We’ve been to many locations across the Klang Valley for car launches, but few are as special as this. Moments ago, the Chery Tiggo 9 was unveiled at KL’s iconic Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad – yes, the grand old building that sits across the road from Dataran Merdeka. If you didn’t already know, the refurbished BSAS was opened to the public in February, and the building now houses displays and F&B outlets.
A special venue for a flagship model. The number ‘9’ is always reserved for flagships in China (see all those luxury MPVs) and the same applies here – the T9 sits at the top of Chery’s Tiggo SUV range above the Tiggo Cross, Tiggo 7 Pro, Tiggo 8 and Tiggo 8 Pro in the company’s local line-up.
Although Chery Malaysia previously said that the Tiggo 9 will be offered with a CSH plug-in hybrid powertrain, we’re getting only the pure-ICE 2.0T AWD for now. However, the PHEV will surely come at a later date. Chery is already selling CSH variants of the Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8, so it’s just a matter of time before there’s a flagship PHEV in town.
The 2.0T is the Tiggo 8 Pro’s 256 PS/390 Nm 2.0-litre TGDi turbo-four, paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that’s connected to a steering column stalk. While the T8P is front-wheel-drive, the T9 gets AWD with seven modes, which are Eco, Normal, Sport, Sand, Mud, Snow and Off-Road. 0-100 km/h is done in 9.3 seconds.
The T9 rides on 20-inch multi-spoke alloys (so multi, they almost look like wire wheels) – an inch up from the T8P’s rims – and Kumho Ecsta tyres. Same wheel/tyre for the spare, mounted below the car. Ground clearance is 205 mm.
By the way, the seven-seat Tiggo 9 is 4,810 mm long and 1,925 mm wide, which makes it 88 mm longer and 65 mm wider than the Tiggo 8 Pro. Its 2.8m wheelbase is 90 mm longer than the T8P’s. It’s big all right, but a touch smaller in footprint – 10 mm shorter, 5 mm narrower, wheelbase 20 mm shorter – than the massive Jaecoo J8.
Open the powered tailgate and you’ll find 143 litres of space with all three rows of seats up, 448 litres with the third row folded down, and 2,065 with two rows of seats folded flat (50:50 split for the third row, 60:40 for the second row).
Speaking of the Jaecoo J8, the Tiggo 9’s design is less in your face, and more handsome to these eyes – Audi-like, if you like. Also handsome is the Matte Grey finish you see above, which is one of only two paint options for the T9 alongside Carbon Black. It’s as clean as you’d expect a factory matte finish to be, and the T9 is only the second CKD locally assembled car to offer matte after the Omoda C9.
If you’re considering a big SUV from the Chery Group, or any SUV for that matter, it won’t be an easy task with so many options from an array of brands, but if you’re not into the Mercedes-Benz ‘inspired’ cockpit design found in the Jaecoo J8, Omoda C9 and even the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro, the T9’s dashboard moves away from the much-copied conjoined screen layout.
It’s largely similar to what we see in the Tiggo 8 PHEV, which by the way is of a newer generation than the Tiggo 8 Pro. Confused? We too have more homework to do when it comes to a Chery launch.
Anyway, the T9’s full black cabin (including headliner) features a 15.6-inch 2.5K central screen powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8155 chip, which sits on the left of the 10.25 inch digital meter panel, supplemented by a head-up display. There’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a 50W wireless charger with ventilation.
Luxuries include acoustic glass, synthetic leather, 10-way powered driver’s seat with memory and welcome function (six-way for passenger), front ventilated/heated seats with massage function and even second-row ventilated/heated seats. The front passenger seat has ‘boss switch’ controls on its outer side. Introduced by the Toyota Camry a few generations ago, the latter is a practical little feature that more cars should have.
In the AC department, it’s dual-zone automatic with N95 cabin filter and fan speed control for the second row, which occupants get to enjoy vents on both the centre and B-pillars, plus pull up sunshades. The third row vents are on the roof – there’s no physical control panel for the backbenchers, but fan speed can be changed via the main screen. Also, the centre console box has a cooling function.
All passengers get to enjoy a panoramic sunroof with retractable sunshade and a Sony audio system with 14 speakers, including front headrest speakers. There’s power adjustment for the steering wheel too, which is rare for an ICE car below RM200k. Kit wise, this is a big step up from the Tiggo 8 Pro.
On the safety side, this big SUV is fully loaded with 10 airbags (including rear side, driver’s knee and front centre airbags) and a full ‘Level 2.5’ ADAS suite with 23 features. Parking is assisted by a ‘540-degree’ panoramic camera system, or you can just let the T9 do all the work with automatic park assist. No ASEAN NCAP crash test result yet, but the T9 will most likely score very high.
All that kit will cost you RM179,800 on-the-road without insurance, but you’ll get a RM5,000 cash rebate, RM3,000 petrol subsidy and free one-year insurance. This means that after the RM8,000 cashback, you essentially pay RM171,800. This is the Prime package. For the Flexi package, it’s a straightforward RM166,800 without any cashback. We’re told that the Flexi package is ‘worth RM500 more’ (read RM500 cheaper) than the Prime.
The warranty package is seven years or 150,000 km plus five years of free labour service, plus a 10-year or one million km warranty for the engine – this is applicable to both Prime and Flexi packages.
For context, the Tiggo 8 Pro retails for RM159,800, while the Jaecoo J8 is priced from RM178,800 for the five-seater 2WD, to RM198,800 for the six-seater AWD. The Omoda C9 goes for RM168,800 for the 2WD and RM188,800 for the AWD. Note that both J8 and C9 come with the same 2.0T engine, but with an 8AT instead of the T9’s 7DCT.
So, what do you think of the Chery Tiggo 9’s looks and package vis-à-vis its cousins with different badges?
GALLERY: Chery Tiggo 9 in Malaysia
