The first Chery Tiggo 9s are being delivered to customers, but should you buy one? 

This is the new Chery Tiggo 9. It’s a big, fast and luxurious seven-seater which is priced to take on the Kia Sorento, but offers features to rival an Audi Q7. It’s no wonder customers have been tempted towards this Chinese SUV, but is it any good?

Well we drove the new Chery Tiggo 9 late last year and, while there are a lot of pros, this car isn’t perfect. We’re going to tell you everything we like about this car, as well as a few things we don’t.

Things we like about the Chery Tiggo 9

Let’s start with the positives, because there is plenty to like about the Chery Tiggo 9.

The biggest reason to buy this car is the price, because it represents great value for money. Unlike something like a Volkswagen Tayron or Audi Q7 where you have to wade through pages of different trim levels and optional extras, the Chery Tiggo 9 is much more simple.

There’s one trim level on offer, and it comes with every bit of kit you could imagine. You get heated and ventilated front and rear seats, a panoramic glass roof, double glazing and adaptive cruise control as standard. You’d have to pay upwards of £75,000 to get all of this on a Volvo XC90, but the Tiggo 9 costs just over £41,000.

You can lease a Chery Tiggo 9 for £422 per month right now, and this is over 48 months with an upfront payment of £5,359 and a mileage limit of 5,000 per year. Need to go further? You can double the mileage limit for an extra £25 per month.

For comparison, the cheapest monthly price we could find for a Kia Sorento was £434 per month, and that car is nowhere near as well-specced as the Chery.

The Tiggo 9 also comes with a great plug-in hybrid system. It combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine and an electric motor to make a combined 430hp, and it’ll do a whopping 91 miles on electric power alone. That makes it one of the longest-range PHEVs you can buy.

We also quite like the way this car looks. Ok, so it’s not as snazzy as a Peugeot 5008 or as brash as a BMW X7, but it has a classy and understated vibe which makes it appear to be more expensive than it is.

Things we don’t like about the Chery Tiggo 9

It’s not all good though, because Chery Tiggo 9 is not perfect.

The biggest disappointment is the way this car drives, because it feels quite wayward through the bends. The steering is light and vague, and the car becomes unsettled over bumps. It’s fine on a smooth motorway, but on a twisty road or around town an Audi Q7 is better to drive.

Some of the interior materials let the side down as well, because there are some cheap-feeling plastics in here which spoil the illusion of luxury. The buttons on the steering wheel feel tacky, and there’s a big swathe of hard plastic across the dashboard. It’s easy to forgive at this price, but if you’re after something which feels posh for this sort of money then check out a Peugeot 5008.

The final annoyance is actually to do with the price, because at just over £40,000 the Tiggo 9 falls foul of the expensive car tax. That will cost you over £2,000 in the first six years of ownership, and the slightly smaller Chery Tiggo 8 offers almost the same amount of kit and space as the Tiggo 9 while costing a whole lot less. That’s why the Tiggo 8 was named our Car Of The Year for 2026.

So should you buy a Chery Tiggo 9?

If you’re looking for a big, powerful seven-seat SUV which offers luxury car features without the luxury car price tag, then the Chery Tiggo 9 is well worth a look. You’ll need to be ok with the odd cheap-feeling trim and the lacklustre handling, but beyond these niggles it’s a very impressive car.

However, you should also consider the Chery Tiggo 8. It may not be as powerful as the Tiggo 9, nor does it offer quite as many luxury features, but it’s still incredibly well-equipped and really spacious for around £4,500 less if you go for the top-spec plug-in hybrid. That saving also brings you below the £40,000 luxury car tax threshold, making it a bit of a no-brainer.

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