Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid vs Honda CR-V e:HEV RS

Both of these are five-seat mid-size SUVs wearing their respective brand's most advanced hybrid tech and their longest equipment lists. The gap is the price.

Chery Tiggo 7 (drive-away):

Honda CR-V (drive-away):

We are pitting the flagship of each range against the other, because that is the only way into the best hybrid system each brand sells. The range-topping Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Ultimate lands at roughly $43,990 drive-away. The CR-V e:HEV RS is roughly $59,900. That is a $16,000 gap, which is a serious chunk of money. The rest of this comparison is really one question: does the Honda earn it?

Good news first: both cars carry a maximum five-star ANCAP rating, and both come with eight airbags including a front-centre airbag and a driver's knee airbag, plus ISOFIX points and top tethers on the outboard rear seats.

Where they differ is the detail. The Tiggo 7 is the newer design and scores higher on ANCAP's safety-assist criteria thanks to extras like a door-opening warning, rear-occupant detection and a more aggressive driver-attention monitor. The CR-V scores higher on the physical crash-test side, with stronger results for adult and child occupant protection.

The bigger real-world gap is calibration. The CR-V's Honda Sensing suite is the more polished of the two: it sits quietly in the background and rarely nags. The Chery's systems work and have improved a lot, but the lane-keeping still tugs at the wheel trying to centre itself, the adaptive cruise can brake for gentle bends it does not need to, and the attention monitor fires too eagerly the moment you glance at the touchscreen. None of it is dangerous, but the Honda is the less tiring car to live with.

Both are generously equipped. Shared kit includes 18-inch alloys, LED lighting, keyless entry, a power tailgate, synthetic leather, heated front seats, a panoramic sunroof, dual-zone climate with rear vents, wireless charging and a wireless-capable phone connection.

The Chery counters the price gap with hardware: ventilated front seats on top of the heating, and twin 12.3-inch screens that dwarf the Honda's 10.2-inch cluster and 9.0-inch infotainment display. On paper the Tiggo wins the spec sheet.

In use it is closer than that. The Honda's smaller screens are clearer, better laid out and far less prone to glare, with a logical menu, physical climate dials and an actual volume knob. The Chery puts climate behind a haptic panel that washes out in sunlight, and its CarPlay connection was hit-and-miss for us where the Honda's was rock solid. Both run eight-speaker Bose audio, but the CR-V layers in active noise cancelling that makes the cabin the quieter place to be.

This is the heart of the difference. The Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid is a genuine plug-in hybrid: a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four paired with a single electric motor and an 18.4kWh LFP battery, good for a claimed 93km of EV-only range (NEDC). The CR-V e:HEV RS is a series hybrid with a 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated four, two motors and a small battery you never plug in, for a combined 135kW and 335Nm.

Chery's 1.4L/100km claim is technically true and practically meaningless, because plug-in hybrids are measured starting with a full battery. The number that matters is how you actually use it. In everyday town driving you can realistically cover around 50km on the battery alone, which is more than the average Australian daily commute. Charge it at home each night and you could go weeks between servo visits.

But leave it to fend for itself, never plug in, and the petrol engine does the heavy lifting, especially on the highway. Over a week of doing exactly that, the two cars landed within a whisker of each other: around 5.2L/100km for the Tiggo and about 5.6L/100km for the Honda, which was almost spot-on its claim. So the Chery's efficiency advantage is real, but only if you commit to plugging it in. If you will not, you are carrying a heavy battery for no payoff.

Both get the family-SUV fundamentals right: room for five, comfortable and supportive front seats, good visibility, rear air vents, USB ports and a fold-down centre armrest.

The CR-V is the slightly larger car on a longer wheelbase, and it shows in two ways: a bit more rear-seat space and a much bigger boot, 561L versus 475L. Its rear wheel arches and transmission tunnel are a touch more intrusive, though, where the Tiggo has a flatter floor that makes three-across back there easier.

Material quality and console design tip to the Honda, which feels the more solidly screwed-together cabin. The Chery hits back with clever touches: extra storage under the console big enough for a small bag, and a glass-hammer/seatbelt-cutter built in, which is genuinely useful in an emergency. Dimensions are close, but the Honda's extra length translates into the more usable family space.

On the surface the Chery looks like the cheaper car to own: a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty against Honda's five years, plus longer 15,000km service intervals versus the CR-V's 10,000km.

Dig in and it evens out. The Tiggo's roadside assistance only runs for the first 12 months, then re-activates each year only if you keep servicing within Chery's network. And the more complex plug-in hybrid powertrain costs more to maintain: roughly $453 a year against the CR-V's $199, which is about $3,174 versus $995 over seven years. Honda also offers up to three bonus warranty years (taking it to eight) if you service on schedule within its network.

The bigger ownership number is depreciation. RedBook expects the CR-V to hold about 58.5% of its value after three years; the Tiggo around 38%. In dollars, a CR-V bought today is tipped to be worth roughly $35,000 in three years, the Tiggo around $17,000. That resale gap claws back a large slice of the Honda's higher sticker, which is the single most important thing to weigh if you do not keep cars forever.