Chery Tiggo 9 vs Foton T5

What's the difference?

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.

The T5 EV would be best suited to short-haul city and suburban tasks, with daily back-to-base operations ensuring the convenient and dependable charging infrastructure required (compared to the lottery of public charging). Given Foton’s claim of upfront and operational cost reductions, the T5 EV could be what some commercial fleet managers are looking for. 

Chery has crafted a superb-looking SUV here. Sure, the design isn’t ground-breaking or unique, but styling is beautiful from the large grille and multi-spoke wheels to the chrome framed windows and smooth lines of the tailgate.

Our car was painted in 'Aurora Green', which looks stunning in the sunlight. There’s also 'Cosmic Black', 'Star White' and 'Technical Grey'.

The cabin is super modern and luxurious looking, with only a few physical buttons for the hybrid system and climate control. The leather seats are a lovely high-end touch, and while the level of refinement is not up there with the likes of Audi and Lexus flagships the build quality appears to be good.

The Tiggo 9 stretches 4800mm end to end and is 1930mm wide. That classifies it as a large SUV, albeit not an enormous one. A fairly short wheelbase of 2750mm means the cabin space isn’t as voluminous as you might have thought.

The T5 EV has a 3360mm wheelbase and steel ladder-frame chassis, with a leaf-spring solid front axle, leaf-spring rear axle and rear-wheel drive. Braking is by front discs and rear drums.

Its 81.14kWh of energy capacity is provided by two 60Ah lithium-ion batteries, one on each side, mounted in long parallel cradles. Drivetrain maintenance items, including motor and battery cooling systems, are accessed by unlocking and tilting the hinged cab forward.

The cab offers sufficient head, shoulder and legroom for up to three occupants, including tall people in the often-compromised centre seat. However, the centre seat is only equipped with a lap-belt.

The Chery Tiggo 9 is not overly large and with a relatively short wheelbase the cabin room is adequate but not outstanding. I’m tall at 189cm, but there is still room for me to sit behind my driving position and headroom is good, too. That said, the cabin floor is high which raises the knee height for second row passengers.

The third row is really just for children and for those occasional but unpredictable times when as a parent you’re suddenly thrown into having to transport more kids home or to parties.

Cabin storage is good with door pockets and cupholders front and back, while a large storage area under the centre console is great for loose items or even a handbag or small backpack.

The wireless charger is perfectly situated on top of the console and features a grippy soft surface.

I would have liked more physical dials and buttons for climate and the stereo, which are accessed through the central screen.

Boot space, according to Chery, is larger than it looks, with the manufacturer saying with the third row up there is 143 litres of cargo capacity and with five seats in place it's 819 litres.  

With a maximum claimed kerb weight of 2500kg, the T5 EV has a 2000kg payload rating for car licence operation and up to 3500kg for drivers with a Light Rigid truck licence (these payloads include the weight of service bodies).

Its 8000kg GCM (how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) means car licence drivers can tow up to 3500kg of braked trailer while carrying its maximum payload. For Light Rigid drivers, the maximum trailer weight drops to 2000kg, given the larger payload allowance.

The Pantech body fitted to our test vehicle has twin rear doors, with 270-degree opening and sturdy hooks on the body sides to hold them in place.

Cabin storage includes narrow bins but no bottle-holders in the doors, an overhead storage shelf on the driver’s side, a small compartment with spring-loaded lid in the dash and a single glovebox.

The centre console only offers a single bottle-holder. However, the centre seat backrest folds forward and flat to reveal a small desk on the back of it, complete with a hidden storage compartment and two cup/bottle-holders.

The T5 EV cab-chassis comes equipped with a single electric motor and 81.14kWh battery capacity for MSRP of $139,450 plus GST. 

Standard equipment includes 16-inch alloy wheels (dual rears) with 205/75R16 LT tyres and a full-size spare, seating for three, remote central-locking and height/reach adjustable steering wheel.

There’s also a reversing radar and camera, cabin roof air-deflector, lower rear and side guards, 24-volt dash socket and basic multimedia including radio, Bluetooth and MP3/MP5 connectivity.

The Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid has three electric motors (two at the front and one at the rear), plus a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. The combined output is a whopping 315kW and 580Nm.

A dedicated hybrid transmission sends drive to all four wheels. 

The T5 EV’s single electric motor has a peak power output of 115kW and maximum torque of 300Nm. It also offers two drive modes: ‘Eco’ which minimises energy use with a top speed of 73km/h and ‘Power’ which uses more battery charge but increases top speed to 94km/h (both speeds achieved during our test).

The Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid is a plug-in hybrid. There’s a fuel tank for petrol (95 RON minimum) and a charging flap for you to fill up the 34kWh battery.

Super hybrids are so-called because of their relatively big batteries and longer ranges. Chery says on a full 70-litre tank and charged battery the Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid has a range of 1250km (NEDC). The WLPT range isn’t given but while it will still be impressive it would be less than the NEDC. The same goes for the electric-only range of 170km (NEDC).

If you keep the battery charged, fuel consumption is outstanding. In our short time with the car the trip computer was reporting an average 1.4L/100km, which is exactly the manufacturer's claim.

I noticed that once battery charge fell below 20 per cent the fuel economy worsened to 7.1L/100km.

The battery has a 71kW DC charging capacity however and will fill up fast.  But you will have to top up frequently to get the good fuel economy.   

Foton does not publish an official kWh/100km consumption figure, but claims a fully loaded driving range of 180km from its 81.14kWh battery capacity.

According to the dash readouts at the end of our test, which we did on a single charge, we drove 142km with 38km of estimated range remaining. Our displayed average consumption was 51.3kWh/100km, so based on that figure you could expect a driving range of around 160km, which is less than the dash estimate.

Our testing was conducted without a load (see Driving) but it did include considerable freeway travel required to collect and return the vehicle, so regenerative braking was minimal. And we had to use Power mode to maintain freeway speeds.

Foton claims that DC fast-charging allows for a full recharge in 1.5 hours, while the 11kW onboard AC charger takes 7.2 hours which is suitable to overnight turnarounds.

The Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid drives silently and smoothly with strong acceleration just like an electric car for the most part while in the city at lower speeds.

Hills and higher speeds call on the engine to help but even then the transition is almost imperceptible. 

A comfortable ride with well set up suspension, light and accurate steering make for an impressive and effortless driving experience.

There are downsides, like the brake pedal feel. As in many hybrids there’s a ‘wooden’ sensation and I felt I needed to depress the brake pedal harder and longer to pull up at times. This is a heavy vehicle at 2200kg and brake response could be better.

The active safety tech is also intrusive, as is the case with so many cars these days, but the alerts and warnings can be turned off. 

There are large handles on the windscreen pillars to assist climbing aboard and the driving position offers adequate comfort, with its steering wheel adjustments and left footrest. However, some rake adjustment in the flat base cushion would be welcome, as it can feel like you're sliding forward at times.

The drive selector dial on the console has three settings (Reverse, Neutral, Drive) marked by the letters R-D-N, so it’s simple to use. Because of its near-silent operation at low speeds, the T5 EV is equipped with an audible pedestrian warning system. This activates at speeds below 30km/h and makes a unique sound that defies description.

We drove in Eco mode when not on the freeway and found that its quiet and smooth surge of acceleration was more than adequate for a vehicle weighing more than 2.5 tonnes. We did briefly try the Power mode but did not detect a significant boost in performance.

It has good steering feel (with electric power assistance) and its noticeable lightness at low speeds is appreciated when manoeuvring in tight spots. The brake pedal provides vigorous response and a strong regenerative effect (as displayed on the energy gauge) that optimises battery range.

The instrument display shows drive mode, estimated driving range, battery charge and temperature, energy use, average energy consumption and other useful data relating to drivetrain operation. Useful enhancements would be speed-sign recognition and a clearer image for the reversing camera.

Although almost silent under 60km/h, increased noise at freeway speeds includes some faint drivetrain hum and wind-buffeting around the large door mirrors, which compensate by offering excellent rear vision.

We didn’t get to do our usual GVM test, due to a software glitch in the public charging facilities we arranged to use on the day. Back-to-base operations with in-house charging would avoid these issues.

Includes driver and passenger airbags plus AEB, lane departure warning, hill-start assist, traction control and other active safety features. There’s also the low-speed pedestrian warning system, reversing camera/radar/buzzer, fire extinguisher, unlocked cab warning and more. The lap-belt for the centre passenger seat, though, needs upgrading to a full lap-sash type.

The Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid is covered by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, while the battery has an eight-year unlimited-kilometre warranty.

There’s also roadside assistance and capped price servicing for seven years at $3174, or an average of $453 per year.

Chery's national dealer network consists of 86 sites, including 21 in Melbourne, 20 in Sydney and 12 in Brisbane.

Five years/200,000km warranty plus an eight years/300,000km traction battery warranty. Also 24/7 roadside assist. Scheduled servicing every 12 months/20,000km whichever occurs first. Total scheduled servicing cost for five years/200,000km is $7850 or a pricey average of $1570 per year. No capped-price servicing is offered.