Sweet Chery soured by safety
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Tristan Wiggill
2009-07-20
As I sat in the driver’s seat of a budget Chinese SUV last week, I recalled how a fellow scribe had lamented the dawning of the new age in global car manufacturing during a launch drive two years ago.
After brief reflection from the passenger seat, he piped up with, “What it takes the Japanese to build in eight years; it takes the Koreans to build in five. And what it takes the Koreans to build in five years it takes the Chinese to build in three”.
At the time, Toyota were closing in on GM as the world’s most voluminous automaker, while Chinese brands were entering the SA market en mass.
One such marque to enter our market during the boom was Chery and, while many of its oriental brethren have disappeared in the economic downturn, McCarthy-backed Chery soldiers on.
It has launched a few new models, too, including the rather pleasant Tiggo 1.6 TX – a 4x2 SUV in a two-generation old Toyota Rav-4 mould.
I say pleasant because some of the cars of Chinese descent in recent times have been utter rubbish, with the “Asian invasion” tainted by inferior quality and dubious safety credentials.
The latter remains a sore point, with the Tiggo having no traceable crash safety ratings. I suppose we have to be grateful for its ABS, crumple zones and duo of airbags.
But as I’ve said before, safety cannot be assured by simply adding safety features to the specification sheet – it has to be engineered into the car from the very first design and development phases. Nowhere is this more apparent than when slamming the tinny-sounding doors and boot lid, where the impression that more “meat” would provide more confidence in its structural integrity.
China’s take on vehicle styling hasn’t received glowing appraisals either, so when I first saw the charming Tiggo in our parking lot, I was pleasantly surprised.
And if I thought that’s where the pleasantries would end, I was sorely mistaken. The interior is also a giant step up from what has gone before, with attractive aesthetics and chic-looking switchgear used for the air conditioning.
Further highlights include fancy blue backlighting for the audio system, electric window switches and instrument panel.
The doors lock automatically at 50km/h and the side mirrors are electrically-operated, too.
Standard specification is exceptionally generous, with only luxuries like leather seats and a sunroof available on more expensive models in the range.
But while it appears upmarket at a glance, further scrutiny reveals fit and finish that are not quite up there with its Japanese or European rivals, with plastic trimmings not lining up perfectly.
That said, what truly impressed me was the ride and handling qualities, which are not far off those of leading competitors in this segment. This is where Chery has made the biggest strides, along with the competent 1.6-litre petrol engine.
Drive goes to the front wheels and power is managed through a five-speed manual transmission that’s a little notchy for our liking.
Overall though, the Tiggo was a pleasant surprise and, if it weren’t for the lack of a crash-safety rating, we’d have little reason not to recommend it.