What's the difference?
Chery’s explosive growth in Australia has been thanks to its range of affordable SUVs in some of Australia’s most in-demand categories.
Lately the brand has been expanding into the most in-demand segment of them all - hybrids. To that end, the Tiggo 4 Hybrid seems to tick a lot of boxes.
It’s relatively affordable, looks modern and offers plenty of features. Plus, unlike other Chery hybrids, it’s not a plug-in.
However, to see why I found the Tiggo 4 Hybrid a little disappointing - read on.
There are around 30 different models fighting for your attention in Australia’s medium SUV segment. More than double that if you include premium options. In other words, there’s overwhelming choice.
Some of the most popular options include Toyota’s RAV4, the Mazda CX-5, Kia Sportage and Mitsubishi Outlander, with a bunch of Chinese brands climbing up the charts.
But have you ever considered a Mahindra? The Indian carmaker has been operating in Australia for close to 20 years and the product line-up has improved considerably.
Case in point, the Mahindra XUV700. A replacement for the unloved XUV500, it’s just come in for a refresh adding new interior trim and tech features and it’s still affordable.
But is it worth taking a chance on the up-and-coming brand? Read on to find out.
If you’re just looking for an affordable hybrid which will save you money at the pump, the Tiggo 4 will do the trick, but there are so many little things which could be better here, it’s evident you’re getting what you’re paying for.
This makes the Tiggo 4 hybrid a bit of a let down, because the other Cherys I’ve driven recently have been pleasantly surprising given their price-points, not to mention the price-gap between the Tiggo 4 and many of its rivals is nowhere near as large.
The Mahindra XUV700 is a solid, well-rounded family SUV. It has a practical cabin with a usable third row and a punchy turbocharged powertrain. The Indian manufacturer needs to address a few things like interior quality and some ADAS calibration and there’s more work to do when it comes to ride and handling. But overall this seven-seat SUV represents exceptional value for money against some pricier rivals and should be on more consideration lists.
On the outside, I think the Tiggo 4 Hybrid is pretty generic and inoffensive. It shares its 'box-on-wheels' aesthetic with cars like the outgoing Mitsubishi ASX and Hyundai Venue, which, to be fair, have been strong sellers.
It might not be an eye catcher, then, but there’s something to be said for not trying anything controversial, and this is pretty consistent across Chery’s range. In fact, compared to some brands in the market, Chery is doing a solid job of design consistency for its mainline SUVs.
Highlights on the outside include the enormous grille and contemporary LED light strip across the rear.
On the inside things also look pretty swish for this compact SUV category. The seats immediately jump out as a highlight, big and lavishly trimmed in comparatively soft synthetic stuff. The glitzy steering wheel and dual-screen layout continues from other Chery products and the dash design is tidy, if a little generic.
The XUV700 is a reasonably handsome vehicle in the metal. It has a distinctive look that ensures it is immediately identifiable as a Mahindra. It is a clear evolution of the XUV500 it replaces, but far more coherent.
It has a typical SUV shape but in profile the bonnet looks short and it has a big glasshouse with a kicked-up window line from the C-pillar back.
Front on the unique headlights surround an appealing six-bar grille with the cool Mahindra badge front and centre.
The rear features stretched and pinched tail-lights and the XUV700 sits up high on the road.
Inside the cabin is neat and the dash has an uncomplicated layout. It’s not the world’s most visually appealing interior but it doesn’t get anything wrong. Although the steering wheel feels a bit cheap.
The lovely dark grey interior is broken up with a light grey upper half and there’s stitching on the seats, dash and steering wheel. There are plenty of piano black inserts but it's not overdone.
I can see this car having a lot of wow factor on a dealer forecourt but up close things are less good. The software on the screens is pretty ordinary; hardly the sharpest, fastest or most logically laid-out. There’s a selection of clumsy-looking themes, and while the multimedia portion has a logical smartphone-style main menu, beneath lies an array of confusing and inconsistently-labelled sub-menus.
The digital dash could be smoother and better looking and it’s a bit confusing to use with the poorly labelled buttons on the steering wheel.
The centre console area is finished in a gloss finish, which is easy to scratch or smear with fingerprints. Up front underneath the main screen is an entirely separate dot-matrix style climate control panel with actual physical buttons. It looks a bit clunky compared to some other solutions on the market, but at least it’s clearly labelled and straightforward to use.
Somewhat infuriatingly, though, interacting with this climate panel brings up a menu on the touchscreen which you don’t need and it takes several seconds to go away. Why?
The cabin is reasonably practical from there, though. There are decent bottle holders in each front door and a further two atop the console. There’s a pass-through beneath, good for handbags and the like. There are some strange additions, like an upright holster with rubberised sides which seems to be for a phone, and behind the shifter there’s a key fob-sized cut-out, but it’s gloss finished, so it will scratch if you actually use it.
The wireless phone charger is tucked away underneath, which makes your phone hard to get at in a pinch, and easy to forget when you exit.
Ergonomically, this car is a bit strange. The seat base is very high, so for me (at 182cm tall) even with the driver’s seat set to its lowest position, my head feels close to the roof. Plus, I’m peering down on the instruments, rather than have them at a comfortable height.
However, there are soft-touch surfaces adorning the doors, which can’t be said for every car in this segment and the rear seat hasn’t been forgotten, either.
I fit pretty comfortably behind my own driving position in terms of knee and headroom and the plush seat trim continues.
There’s a nearly flat floor, so while it’s a reasonably narrow vehicle, at least someone in the centre position will have somewhere to put their feet.
On the amenity front for rear passengers, there’s a small bottle holder in each door, pockets on the backs of the front seats, a weird storage tray and USB port on the back of the centre console and a drop-down armrest with two shallow cupholders. There’s just a single adjustable air vent for rear passengers, so they’ll have to fight over who gets the airflow.
The boot surprised me. It looks tiny, but the brand claims it weighs in at 470 litres. On top of this, the floor is a strange shape because the 12-volt battery is under the floor and doesn’t quite fit level.
However, when I went to load the full three-piece CarsGuide test luggage set, I was surprised to find it fit snugly, with the tailgate able to shut without a problem. I was also impressed to find a space-saver spare wheel and not just a repair kit under the floor.
The Mahindra boasts a versatile, practical cabin - not something all mid-size seven-seat SUVs can claim.
This grade has electric ‘smart’ door handles that pop out when the car is unlocked. They’re not super easy to grab and feel a little gimmicky.
The sunroof has a solid power-operated blind, unlike an increasing number of models that come with a flimsy sheer blind or no blind at all, which is unimaginable in our hot Australian climate. Thank you, Mahindra!
Another cool feature is the extendable sun-visors that are great at blocking out sun at the front or side, especially on longer drives.
A chunky rear centre headrest impedes rear visibility, but it is easily removed. However the rear outboard headrests are also big and that impacts vision out the large rear side windows.
Great to see Mahindra has retained physical controls for the air conditioning, although if you want to adjust anything digitally, you can via the central screen.
Sitting under that and the air vents are buttons for the reversing camera, hazard lights and other controls, then there’s a wireless phone charger, an extra little slot for your phone and two USB-A ports. No USB-C up front in the XUV700.
There’s decent storage up front with two compact, squarish cupholders in the console, a small central bin with a handy rubber key holder, while the glove box is a decent size and will fit more than just the manual.
Bottle storage in the front doors is excellent. The tall CarsGuide bottle fits easily and there’s extra storage for a bunch of other items.
The front seats are on the firm side but the side bolstering is good, helping you feel nicely secured. The base makes you feel like you’re sitting on the car rather than in it. There’s not a great deal of adjustability - you can’t extend the under-thigh cushion - but the Mahindra has Mercedes-Benz-style controls on the door.
The multimedia screen houses a lot of functions. If you tap the bottom of the screen the climate controls including seat heating pop up. There are more functions if you tap the top of the screen like sound, camera view and the like.
The multimedia screen homepage has tiles, one says ‘Fun in XUV700’ (for Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and radio) and the other says ‘Fun with XUV700’ (vehicle performance).
Driver assist functions are accessible via the driver’s instrument display using the steering wheel-mounted controls and you can change the intensity of cruise control and lane keep assist or turn off functions like traffic sign recognition and smart pilot assist.
There are a few cons up front. The indicator sound is awful and makes it feel cheap. There are some quality issues, like the flimsy panel to the lower right of the steering wheel that’s home to the auto stop-start. It feels like it’s going to fall off. And some of the fabrics don’t quite line up.
The device charger could do with a fan as my phone gets super hot charging on the pad, while the ‘Siri’ talk-to-text function of Apple CarPlay is patchy.
In the second row, the legroom is decent and while there’s not acres of room I don’t feel cramped sitting behind my 183cm (six-foot) driving position. A tiny transmission tunnel means good centre seat legroom. There’s a lever on the front passenger seat back allowing rear passenger behind to move that seat forward.
Headroom is also decent without being ample. There’s about an inch between my head and the roofliner.
The window line is low enough for small children to see out but not so low you feel like you’re sitting on the car.
The rear seating row is comfortable enough but the backrests - which recline - are flat.
You’ll find rear knee-level air vents, one USB-C port (the only ‘C’ port in the car) and a pair of map pockets, a phone slot under the vents, a centre armrest with two cupholders and loads of door storage for big bottles and more.
For child seats, the two outboard seats have ISOFIX anchors and there are two top tethers as well.
Access to the third row is much easier than I expected for a mid-size seven seater. The passenger-side single outboard seat tumbles flat then up, leaving plenty of space to get into the rear. There’s even a grab handle to assist.
Headroom isn’t great back there for me, but again, I am six-foot tall. A kid will be fine. There’s a surprising amount of legroom and toeroom.
Third-row occupants have access to cupholders and air vents on both sides, a fan speed dial, speakers and a 12-volt outlet that is also accessible from the boot when the seats are lowered.
The fact the curtain airbags cover the third row is a big tick. Overall, a solid third-row experience.
There’s a handy plastic lever on the rear of the seats to lower and raise the third row easily. They don’t quite fold flat into the boot floor so they sit up a little, but don’t intrude on boot space.
It looks like there is a cargo cover option but it wasn’t fitted to this example of the car. There are lots of hooks in the boot to hold bags, but note there is no power tailgate - it’s a manual operation in the Mahindra.
You also get a temporary spare wheel housed externally on the underside of the car.
One thing I can’t tell you unfortunately is the boot volume. Mahindra doesn’t provide those figures. I can say that when all three rows are in place, there is not much room behind the third row. Just enough for three backpacks or a few bags of shopping in a row. When the third row is lowered, there’s ample luggage space.
The Tiggo 4 Hybrid we’ve been driving for this review is the top-spec Ultimate, which wears a price-tag of $34,990, drive-away.
The surprising thing about this is how close it is to rivals. Yes, the Tiggo 4 Hybrid is still more affordable than most of its contemporaries, but it’s not by the same massive margin as its larger models like the Tiggo 7 PHEV ($39,990), which undercut the outgoing Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV by almost $20,000.
Instead, the Tiggo 4 Hybrid only just slips under a Toyota Yaris Cross GX hybrid ($34,790) although the margin increases considering Chery’s offer is drive-away. It also continues to look impressive compared to popular hybrid alternatives from more traditional automakers, like the exxy Honda HR-V (from $39,900) and the sightly larger Hyundai Kona (from $36,950).
The Tiggo 4’s value proposition is also complicated by how much competition there is in this small SUV space. A Haval Jolion hybrid, for example, can be had at $32,990, drive-away and is a slightly larger vehicle with a similar warranty offering, while MG’s ZS Hybrid+ can be had from $33,990, also drive-away, giving you plenty of things to think twice about.
Still, compared to those base prices for rivals, Chery is offering a top-spec and the Tiggo 4 Hybrid is pretty well equipped in this Ultimate form.
On the outside there are some expected things like 17-inch alloys and LED lighting, while on the inside the Tiggo 4 punches above its weight with things like dual 10.25-inch scregens for the multimedia and digital dash, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, synthetic leather seat trim with power adjust for the driver and heatin in the front two positions, dual-zone climate, a sunroof, ambient interior lighting, a wireless phone charger and a six-speaker stereo system.
There’s also a pretty good 360-degree view parking camera, walk away locking and auto-folding wing mirrors.
At this price, and in this segment, you generally have to spend a lot more to get this level of kit.
The Mahindra XUV700 is offered in two model grades, both powered by the same petrol engine. It all kicks off with the AX7 from an affordable $39,990, drive-away.
The focus of this review is the AX7L which tops the range at $42,990, drive-away, which is still great value.
At this price the Mahindra undercuts most mainstream medium SUVs like the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5 and lines up more closely with the GWM Haval H6 and MG HS from China.
But unlike most of the mid-size SUV set, the XUV700 has a third seating row. The only other offerings in this category to boast that option are the Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan X-Trail, - all of which are more expensive for an equivalent seven-seat grade when factoring in on-road costs.
For the model year 2025 update, both Mahindra XUV700 grades gain all-black interior trim, while the AX7L updates to wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as ventilated front seats with memory settings for the power function.
Standard gear in the AX7L includes a panoramic sunroof, dual 10.25-inch screens, synthetic leather trim, keyless entry and start, a 12-speaker audio system, wireless charging and a leather steering wheel.
You also get a 360-degree surround-view monitor, Bluetooth, rain-sensing wipers, dual-zone climate control, 18-inch alloy wheels and an electronic park brake.
The only option available is premium paint at $495 extra, including the 'Midnight Black' shade on our test car.
This isn’t top-grade luxury car levels of standard gear, but there's very little that’s missing and for $43K, that’s impressive.
The Tiggo 4 hybrid variants pair a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a relatively large electric motor housed in a transaxle-style unit driving the front wheels. In effect, it's continuously variable without being a much-derided CVT auto.
Weirdly, Chery doesn’t state combined power figures, just separate ones for each power source, with the engine producing 72kW/120Nm and the electric motor producing 150kW/310Nm.
You’ll note the electric motor is much more powerful than the engine, which has an effect on the way this car drives.
The XUV700 is powered by what Mahindra calls its ‘mStallion’ 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine delivering 149kW of power and 380Nm of torque. These are solid outputs and the only petrol-powered mainstream rivals that come close to those figures are the Kia Sportage/Hyundai Tucson mechanical twins, with their 1.6-litre turbo punching out 169kW/350Nm.
The Mahindra’s engine is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission driving the front wheels only, so no all-wheel-drive option here.
The whole point of this plugless hybrid set-up is fuel efficiency and on paper it’s not as good as some rivals.
The official combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) economy number is 5.4L/100km, but we easily beat that claim on test with a figure of 4.5L/100km. Worth noting that average came primarily from urban and expressway driving. It seems the hybrid transmission might require significantly more combustion input in freeway scenarios, hence the higher official claim.
A 51-litre fuel tank translates to a 944km range using the official economy figure and around 1100km based on our on-test average.
The XUV700 is only available with that petrol engine so no fuel-saving hybrid or plug-in hybrid options for now.
It’s also on the thirsty side with an official combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle fuel use figure of 8.3 litres per 100 kilometres. That’s more than petrol versions of the Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan X-Trail.
After a week of mixed but mostly urban driving, the trip computer showed an average of 8.5L/100km, but my own calculation based on real-world use at the fuel pump came out at 11L, so a bit of a discrepancy there.
The Tiggo 4 is a strange one. This hybrid one in particular has me in two minds.
My initial impression was not a good one. The high seating position makes you feel as though you’re sitting on the car rather than in it, and the overly electrically-assisted steering removes you from feeling what’s going on at the front wheels.
Even the pedal feel is wooden, with the car having to modulate the electric and combustion drive components and blended regenerative braking at arms length, leaving the driver with little in the way of feedback.
The ride isn’t one of the worst I’ve had in recent years, with an overall soft enough edge to it, but it also doesn’t feel very sophisticated, and harsher over the rear than it is in the front, giving it an unbalanced character. On top of this, our test car had a couple of intermittent rattling noises in the B-pillar (around where the belt retainer is) as well as somewhere in the rear.
Acceleration is pretty impressive at speeds under 80km/h, however, with plenty of power instantly available from the electric motor, although this has the side-effect of being able to easily overwhelm the Sailun tyres this top-spec Tiggo 4 ships on.
One thing I quite like about the Tiggo 4, however, is how smooth it is. The seemingly primarily electric drive is excellent, particularly at lower speeds where this car is at its best, surging forward largely in silence with no annoyances from a fiddly transmission.
Even the way it blends the combustion power in is seamless, even compared to a Toyota, for example, with the engine distantly buzzing away only when required.
It's impressive that unlike the MG3 and MG ZS which have similarly powerful electric motors but run out of juice and lose a bit of punch when the hybrid battery is low, the Tiggo 4 does a better job of managing its battery reserve level, making sure the strong electric power is always available. This might mean the engine idles higher and longer, but with decent sound deadening, it’s not something you notice much.
Overall the Tiggo 4 is okay to drive. The hybrid components impressed me enough, but these are tarnished by sub-par driver feedback and inputs, handling, tyres and some ergonomic issues.
On the road the Mahindra has some clear pros and cons. Overall, it’s a more polished performer than you might expect.
The turbocharged engine sounds good when pushed and is a punchy unit, delivering linear acceleration and getting to speed quickly, mostly without fuss. The 235/60R18 MRF Wanderer tyres have a tendency to chirp when accelerating hard and the XUV700 would benefit from higher quality rubber.
The six-speed auto transmission works well with the engine, delivering smooth shifts but it can hold gears on downhill runs.
Ride quality is a mixed bag. Those tyres have a high sidewall but you’ll feel bumps like road and bridge joins, while speed bumps aren't so smooth, either. The ride is on the firmer side but it’s no dealbreaker.
It’s a little top-heavy when cornering, so there is lateral movement in the car. A good reminder this is a family SUV, not a hot hatch.
Steering is overly light and a bit too sharp for this sort of vehicle. There’s nothing wrong with dull or slower steering in a family car because it’s less responsive if you accidentally turn the wheel when distracted by shenanigans in the back seat.
The brakes are also quite sensitive. Just a tap of the foot and you’re coming to a full stop.
A bit of road and wind noise creeps into the cabin, so it’s not the most hushed interior, but it’s not too dramatic.
Other points include a decent turning circle, making it more nimble than you might think in tight parking spots, and poor-quality, low-definition lane watch camera display. Also the remote lock and unlock is temperamental. You need to double check it’s locked.
The Tiggo 4 has a lot of safety kit for this segment and for such an affordable price, so much so that combustion versions have a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating (although this hybrid variant didn’t exist when it was tested).
Active equipment includes all the key stuff like auto emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise and auto high beams.
The 360-degree parking camera is a nice touch and there are seven airbags (dual front, side, curtain and centre).
Is the active stuff annoying? Yes, but you can most of it off and the car remembers your choice next time you start it, so you can turn the most egregious offenders, like lane departure warning, and speed limit assist off.
Even when they’re on they are okay, but I found the driver monitoring to be the most annoying of the usual crop, pinging at you constantly, sometimes for reasons beyond my comprehension.
The one you can’t seem to permanently turn off is driver attention alert, which is annoying because it is this car’s most egregious offender, chiming at me for even daring to peer down at the digital dash to see how fast I’m going.
The XUV700 is yet to be assessed by ANCAP so it currently doesn’t have a score.
The standard safety list is solid without being exceptional, and it includes seven airbags in this grade, with the curtain airbags stretching all the way back to the third seating row. However, it misses out on a front centre bag.
In terms of driver aids and advanced driver assistance (ADAS) tech, it also comes with adaptive cruise with stop & go, auto emergency braking, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, tyre pressure monitoring, blind spot monitor and a pilot assist function. It lacks a rear cross-traffic alert.
The reversing camera lags when you put the car in reverse, taking a couple of beats to kick in. Not great when you’re trying to park on a busy street.
The adaptive cruise needs further calibration. When the system detects a car in front, it slows the Mahindra down a little too dramatically and takes too long to respond.
The Tiggo 4 Hybrid is offered with a seven-year/unlimited km warranty, seven years of roadside assist and seven years of capped price servicing with an eight year and unlimited kilometre warranty for the high-voltage battery.
The servicing is required once a year or 15,000km, with each service costing $299 for the first five years. It jumps from there, with a particularly expensive service at $736.62, dragging the yearly average for the warranty period up to $360 a year.
It’s a little pricier than Toyota, for example, but very reasonably priced compared to most.
Mahindra covers the XUV700 with a seven-year or 150,000km warranty which is generous but doesn’t match Kia’s seven-year, unlimited-kilometre term. It also includes seven years of free roadside assistance.
The servicing schedule has a few quirks. There’s a free service at 1500km or one month of ownership, then the next service is at 12 months or 10,000km, whichever occurs first. After that the term is every 12 months or 15,000km, so it’s a little confusing.
There’s four years of capped-price servicing that averages out to about $445 per service. That’s roughly $100 more on average per service than a petrol Mitsubishi Outlander.