per year after that. Assuming you keep your car for three years, that amounts to £515.
And finally, there’s depreciation. Cap HPI, an industry body for car valuations, predicts that after three years and 30,000 miles this car will be worth £15,000 when you trade it in. So you’ll lose around £18,000.
So the total cost of ownership over three years and 30,000 miles will be around £18,500. How does leasing compare?
Leasing a Chery Tiggo 7
Leasing prices are changing all the time, with new deals popping up everyday. It’s important that you shop around for the best offers when you come to buy your next car, but at the time of writing this is what it costs to lease a Chery Tiggo 7.
I’ve gone for the exact same model, a top-spec PHEV, and specified that I want it over three years and 30,000 miles. I found a deal through Carwow for £287 per month, with an upfront payment of £2,981.
Tax is included in the cost of leasing, so in total this will cost you just over £13,000. That’s £4,500 cheaper than it’ll cost you to buy one.
Mat’s advice: shop around before you buy
The total cost of ownership (TCO) will vary depending on which version of the Chery Tiggo 7 you go for and the leasing prices at the time, so here’s a table outlining the costs for every version over three years and 30,000 miles:
| Model | Depreciation* | Tax* | TCO (Buy)* | Total lease cost* |
| Aspire petrol | £12,920 | £1,810 | £14,730 | £11,152 |
| Aspire PHEV | £15,995 | £515 | £16,510 | £11,673 |
| Summit petrol | £14,820 | £1,810 | £16,630 | £11,786 |
| Summit PHEV | £17,995 | £515 | £18,510 | £13,017 |
*All prices correct at the time of writing
Leasing a Chery Tiggo 7 is much cheaper than buying one, so if you’re after the best value for money then you should check out the latest lease deals through Carwow.
Car change? Carwow!
Looking for a new set of wheels? With Carwow you can sell your car quickly and for a fair price – as well as find great offers on your next one. Whether you’re looking to buy a car brand new, are after something used or you want to explore car leasing options, Carwow is your one stop shop for new car deals.
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