Mercedes-Benz A-Class vs Chery Tiggo 9

What's the difference?

The new AMG C 43 may lack the drama and excitement we’ve come to expect from the German performance brand, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad car. Yes, it could be more extroverted and the ride could be improved, but this is still a sharp-looking sports sedan with loads of punch.

This is a car that speaks to its times, with ever-stricter emissions regulations making it harder and harder for car companies to produce loud, wild and charismatic cars. So Mercedes-AMG has worked within those boundaries and come up with a car that retains at least some of those core elements that has made the brand so desirable over the years.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

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.

Mercedes has created something of a problem for itself with its decision to introduce AMG styling packages for the majority of its range, including the C-Class.

It means the C 43 has to walk a fine line between looking like a unique AMG model, rather than just a C300 with a bodykit and not out-doing the C63.

To that end it has AMG’s now familiar grille with vertical bars, the unique and complex-looking 20-inch alloy rims and a small lip spoiler on the boot. But otherwise it is surprisingly understated for an AMG, lacking the more obvious and muscular stance of previous AMG offerings.

Inside, there’s a similar theme, with the typical Mercedes-Benz luxury appointments but with a sportier, AMG twist. The steering wheel is chunky and comes with AMG branding, metallic shift paddles and a pair of rotary dials/buttons that allow you to alter the various drive modes and settings.

The one on the right allows you to switch between the pre-set Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and Individual modes, while the one on the left can scroll between the various individual aspects to tailor the settings to the conditions.

In typical modern fashion the design is tech-laden, with a digital display for the instrument panel (that can be switched between various graphics) and a large, tablet-style central multimedia touchscreen that controls the majority of the car’s non-driving functions.

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 new C-Class has grown slightly in size compared to the model it replaces, most notably with a 26mm increase in the wheelbase which you can feel in the cabin.

The front seat space is good, with excellent adjustability for the power-adjustable seats and steering column. I had no trouble finding my ideal seating position which makes for a more enjoyable and uncompromised driving experience.

Rear space is a bit tighter (which is typical for this segment/size of vehicle), but thankfully the standard seats do have very deep sculpting in the backs which allow for more knee space and foot room.

However, at approximately 180cm (six-foot), I wouldn’t like to sit behind my seating position for long periods as my knees were touching the seat back, and headroom is compromised with the panoramic glass roof.

In terms of small item storage there’s a lidded console box in between the front seats as well as a pair of cupholders and a small tray where you can place your mobile phone.

It’s worth noting, though, that early examples of the C 43 in Australia do not have a wireless smartphone charging pad, with that reportedly being introduced from February production.

While that’s good news, it’s not really competitive in this day and age to offer a car costing six-figures without such technology.

There’s also only a single USB-C power outlet in the front, which is another disappointment, but there is a pair in the back.

Mercedes does win some points back for a respectable 455-litre boot, which has a nice wide load opening that will make packing luggage easier.

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.  

There is only one grade in the Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid line-up - the Ultimate - and it lists for $59,990. It’s remarkably affordable compared to many rivals and the value is outstanding.

As you might imagine the Ultimate is fully loaded with features.

There are leather seats - powered adjustable, massaging, heated and ventilated in the front, while the second row outboard seats are heated and ventilated, too.

There are big screens - a 15.6-inch media display and a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster as well as a head-up display. There’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav, a 12-speaker Sony sound system and digital radio.

There are LED headlights and tail-lights, 20-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic glass roof, privacy glass and a power tailgate. 

The biggest talking point about this new car is the engine, with AMG downsizing from the old C 43’s six-cylinder to a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine.

But it’s not just any turbocharged four-pot, because it is fitted with technology that Mercedes claims has been inspired directly from its Formula One team.

While the F1 team engine facility is based in England, this engine was designed and developed by the Mercedes-AMG team at its Affalterbach headquarters, but the concept of the electric turbocharger reportedly comes from the engine that powered Lewis Hamilton to multiple world championships.

The electric exhaust gas turbocharger - to give it its official name - uses a small electric motor on the turbocharger shaft to spin up the blades without having to wait for any exhaust gases to pass through it first.

To power the electric turbo the C 43 is equipped with a mild-hybrid 48-volt electrical system.

Mercedes claims this means reduced lag and improved throttle response for a sportier driving experience. 

It also helps make this small engine produce big amounts of performance, with AMG extracting 300kW of power and 500Nm of torque from this 2.0-litre, which is more power than the previous six-cylinder C 43 managed.

The engine is paired to a nine-speed multi-clutch transmission, which isn’t a dual-clutch with a pair of clutches operating on every second gear ratio, but instead uses a “wet start-off clutch” for better take-offs and smoother shifting on the move (at least in theory).

Power is sent to the road via all four wheels thanks to Mercedes’ 4Matic all-wheel drive system.

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. 

Despite the smaller engine you can hardly call the C 43 miserly, with a claimed combined urban/highway cycle rating of 9.1-litres per 100km. That’s only a 0.2L/100km improvement over the old six-cylinder.

On test, which included a return trip from Sydney to Bathurst via motorways and some dynamic back road driving, we saw a return of 11.8L/100km on the car's onboard computer.

While hardly hybrid-worrying, it’s impressive to think that driven modestly, such a potent engine can return a single-digit fuel figure.

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.   

Let’s start with the good news. The new Mercedes-AMG C 43 is a quick car. The engine may be small in size but the electric turbocharger does its thing and provides plenty of punch.

You can get a performance boost, too, thanks to the belt-driven starter generator, which acts as a mild hybrid and gives you a surge of 10kW for a brief period if you need a sudden burst of extra speed.

The chassis is well-sorted, too, at least from a dynamic point-of-view. The rear-wheel steering can provide up to 2.5 degrees of turning, which improves handling at speed and manoeuvrability when parking.

However, there are some less-impressive elements to the C 43, too. The obvious one is the drama, or rather the lack thereof.

As I said at the beginning, the C 43 has never been as wild or raucous as the V8-powered C 63, but when you buy an AMG there’s a rightful expectation that it will provide some thrills.

The C 43 simply doesn’t have that character about it. Yes, it’s fast, but it produces that speed with efficiency rather than excitement.

And it’s not an engine size problem, because even the 2.0-litre four-cylinder A 35 and CLA 35 offer more ‘wow factor’ than the C 43.

Yes, the engine makes noise under acceleration (and it can be altered between discreet and sporty) but even at its best it sounds muted and lacks the evocative tone of a V8 or six-cylinder engine. 

Another disappointment is the transmission calibration, with the gearbox awkwardly shifting out of first gear on multiple occasions during our test drive.

In the taller gears it felt smooth enough cruising along, but given its low speed shifts we’d like to spend more time in the urban environment before passing final judgement. 

The other notable element of the driving experience we struggled with was the ride quality. While fine on the smoother motorways, our test drive included time on some patchy country back roads and the C 43, even in the ‘Comfort’ suspension setting, was simply too firm.

Riding on low profile tyres, the adaptive dampers struggled to isolate the cabin from the imperfections in the road, leading to a fussy ride at times.

Overall the C 43 is a good car, but it feels like there are still some areas where Mercedes could improve it to make it really live up to the AMG badge.

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. 

The Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid hasn’t been assessed by ANCAP yet, but the safety tech is in abundance with everything from AEB, front and rear cross-traffic alerts with braking, lane keeping assistance and blind-spot warning.

For child seats there are three top tether anchor points and two ISOFIX points in the second row only.

There are also 10 airbags onboard.

I’ve mentioned the intrusive safety alerts in the driving section, and while they can be turned off, they can also be life saving.

The C 43 is covered by Mercedes’ five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, which has become the new standard for the luxury car market.

Service intervals for the car are at 12 months/25,000km, which is on par with industry standard.

Mercedes-Benz Australia will offer a service plan for the C 43, prices were yet to be confirmed at the time of publication but the company has indicated it will be similar to the C300. 

That means $550 for year one, $900 for year two, the third service costs $1000 and the fourth year service costs $2450 - for a total of $4900 for the first four years of ownership.

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.