Toyota RAV4 vs Chery Tiggo 8

What's the difference?

The Toyota RAV4 is arguably Australia’s darling and has been for years. It’s long set the benchmark in the mid-size SUV segment - a position rivals like the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage and Mazda CX-5 would love to occupy.

It’s also been close to a decade since we’ve seen anything new from the RAV4, so expectations for this sixth-generation update are understandably high. For this family review, we’re testing the flagship Cruiser Hybrid 2WD, which brings the most features and the biggest price tag in the line-up.

On paper, it promises meaningful upgrades, particularly in technology and refinement, while holding onto the practicality and efficiency that made it so popular in the first place.

But with stronger competition and rising expectations in this segment, the question is no longer whether the RAV4 is good, it’s whether it’s done enough to stay at the top.

Once upon a time, not very long ago, there were tough choices to make when it came to buying a seven-seat SUV. Did you want lots of space? A hybrid? Or, for it to be affordable?

In a move that will no doubt horrify old favourites, Chery’s new Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid sets out to prove you can have all of these things at once.

Offering seven seats in an ideal upper mid-sized format, complete with a plug-in hybrid system at the price of a combustion rival, the Tiggo 8 ticks too many boxes to count.

Is it too good to be true? We went to its Australian launch to find out.