Chery Tiggo 4 Review: Australia's Cheapest SUV, Here's the Honest Take

Cost: The Cheapest Way Into a New SUV

The Tiggo 4 lineup is refreshingly simple: two petrol grades and two hybrids. Prices below are before on-road costs.

That $21,750 starting price makes it the cheapest SUV in the country, undercutting even the GWM Haval Jolion and the MG ZS. But the variant we'd point most people at is the Ultimate petrol at $24,600, because it adds the leather-look trim, bigger screen and ambient lighting that make the cabin feel special, for not much more money. If your driving is mostly urban, the Hybrid from $27,500 is the clever long-term play.

Design: Bigger-Looking Than It Is

In the metal the Tiggo 4 carries itself like a larger, pricier SUV. The tall nose, the big diamond-pattern grille and the full-width lighting give it real road presence, and in silver it looks clean and modern rather than cheap. At roughly 4,307mm long on a 2,610mm wheelbase it's a true compact SUV, so it's easy to place and park, but the upright stance disguises that well. Ground clearance of 168mm (175mm on the hybrid) is fine for kerbs and gravel, not for serious off-roading.

Interior: This Is Where It Wins

Sit inside the Ultimate and the price stops making sense, in a good way. There's a large central touchscreen running a clean, modern interface, a crisp digital driver display, and a layered dashboard lifted by a strip of blue ambient lighting that runs across the cabin. The leather-look seats are comfortable and supportive, the chunky steering wheel feels good in the hand, and the rotary gear selector and tidy centre console give it a properly upmarket look. Material quality is the big surprise: soft-touch surfaces where it matters, with the harder plastics kept low and out of the way.

It's not flawless. The infotainment software is functional rather than slick, and the driver-assistance systems can chime eagerly until you dig into the menus and dial them back. But nothing about the way this cabin looks or feels says "cheapest SUV in Australia," and that's the whole point.

Practicality: Roomy Up Front, Cosy in the Back

Front-seat space is genuinely generous, with plenty of head and shoulder room and big door bins. The rear is where the compact footprint shows: there's enough leg and knee room for kids or two adults on the school run and around town, but three across or a long trip with tall passengers is a squeeze. ISOFIX points are there for child seats, and the rear doors open wide enough for easy access with a capsule. For a couple or a small family it's well judged; larger families should sit in the back before committing.

The boot is a usefully square, flat-floored space that easily swallows a week's shopping, a pram, or a couple of soft bags, and the rear seats fold to free up more room for the trips a small SUV actually does. It's everyday-practical rather than class-leading, but it does the job without drama.

Driving: Relaxed, Not Racy

On the road the Tiggo 4 is tuned for comfort, and it suits the car. The ride is soft and absorbent over Australian suburban roads, the steering is light and easy for parking, and the cabin is impressively quiet at city speeds. The 108kW/210Nm petrol Ultimate has enough pull for daily driving and merging, though the CVT makes itself heard if you ask for a hard overtake. It's a car that's happiest wafting along rather than being hustled.

Step up to the Hybrid and the character changes for the better. Its combined 150kW/310Nm gives it a genuine surge of low-down torque, so it feels noticeably livelier off the line and more relaxed at highway speed, while staying just as quiet and smooth. If your budget stretches, the hybrid is the more satisfying car to drive as well as the more economical one.

Efficiency & Running Costs

The petrol claims 7.4L/100km, which works out to roughly $2,110 a year in fuel over 15,000km at $1.90/L, reasonable for a petrol SUV. The hybrid is the standout at a claimed 5.4L/100km, dropping that to about $1,540 a year, a saving of nearly $600 every year that widens the more city driving you do. Both run a 51-litre tank for long range between fills, servicing is a relaxed 12 months or 15,000km, and the unlimited-kilometre warranty means high-distance drivers stay covered.

Safety

The petrol Tiggo 4 holds a 5-star ANCAP rating dated 2023, with autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist and adaptive cruise standard. At the time of writing the newer Hybrid grades were not separately ANCAP-rated in our data, so if a current 5-star rating is essential to you, confirm the hybrid's status with the dealer before you buy. The active-safety suite is comprehensive; as noted, the calibration of the warnings can be eager until you set them to taste.

Rivals: The Value SUV Fight

The closest rival is the MG ZS, which matches the Tiggo on price and hybrid availability and counters with a longer 10-year warranty, though the Chery's Ultimate cabin feels the more upmarket of the two. The GWM Haval Jolion is the other value heavyweight, slightly larger with its own unlimited-km warranty. Against the mainstream, the Toyota Yaris Cross hybrid is more efficient and holds its value better, but costs meaningfully more and feels smaller inside. The Tiggo's pitch is simple: more car, nicer cabin, less money.

Still deciding? See where it ranks in our best small SUVs guide and the best cars under $30k.

Should You Buy It?

After driving it, the Tiggo 4 makes a lot of sense for the money. It's quiet, comfortable, easy to live with, and the Ultimate's interior is the genuine star, the kind of cabin that makes you double-check the price tag. It's not the sharpest thing to drive, the rear seat is cosy, and prospective hybrid buyers should confirm the latest safety rating, but none of that undoes the value.

Our pick is the Ultimate petrol at $24,600 for the cabin and the proven 5-star rating, or the Hybrid Urban at $27,500 if low running costs and the livelier drive matter more to you. Either way, the Chery Tiggo 4 proves that "cheapest" no longer has to mean "basic," and that's a genuinely good thing for Australian buyers.