Chery Tiggo 8 PRO MAX vs Suzuki Jimny

What's the difference?

This mid-sized seven-seat SUV segment is dominated by just a handful of nameplates, and it’s easy to see how some of them might be under threat by something like the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max.

There are a few areas where it could use some fine-tuning, but these are mainly restricted to being pedantic about the drive experience. There are no dealbreakers here as there often can be for low-cost alternatives, and so long as you’re primarily putting kids in the back seats, this Tiggo is well equipped, comfortable, plush, and surprisingly refined.

With a robust ownership proposition as well, it’s hard to see why you wouldn’t consider one of these if you’re shopping in the seven-seat SUV space - and that's why this could be Chery's shot at the big leagues.

If you currently own a three-door Jimny and expect the XL to provide you with much beyond a more spacious second row (or luggage compartment overall), it might be best to hold on to what you’ve got.

And if you don’t own a Jimny and want one, there’s not much I reckon I’d be able to say to stop you if the resolve of anyone I know who’s ended up buying one is anything to go by.

If you’re a ‘get out on the weekend’ kind of person but you live a city Monday-to-Friday, it’s hard to look past the Jimny for simplicity, fun, and a competitive price.

Not to mention, of course, that it is also just so bloody cute.

The Tiggo 8 Pro Max just looks like a mid-size SUV. Perhaps if you calculated the average design cues of every mid-size SUV on the market, this would be what you end up with.

Of all the Chinese automakers currently in the market though, the Tiggo range of SUVs are the least controversial. There’s no weird theme to the design, there’s no bizarre light fittings or controversial angles. You could stick a badge on this car from any Korean or Japanese brand and you wouldn’t think twice about it.

It doesn’t say much for innovation, but I think it will very much work in this car's favour. It provides a much more globally appealing look when compared to the controversial design of BYD products, the crazy grilles and badging on GWM products, or the derivative style of the MG range.

For this reason it won’t turn heads at the school drop-off, but that’s perfect for families who want to run incognito and would normally buy a conservative mainstream SUV from Toyota or Mitsubishi.

Inside things get a bit more interesting. The Tiggo 8 has a contemporary design, complete with a high-riding bridge-style console, and the dual-screens are encased in a single housing that spans half the length of the dash.

It’s ambitious too, with generous amounts of soft-touch surfaces and synthetic leather finishes. Clearly, it’s inspired by others in the industry. The dual-screen layout is very Hyundai or Kia via Mercedes, while the Benz influence extends to the wood grain-look plastic inserts and even the little silver finishes covering the speakers up. Rather than a naff knock-off though, the Chery interior genuinely feels its own space.

The only areas that you can see through the facade to a car built-to-a price is in a handful of places. The steering wheel buttons, for instance, feel a bit cheap, and when it comes to those big screens, the resolution isn’t as high as you might expect, and the processing isn’t as fast as it could be, leading to a slightly laggy experience.

Still, the same can be said for many mainstream manufacturers, and at least Chery’s native software has been localised and is easy to navigate. Also, none of this stops the Chery from feeling properly plush on the inside. It was also seemingly pretty well put together, free of rattles, switchgear with too much play, or nasty hollow plastics.

First impressions are good.

There will be no prizes for a ‘spot the difference’ between the Jimny and the Jimny XL. 

You may have spotted the extra doors (and the subsequent longer body, 3965mm over 3645mm, a 320mm increase according to the spec sheet), but did you spot the chrome accents in the Jimny’s grille? 

That’s right, it’s not just the doors… it’s the doors and the grille.

Of course, some more changes naturally follow the new body style - it’s rear-most side windows are now much narrower, though the second-row windows do a lot to prevent losing any visibility, and the longer side silhouette looks a little more ‘grown up’.

Even then, the Jimny XL is shorter than a five-door Mini hatch by 58mm, and only 50mm longer than a Mazda MX-5.

The Jimny’s body elements still remain the same though, down to the 15-inch alloy wheels, plus the spare on the back. It’s also shares its 1725mm height and 1645mm width with the three-door, although its wheelbase is now 2590mm instead of 2250mm.

Inside, the rugged nature of the 4WD blends with a little bit of youthful modern design. The steering wheel is borrowed from other Suzuki models like the Swift, and the big dial housing has a fun retro vibe.

The interior is also thoughtfully designed, but it needs to compete with user-friendly cars like the Honda CR-V and Nissan X-Trail in this segment.

The front occupants are treated to a reasonably spacious cabin, which for the driver is quite adjustable, although the design of the dash means it sticks out into the front passenger’s knee area. Head and shoulder space is impressive, and everywhere you put your arms or knees there’s a soft-clad finish rather than hard plastic to greet you.

As already mentioned, the software isn’t half bad when it comes to ease-of-use, however the lack of tactile toggles or dials for the climate unit is a bit of a miss. It has its own dedicated set of touch controls below the screen itself, but they provide no tactile feedback, so are a little hard to use while on the move.

Storage is great, with large pockets and bottle-holders in the doors, a further two bottle holders in the centre console, a wireless phone charger, and a neat little set of drive mode buttons and a digital shift lever within easy reach.

The bridge-style console also offers a large pass-through area underneath for the storage of larger items, and there’s a deep centre armrest console box, too.

The second row is quite versatile, offering rail adjustment for the base, so you can maximise the room available to the third row if need be.

Second-row occupants (with the seats set to a decent position for myself at 182cm tall) have plenty of knee room and plenty of headroom, and the doors open nice and wide for the loading of objects or people.

Storage includes large pockets on the backs of the front seats, a bottle holder in each door, and a further two in the drop-down armrest. There is a set of adjustable air vents on the back of the centre console, with both a USB-A and USB-C port for power delivery.

The third row is a bit more challenging. I had to contort myself to get in with the second row seat either slid forward or folded flat. Once I was in there, I was surprised to find I fit, but only just.

My knees were hard up against the seat in front, while my head was touching the roof. Mercifully, I had enough room to slide my feet under the seat in front, otherwise it would’ve been too tight. It’s passable for adults then, but only in a pinch, and you wouldn’t want to be back there for long. No problem if you’re just putting kids back there though.

The third row gets air vents on either side with an independent fan speed controller on the mid-grade Elite and top-spec Ultimate, and there’s a useful storage tray, and small bottle holder on each side. You don’t get USB ports, but there’s a 12 volt outlet available just behind the rear seats in the boot.

On the topic of the boot, it is not as large as I was hoping, but then neither is the car itself.

The boot measures 479 litres with the second-row up, or just 117-litres with all seven seats deployed. It’s smaller than some mid-size rivals, but not enough for it to be a dealbreaker. We’ll get it back for a longer test to see what does and does not fit.

The floor is quite high to facilitate those fold-flat rear seats, and there’s a small under-floor storage tray where you can hide the retractable luggage cover on the Urban and Elite variants. Unfortunately the Ultimate gets a subwoofer here.

All variants get a space-saver spare wheel mounted outside underneath the car, so at least you don’t need to deal with a tyre repair kit.

If practicality to you means plenty of spaces to put things or a lot of little additional features, you’re going to be disappointed by the Jimny XL’s cabin. But if you see it more as a ‘could be hosed out if something goes horribly wrong’ type of thing, then I have good news for you.

Okay, don’t hose out your Jimny, but the hard-wearing basic materials are clearly here to accommodate mess. We’re talkin’ plastic, we’re talkin’ cloth, we’re talkin’... plastic. Yep, not much in the way of soft-touch or supple armrests, but you wouldn’t want to accidentally tear a leather seat with a tent peg, would you?

In terms of actual ergonomics and user-friendliness, the Jimny scores pretty well once you’re across some of the slightly odd elements.

Its front window controls are below the climate controls, rather than with the rear window controls, for example, which I assume is due to the second-row windows not being part of the original design. 

There’s also not a huge amount of storage space, front or rear, for anything other than small items or the usual drink bottles.

Fortunately, the big change for the XL is noticeable. Being able to get in and out of the second row is now easier thanks to, you guessed it, doors! 

And once you’re in there, even if you’re an adult, you’ll find yourself in a space that you could probably survive a road trip in, even if loading up a tiny ladder-frame SUV with more than two people for a long drive should at least attract some kind of fine or other minor punishment. You literally couldn’t have five people in the Jimny, though, as it’s only a four-seater.

If you needed a reminder of how tiny the Jimny is even in XL form, the luggage space is listed as 332 litres, which is less than a Hyundai i30 hatchback by 63 litres.

Oh, and that’s with the seats down. Up? You get 211L of luggage space, which is about as much as a Mini Hatch.

What features does it come with, you ask? Not many - but that’s kind of the point in a mid-$30K off-roader, isn’t it?

While you can pick up a Jimny XL from $34,990 before on-road costs with a five-speed automatic, our four-speed auto here on test starts from $36,490. 

The list of accessories and parts Suzuki offers for the Jimny is extensive and allows you to essentially build your perfect little weekend getaway ride, but here I’ll focus on the standard gear rather than listing every type of cargo rack or body protection you can add-on.

The Jimny XL comes with a 9.0-inch multimedia touchscreen, up from the three-door’s 7.0-inch unit, which also adds wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

It has a four-speaker sound system up from two in the standard Jimny, and it’s also the only Jimny that gets adaptive cruise control.

Just about everything else is standard Jimny fare - it’s got LED headlights, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera that does the job but isn’t crystal clear, a USB port and 12V outlets in the centre console and in the rear luggage compartment, plus physical dials and a digital display for the driver.

There is only one engine option in the Tiggo 8 Pro Max range, a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol unit that produces 180kW/375Nm.

No matter which variant you choose, it’s also mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The Urban and Elite variants are front-wheel drive, while the Ultimate scores a Borg-Warner-sourced all-wheel-drive system with additional off-road drive modes.

The outputs are more than competitive with a lot of rivals, but there’s no fuel-saving hybrid option in the line-up just yet. It’s something Chery wants to add in the future.

Especially for Australia, the folks at Chery also made sure to get the Tiggo 8 Pro Max certified to tow. It can do that at up to 1300kg braked, or 750kg unbraked.

The Jimny XL uses the same 1.5-litre, naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine as the original.

It only makes 75kW and 130Nm, and even though the Jimny is a relatively light SUV (actually, relatively light for a car in general), it still doesn’t quite feel like enough for hauling around 1200kg of 4X4 plus a person or two.

The 2.0-litre turbo engine has an official/combined consumption rating of 8.1L/100km for the front-wheel drive variants, or 8.7L/100km for the all-wheel drive Ultimate.

On our drive route for the day which took place on curvy country roads and expressways, my Ultimate all-wheel-drive test example produced a figure of 9.5L/100km which seems reasonable.

Unfortunately the engine also requires mid-shelf 95RON unleaded fuel, so this will push your running costs up slightly.

The Tiggo 8 Pro Max has a 57-litre fuel tank, indicating an estimated maximum cruising range of 703km for FWD variants.

Suzuki claims the Jimny XL, with the four-speed automatic transmission as tested, should consume 6.9L/100km on the combined cycle - the manual uses a claimed 6.4L, both figures are the same as the three-door equivalents.

On test, with primarily inner-urban and city commute driving, I saw the XL use 9.4L/100km. Anyone frequenting stop-start traffic can expect similarly high figures and, even though many owners will see lower figures, achieving the claimed 6.9L would be a solid effort even on long highway drives.

Cars from Chinese brands often fall short of expectations when it comes to the drive experience, but the Tiggo 8 Pro Max moves everything in the right direction, and importantly it doesn’t add any deal-breaking characteristics along the way.

Visibility is great out of the cabin, with large windows all-round. The wing mirrors are great, but the centre rear-vision mirror is a quirky piece with a wide viewing angle. In a way this is great for parents, because with one glance you can see both out the rear of the vehicle and the rear seats to keep an eye on kids, but it does mess with your depth perception a bit.

On multiple occasions I felt like the car behind was tailgating, only to peer in the side mirrors to find that it was actually quite far back. Odd!

The steering is very light, and a bit disconnected as a result. While this sounds like a negative, I actually think suburban buyers who often negotiate with shopping centre parking lots, apartment towers, and school drop-offs will love it. It makes a big SUV feel really easy to steer and position.

Sure, it feels a bit doughy out on the open road, meaning it's hardly a confident corner-carver, but that’s not really the point of this car.

The engine on the other hand has loads of poke. Power of 180kW sounds like a lot because it is (once upon a time not so long ago this was well into V6 territory) and actually for the front-wheel-drive versions it might be a little bit too much power. It will readily spin the front wheels with slightly too much throttle input, which brings us nicely to the dual-clutch automatic which is responsible for communicating that power to the ground.

Dual clutches rightly raise a bit of a red flag for some because they can be particularly jerky from a standstill and have some pretty questionable gear shifts once you’re rolling. For the most part though, the Tiggo 8’s dual-clutch unit is pretty good. The brand stressed that it had done significant software tuning to this transmission to try to iron out nasty characteristics, and while it's still occasionally caught off-guard, I’ve certainly driven worse. It will occasionally produce a bucking feeling rather than a full second of lag like some rivals, but its enthusiasm to deliver power to the ground quickly gives the front-drive versions that slightly skittish feel.

It is one of those rare occasions when it’s worth splashing for the all-wheel drive. I found the Ultimate to be much more sure-footed and confident on the road, able to handle the engine’s relatively mountainous torque with ease.

On the open road I was impressed by the Tiggo 8’s level of refinement. The amount of sound entering the cabin in both variants was low, with minimal tyre roar or wind noise. Thuds from the suspension and roar from the engine under load were also pleasingly distant, even at freeway speeds.

When it comes to the ride it’s built to a certain cadence. It’s soft and comfortable, matching the semi-luxurious cabin feel nicely, but it can be a bit springy and lose a bit of body control over undulations and corrugations. Again, it’s not exactly an athlete, but then for most people, it won’t have to be.

Importantly, it filters out sharper bumps like potholes, road imperfections, and speed bumps with relative ease. It’s even better in the 2WD versions thanks to larger tyres and smaller alloy wheels.

Mercifully, the active safety systems don’t intrude on the driving experience either. Chery has apparently learned some hard lessons after the feedback it received on the overbearing lane assist equipment on the smaller Omoda 5, and applied those learnings here in the Tiggo 8.

The lane systems are still there, but they only intervene when they really have to, while warning chimes from things like the traffic sign recognition, blind spot monitoring, and driver attention alert are, at worst, background. It’s a good thing too because of all the systems, the driver attention alert is the one that triggers most often as you look away from the road to adjust the touch-based climate systems.

Where does that leave us? Actually pretty impressed. The Tiggo 8 Pro Max might not have the balancing act between ride quality and performance quite as well tuned as some of its Japanese and Korean rivals, but this is a comfortable, quiet, and refined SUV that, importantly, feels very normal. There’s no deal-breaking safety bugs, or a terrible transmission or frustrating software that takes away from the experience. Chery is learning, and it’s learning fast.

The Jimny might be a little bit more work than you’re used to if you’re swapping out of a hatchback or small city SUV.

That’s not meant to sound like a scathing criticism, either, because despite its cutesy appearances and (whether intended or not) appeal to young inner-city types, the Jimny is a ladder-frame chassis off-roader. And it drives like one.

During my time with the Jimny XL, each Instagram story I posted would garner at least a couple of responses in the vein of ‘What’s it like?’ or ‘Should I buy one?’ from people in their late 20s and 30s who I’m 70 per cent sure wouldn’t care much for off-roading.

Most of my responses were probably disappointing to them, because it drives like a small 4X4 and if you’re going to get annoyed by steering corrections, vibrations and noise, it might not be for you. 

But if the little Zuki’s off-road ability (or even just its irresistibly endearing looks) are appealing enough to you, the Suzuki is a fairly easy steer once it becomes second nature. In fact, its engaging nature is part of what makes the Jimny fun to drive. 

Reacting to strong winds or changing road surfaces should be familiar to those who grew up driving older, more rudimentary cars, and even though there’s a fairly noticeable ‘dead’ spot in the centre of the Jimny’s steering, it means you’re able to more subtly adjust (quite regularly, you may find) the steering wheel to keep aligned in your lane.

The suspension can feel a little soft and ‘jostly’ - lean to the side while you’re stopped at an intersection and you’ll feel the Jimny lean too - it’s also a decent reason to be a little cautious with your speed around corners. The Jimny will let you know if you’re going too quickly.

Sure, the longer wheelbase of the XL should help with stability over the three-door, but the nature of the Jimny doesn’t exactly encourage you to find out how much more stable exactly. But it’s fortunately not so much bigger that it sacrifices its advantage over most other off-roaders.

Its ability to get around inner-city areas in the Jimny is a plus if you live urban but need something that can head off-road on weekends - the XL is still relatively small compared to anything else that’s intended for the trails. It feels perfectly comfortable in Melbourne’s laneways and underground car parks in the CBD… as long as you’re okay with how heavy the steering can feel at low speeds.

For trips out of the city where you’ll be getting the Jimny’s tyres a bit dirty (hopefully, it’s what it was built for), just know that the Jimny doesn’t feel its best at highway speed. Its 75kW is pushed to its limit, 130Nm doesn’t inspire great overtaking confidence, its steering and suspension don’t feel massively dialled-in, and the four-speed automatic transmission has a whine to it that’ll bring back memories of watching the V8 Supercars cut laps in 2002.

But like I said, if you’re not looking for a car that’ll use sensors to sit you in the dead-centre of your lane while a leather seat massages your back, the Jimny’s simple nature is endearing, and most of the time quite fun.

As a side note, CarsGuide’s off-road expert Marcus Craft has published an in-depth off-road test of the Jimny XL, and gave it a thumbs up as a capable vehicle for tricky trails - it’s worth reading or watching if you’re considering the Jimny as an adventure companion.

While the Jimny’s safety features are fairly rudimentary and the XL hasn’t been specifically tested, there are some good points to the Jimny that might help potential owners decide if it’s the right decision for them.

First, the standard three-door Jimny was crash tested in 2019 and scored three stars, primarily due to its lack of active safety features.

That lack of safety features remains for the Jimny XL, requiring drivers to be alert and react to hazards of their own volition, but if the XL’s occupant protection is anything like the three-door version (which scored 73 per cent for adult occupant protection and 84 per cent for children), it should do a decent job of keeping passengers safe in most nasty situations.

The XL comes with front, side and curtain airbags, ABS, electronic braking assist, stability control, traction control, hill hold and descent control, AEB, lane departure warning, weaving alert and rear parking sensors.

It’s missing some active gear like lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring or driver monitoring.

Chery offers its line-up with seven years and unlimited kilometres of warranty, seven-years of capped-price servicing, and seven years of roadside assist.

The roadside assist is topped up on a 12 monthly basis so long as you service with Chery. At the time of writing, Chery was yet to provide costings for its capped-price servicing program, but if it follows the same scheme as the Omoda 5 and Tiggo 7, it will be competitive.

The Jimny XL’s covered by Suzuki’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, with intervals every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

The services range from costing $349 to $589, but average out at $453 per service. You’ll spend $2265 servicing your Jimny XL over its first five years, assuming you do it by the books (as they’re currently written).