What's the difference?
Remember when electric vehicles were the next big thing? Well they still are, it's just that hybrids are making a huge comeback and have entered a new era of the super hybrid. These are plug-in hybrids with enormous driving ranges and Chery’s just arrived Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid is one of these.
The Tiggo 9 is a large seven-seater SUV that competes with the likes of plug-in versions of the Hyundai Palisade and GWM Tank 500, only for less money.
The value is excellent, but how does the Tiggo 9 score in other areas such as the way it drives, its practicality and safety, or its styling and interior feel?
We found out in this first Australian drive.
Replacing a popular model is fraught with danger. Existing customers will tell you they love it, while focus groups of non-customers will tell you why they hate it and sometimes carmakers get caught trying to appease both groups.
Sometimes they’ll make it too big or change too much in the search for more sales and ultimately end up removing the elements that made it popular in the first place.
Which is why Audi has been extra careful with some subtle evolution for this new-generation Q3 SUV and Sportback. This isn’t just a popular model for Audi Australia, it has been the best-selling model for the German brand for more than five years, so getting it wrong would be a disaster.
The Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid is outstanding in many ways, especially value and the way it drives. I can only stress the importance of charging this vehicle frequently, however, otherwise it will go from super hybrid to super fuel consumer.
So is this new Q3 good enough to remain Audi’s number one choice? In a word, yes.
Audi has resisted the temptation that some brands fall into by making too many changes to a proven sales performer. This new Q3 isn’t radically different from the old Q3, but it has improved in almost every way.
It isn’t different enough to widely expand its appeal to a new wave of customers, but there’s no reason it won’t remain Audi’s most popular choice for the foreseeable future.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.