Dual powertrain propels 2.3-ton seven-seater to 100km/h from a standstill in 5.33 seconds.
Wrap your head around this. Here we have a large seven-seater SUV that barely consumes any fuel but makes 455kW of power and 920Nm of torque. Say hello to the rather fast Chery Tiggo 9 CHS Vanguard.
Large SUVs are all about luxury, tech and space. I get that. And we have covered all these features of the Chery Tiggo 9 already. But there are those that still want more when it comes to performance in an SUV. It’s why the likes of BMW with M, Mercedes-Benz with AMG and even Ranger Rover with their SVRs keep bringing crazy high-performance SUVs to market.
So, why can’t the likes of Chery? Well, they can and they have. For the Tiggo 9 range there are three different powertrains available. Powertrain one is 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged petrol that delivers a decent 187kW and 390Nm to the front wheels or all four wheels via a seven-speed dual clutch transmission depending on the trim level. Fuel consumption is rated at 7.9 litres per 100km for the Tiggo 9 FWD Pinnacle and 8.3-litres per 100km for the Tiggo 9 AWD Vanguard.
ALSO READ: Chery Tiggo 9 plug-in hybrid poses huge threat to the big boys
Electrification for the win
Then we get into the electrified ones, and here these plug-in hybrid Chery Tiggo 9s incorporate the brand’s advanced CSH (Chery Super Hybrid) technology. And it is also offered in a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive configurations. For both, engine power is provided by a 1.5-litre dedicated hybrid petrol engine, delivering 115kW and 220Nm of torque. But they are paired with electric drive motors, and this is where it gets interesting.
The Chery Tiggo 9 FWD Pinnacle CSH is equipped with an 18.3kWh battery. This means you now have 165kW/390Nm available with the bonus of an all-electric driving range of up to 90km. The Chery Tiggo 9 AWD Vanguard CSH we tested features a larger 34.4kWh battery, delivering an impressive, combined output of 455kW/920 Nm. And an extended all-electric range of up to 160km.
Impressive performance
So, what does 455kW/920Nm do when it must move 2.3-ton of luxury SUV in a hurry? The Chery Tiggo 9 CSH Vanguard knocks off the 0 to 100km/h sprint in just 5.33 seconds. And it runs into its electronic speed limiter of 190km/h just after 400m of road. That is fast in anybody’s books, and right in the ballpark of the other performance SUVs mentioned.
Now both Chery Tiggo 9 PHEV variants offer an exceptionally good, combined range of up to 1 400km. With fuel consumption that is said to go as low 1.5 and 1.4L/100km and that ends up at the 5.5 and 6.2L/100km claimed. We averaged 6.6L/100km during our test week, but this included the full-bore road test program the car went through.
ALSO READ: Chery Tiggo 9 plug-in hybrid covers distance of 1 214km in one go
We believe it could be much lower if you made use of home charging or fast public charging. And we are going to test this aspect of the Chery Tiggo 9 CSH Vanguard over the December holidays. We will be doing the usual urban “run around the shops” thing, and then we are hitting the open road and heading off to Knysna for a bit of ocean therapy. Here our plan is to get there on a single tank of fuel. Watch this space…
Chery Tiggo 9 road test results
