Chery Tiggo 4 vs Toyota BZ4X

What's the difference?

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 Toyota bZ4X base variant is an uncomplicated car to drive. It has some decent features for its grade level and it is plenty big enough for my little family of three but it doesn’t always come out ahead of its rivals.

It would be an easy EV to dip your toes in if you’re wanting something economical to maintain yet able to fit the family. But it's expensive for what it is.

My seven-year old likes the cool looks but has been confused about Mummy is reviewing the same car again.

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.

There’s not much separating the bZ4X from its Subaru twin other than badging and ever-so-slightly different front and rear fascias. The differences are so small only diehard enthusiasts will be able to tell them apart. To me, they look the same on the outside!

The overall look is sporty and fun with lots of pleating in the panelling to give it a futuristic vibe and sharply defined tail-lights for some edginess.

Against our test model's 'Liquid Metal' paintwork the heavy black plastic moulding wrapping around the base of the car doesn't stand out too much but will on a lighter colour.

The internals do differ somewhat and the best change is the more traditional round steering wheel. I prefer the look and feel of it compared to the squared-off shape of its twin's.

The 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster is set a fair way back on the dashboard and looks disjointed from the rest of the tech. The steering wheel also cuts into my vision of the screen and while I could shift my seating position to better accommodate, I'd be compromising my driving comfort to do so. A head-up display would be welcome here.

The dashboard, doors and seats all feature a grey knit-like fabric that looks warm and inviting but the cabin is elevated by synthetic leather trims throughout. Overall, the cabin is quite pleasant but wouldn’t be out of place on a much more affordable car.

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 cabin is very spacious with generous leg- and headroom. I have plenty of room for my 168cm (5'6") height but my 183cm (6'0") father was also very comfortable in both rows.

The seats in both rows are well-cushioned and up front, the driver’s side has ample support from the two-way powered lumbar. I also like the way both front seats are heated. You could handle a long trip even as a passenger prince/ss.

Individual storage is less generous than you’d expect for the class given you don’t get a glove box but there are still enough nooks and cubbies for some items and a shelf underneath the console can fit a small handbag.

My seven-year old discovered a secret pocket underneath a removeable box in the middle console where Toyota has stored the manual and logbook.

Up front you also get two cupholders, four drink bottle holders (two in each door) and a handy cubby behind the rotary transmission shifter. In the rear you get map pockets, two cupholders and a device holder in the fold-down armrest and a large drink bottle holder in each door.

No complaints from my kid regarding the amenities in the back and he likes having his own directional air vents and reading lights. But it's the 182mm ground clearance we all love because the bZ4X is super easy to get in and out of. Definitely no grunts in this one!

There's no frunk storage but the boot's 421L capacity will suffice for your bigger grocery run or odd trip but the capacity is lower than some rivals. Underneath the level loading space there's a retractable cargo liner, two cable pouches, a first aid kit and the tyre puncture repair kit. I like the powered tailgate on the base model. I find them handy with a kid in tow.

Technology is well-rounded and upmarket. The 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system is responsive and easy to use but the customisations for internal features are a little lacking. The built-in satellite navigation is clear and there is a dedicated Toyota services app, too.

The wireless Apple CarPlay is simple to connect to and I didn't have any dropouts with calls or connections, which is great. There is also wireless connectivity for Android Auto users.

Charging options throughout the car are solid with each row getting two USB-C ports, while the front also features a USB-A port and 12-volt socket. However, there’s no wireless charging pad or V2L (vehicle-to-load) capability which might annoy over long-term use.

There are two variants for the bZ4X range, with the base model tested here being a front-wheel drive and only sporting a single motor. This entry-grade is priced from $66,000, before on-road costs, and the top AWD variant is $74,990 MSRP.

Compared to the bZ4X's single-motor rivals, this price tag positions the Toyota right in the middle for costs with the most affordable rival being the Tesla Model Y RWD for $55,900 MSRP, then the Kia EV6 Air at $72,590 MSRP.

Although very similar, Subaru is offering its base variant as a dual-motored AWD, but for price comparisons it is $69,990 MSRP.

For a base model, you get some solid features like heated front seats, built-in satellite navigation, built-in Toyota connected services app and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The upholstery also features synthetic leather accents rather than just plain black cloth and you get an upgraded JBL sound system.

Like its Subaru twin, only the driver's seat is powered with lumbar support but both feature those heat functions.

Other standard features include keyless entry, push-button start, dual-zone climate control, Bluetooth connectivity, a tyre puncture repair kit and digital radio.

Technology is also rounded out by the 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia screen, 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster and four fast USB-C ports.

There are a few items missing in this variant that feature in a lot of its rivals, which reminds you this is a base model. Things like heated rear outboard seats, a heated steering wheel and a sunroof, all of which would be easy to accept if the car wasn't edging close to $70K.

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 bZ4X base variant is a front-wheel drive and has a single electric motor producing 150kW/256Nm - which sounds a bit schlumpy compared to its rivals but its pick up is great and you don’t feel it's underpowered, even when you’re on the open-road.

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 official energy consumption figure is 16.9kWh/100km and I averaged 16.1kWh over a mix of urban and open-road driving. The consumption is good and on par with some of its rivals but the official driving range from the large 71.4kWh lithium-ion battery is up to 436km, which is lower than most of its rivals by a good portion.

The bZ4X has a Type 2 CCS charging port which means you can benefit from faster DC charging speeds, up to 150kW. On a 150kW DC system you can go from 0-80 per cent in around 40-minutes.

On a 7.0kW AC charger, you can go from 10-100 per cent in 9.5 hours and that drops to seven hours on an 11kW system. All the bZ4X figures are good enough to avoid the inconvenience zone but aren't as fast as some of its competitors.

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.

You don’t often notice this base model is a front-wheel drive until you accelerate too quickly from a standstill and tlose a bit of traction. Otherwise, power delivery is smooth and while you don’t get a tummy-sucking-sensation when you put your foot down the power satisfies for city and open-road driving.

The steering feels light and there's a fair bit of understeer when tackling winding roads. This made the handling a bit lacklustre at times but it’s not too intrusive in an urban environment. Just remind yourself it’s not a performance EV if you ever start thinking ‘fast and furious’ thoughts.

Ride comfort is very good and I’d attribute that to a well-cushioned suspension set-up. While you notice bumps, you’re not bothered by them, even in the back seat. The cabin is peaceful and quiet most of the time but road noise creeps up a lot at higher speeds.

Visibility is excellent and despite a few little things, like the steering, it’s an uncomplicated car to drive.

The bZ4X isn’t too hard to park because the reversing camera is relatively clear but this grade would benefit from the 360-degree view system which is available on the top-grade model. The 4690mm length, 1860mm width and 1650mm height makes it a happy-go-lucky friend in a small car park.

The bZ4X comes with some good standard safety features like a full suite of LED lights (including the DRLs), lane departure alert, lane keeping aid, traffic sign recognition, seatbelt warning, adaptive cruise control as well as a reversing camera supported by front and rear parking sensors.

Unfortunately, the base model misses out on items the top model features like blind-spot monitoring, 'Safe Exit Assist', driver attention monitoring, rear-occupant alert and rear cross-traffic alert. All of which are fairly big-ticket items and available on much more affordable Toyotas.

Still, the bZ4X achieved a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing done in 2022 and has seven airbags, including a front centre bag.

It has AEB with forward collision warning as well as car, pedestrian and cyclist detection which is operational from 5.0-80km/h (and up to 180km/h for car detection).

There are ISOFIX child-seat mounts on the rear outboard seats and three top-tether anchor points. Two child seats will fit best, though.

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.

The bZ4X comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty and the battery is covered by an eight-year or up to 160,000km warranty. Both are usual terms for the class.

There is a five-year or up to 75,000km capped priced servicing plan and annual services cost just $180, which is very competitive.

Servicing intervals are more in line with a fuel-based car at every 12-months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.