Tiggo’s debut was held in 2005, and repeated the Chinese tendency of taking “too much inspiration” on existing vehicles of other companies: this time both second-generation Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 were “honored”, the first at Tiggo’s front and the other at its back. However, Chery still managed to have some success with it in both Asia and Latin America mostly because it’s cheaper than its main competitors – there were even some units sold in Europe, assembled by DR Motor as DR5 since 2007. But since its most effective sales argument turned out to be its price, it would be impossible for Chery to perform any substantial improvements. This is why Tiggo now reaches its third facelift, after a tiny one in 2008 and a bigger one two years later.
Looking at these images leads to think things would’ve have gone much better for Tiggo if it had used this design from the beginning. Not that these lines make it impossible to buy another car, but they do look good. And, what is even better, they are original. They belong to a design language which Chery created itself, and started to use with Arrizo7 last year. Everything else was carried over from the original car once again, but there’s still credit for the overall result. Since Tiggo5 is a fancier car, it ended on a more expensive category. So Tiggo3’s current facelift is supposed to hold on for a couple of years until the company creates another one, this time smaller or with carried-over platform, so as to truly replace the original Tiggo.
Entering the cabin won’t reveal any surprises at all: not even the dashboard received considerable retouches. The entire room still offers a two-tone trim which makes the room look bigger, if not more sophisticated. If you still have doubts about that last part, take a look at the details: how buttons were designed and organized, which parts were painted in matte chrome… This is a cheap car, and it’s built to feel that way. On the other hand, speaking of equipments should reveal a very similar list to the outgoing car’s. You should expect climate control, dual front airbags, ABS brakes, electrically-assisted windows, locks and rearview mirrors, power steering and infotainment central, with multimedia audio system and maybe reverse camera.
Following its new intention of being Chery’s cheapest crossover available, the refreshed Chery Tiggo3 has lost its most powerful engine options. Now you’re only able to take it with the four-cylinder 1.6L, capable of 128 hp – don’t expect any others, like hybrid or high-performance variations. It’s possible to replace the five-speed manual with a CVT transmission, but not even the AWD system survived. This vehicle had its official debut during this year’s Beijing Auto Show and has already reached Chinese streets, with prices floating between 73,900 and 95,900 yuan. Chery’s upcoming entry-level crossover is expected to be among us until 2016, with a whole new family of turbocharged engines with smaller displacement.