As the world grapples with rising fuel prices and environmental concerns, the term ‘range anxiety’ has become increasingly relevant to both electric and conventional vehicle owners in South Africa. Recently, I had the opportunity to embark on a long-distance road trip from Johannesburg to Gqeberha in a Chery Tiggo 7, 8, and 9 PHEV to test their real-world range capabilities.
The trip, which spanned over 1200km, was not an ‘economy’ run, but rather a real-world driving experience with four people per vehicle, including luggage, and navigating through heavy traffic. The Chery PHEV lineup boasts impressive claimed numbers, including fuel consumption figures below 5l/100km, electric ranges of up to 100km, and total driving ranges exceeding 1200km.
How Chery’s PHEVs Perform in Real-World Driving
But how do these lab figures translate to daily driving on local roads? To find out, we compared the manufacturer data for the three PHEV variants against similarly priced internal combustion engine models in the same model families. The South African National Energy Development Institute notes that the country’s energy landscape is rapidly changing, with a growing focus on renewable energy sources.
The Tiggo 7 PHEV leads the pack with a claimed combined fuel consumption of 4.9l/100km, an electric range of about 93km from an 18.3 kilowatt-hour battery, and a total combined range of roughly 1200km. In comparison, the petrol-only Tiggo 7 counterpart returns about 6.9 to 7.2l/100km from a 51-litre tank, giving a single tank range of around 739km.
Key Differences Between PHEV and Petrol Models
The following are some key differences between the Chery PHEV and petrol models:
- Tiggo 7 PHEV: 4.9l/100km, 93km electric range, 1200km total range
- Tiggo 7 petrol: 6.9-7.2l/100km, 739km single tank range
- Tiggo 8 PHEV: 5.2l/100km, 90km electric range, 1200km total range
- Tiggo 8 petrol: 7.2l/100km, 833km single tank range
As noted by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the South African government is committed to reducing the country’s carbon footprint and promoting the use of alternative energy sources.
