Chinese crossover Chery Tiggo was originally copied from Toyota RAV4. For the first time in Russia, these Chinese crossovers appeared in 2005. Some cars were brought disassembled and assembled already on Avtotor in Kaliningrad.

Now these cars are already selling in the secondary market, and we will examine in more detail the feasibility of buying this Chinese used car.

Corrosion resistance at Tiggo is not at a high level, these cars rust over time in much the same way as our Frets. The metal is not galvanized and where chips appear, the metal begins to bloom, which means that after about 6 years rust can grow in full. Therefore, it is vital for this machine to additionally apply an anti-corrosion coating.

The bumpers are made of cheap plastic, which is not very strong and can crack if you slightly hook on something. At the car wash one should also be more careful, because a high-pressure washer can discard paint from mirrors and bumpers with water.

Salon

In the cabin is in full swing used simple hard plastic, it starts to squeak very quickly, besides this, additional noise is created by door locks, which quickly loosen. Also the seats, whose fabric is thin enough, creak, so it tears easily, loses its shape, quickly gets rubbed out and gets dirty. So time is not good for the Tiggo salon, even the polyurethane foam inside the seats is crushed. But it is good that a new phenol odor has already disappeared from new cars.

The steering wheel, too, from time to time does not look very nice, because the plastic peels off and is erased. The gear lever, especially the mechanical one, also becomes bald quickly and looks worn.

The electronics in this car is simple, so there are no special problems with it, unless, tape recorder can act up and windows with time to fail. Replacing the tape recorder will cost $ 200, and the restoration of window regulators - $ 80. Also, over time, the stove fan can start loudly making noise - the new fan motor costs $ 100. The heater radiator also quickly becomes clogged with deposits, it must be periodically washed out, but over time it will still have to be changed to a new one, which costs $ 75, but in order for this radiator to become less clogged, it is necessary to fill in more quality antifreeze.

Motors

Mitsubishi 4G6 motors installed on Cherie Tiggo are over 30 years old. There are engines with a volume of 2 and 2.4 liters, they have the same disease: weak bearings on the alternator - after 70,000 km. There is a buzz, meaning that it's time to change these bearings.

If you pour low-quality oil, and even with a delay, then valve hydraulics will quickly fail, the life of which does not exceed 100,000 km. run if you change the oil on time and fill quality. Hydropushers are inexpensive - $ 8 apiece, the main thing is not to allow them to jam, because then they pull the valves, which means that you have to put a new cylinder head, which costs $ 700.

But there is also a more expensive development of events due to the peculiarities in the design of these motors. But this is more for inattentive owners. In these engines, on the balancing shafts there are bearing bushings that work without excess lubrication, so you should ensure that the oil level in the crankcase is normal, otherwise the bearings without the required amount of oil will quickly wear out, and then the shafts will stick. And then there will be costly repairs. By the way, in these engines one should not forget to change the timing belt every 45,000 km. And also it is possible to change the drive belt of the balance shafts in order not to have to overhaul the engine.

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As with any car, it is necessary to monitor the level of antifreeze in the cooling system, especially these motors can lose antifreeze at the point of connection of the pump or antifreeze can flow through the lower radiator hose. Spark plugs must also be quality and working.

Even in Chery Tiggo, it is necessary to fill in high-quality gasoline so that the fuel pump lasts longer. Moreover, in this gasoline pump fine mesh filter, which can get clogged quickly if gasoline is of poor quality.

In general, the fuel pump costs only $ 80, and if the mesh is clogged, then the entire pump must be changed, but some owners simply remove the mesh, but there is a risk that the dirt from the fuel can get into the nozzles, which cost $ 70 each and they do not like dirt. When they fail, there will be a clack during idle and a slight vibration.

There are also all-wheel drive versions of the Tiggo, they have a petrol tank divided by a cardan shaft into 2 halves, a transfer system is installed in the petrol tank, which also has a quickly clogged filter. If such a grid is clogged, the fuel will not be pumped, and the power reserve will be reduced by half. Here you can also remove this grid forever, so as not to change it regularly.

After 2006, the Tiggo models were completed with engines of its own production, which were designed by the Austrian company AVL. These are engines of the Acteco series with various volumes: on 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 liters. These motors are equipped with electronic throttle control. It turned out quite successful power units, exactly that is not worse than the motors from Mitsubishi. Also require high-quality oil and antifreeze. There are cases that after 70 thousand km. engine mounts fail, their replacement will cost $ 25.

Cherie Tiggo Transmission

Front-wheel modification equipped with an automatic transmission. This machine is 4-step, was borrowed from the French, the model is called DPO or AL4. These boxes were installed on Renault, Peugeot and Citroen after about 1995. It is not famous for reliability. On Chery Tiggo cars that are equipped with an Acteco engine, this box is put, only its name is QR425. It has its own characteristics: it does not like to work until it warms up, the oil flows slightly through the glands, and after 80,000 km. when shifting gears there are tremors, which means that soon it will be necessary to change the pressure valves of the pressure modulation, the price of which is $ 100. There are also cases that the replacement of the entire hydraulic unit will be required, its price is rather big - $ 500.

There is also a manual box, for this car it is a 5-speed Chinese-made QR523, it does not have an elaborate design of multi-cone synchronizers. Very soon they create sounds similar to a crunch, and after 80,000 km. transfer will be bad to switch.

Clutch usually serves less than 100,000 km. run, even the box lever itself can no longer be obeyed by the driver due to the fact that the sheath of cable drives melts on the exhaust manifold in summer, and in winter - on the contrary, when water gets inside the shell, the cables will freeze to the exhaust manifold. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the shell of the cable drives, it is inexpensive - about $ 15.

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In addition, there is a design flaw in the all-wheel drive version - the car starts to tremble at speeds of 70 and 110 km / h. Despite the efforts of dealers to balance the drive shafts, the reason was in the multi-plate clutch BorgWarner ITM 3e, which connects the rear wheels. So, the whole reason for the vibrations is that this coupling is rigidly attached to the bottom and at certain revolutions of the drive shaft, it enters into resonance with the body. By the way, the same clutch is installed on well-known crossovers from Hyundai and Kia.

Chinese engineers, in order to avoid vibrations, put rubber silent blocks in the places where the coupling is attached, but this did not help much. This problem could not be solved until 2010, they even stopped selling all-wheel drive equipment in 2008. But then the clutch was moved to the rear gearbox, and in its place put a support for the propeller shaft, after which the vibrations disappeared.

Cheri Tiggo's Pendant

The suspension is exactly the same as that of the Toyota RAV4 2nd generation, so there are almost no problems with the suspension. Toyotovsky suspension differ in reliability and durability, so that Chinese engineers did not lose with the choice of who to copy. But anyway, the quality of the performance of the suspension parts is clearly not Toyotovskiy, so the durability of the suspension in Tiggo leaves much to be desired. But when it comes time to do repairs, it is possible to install Japanese parts instead of Chinese parts, then the service life will increase by 2-3 times, although the price for Japanese parts is more expensive about one and a half times.

Already after 40 thousand km. it will be necessary to replace the stabilizer bushings, the Chinese cost $ 8 apiece, and the Japanese cost $ 12. Also, the racks will require a replacement for this run, they cost about the same: 10 for China and 14 for Japan. After about 90 thousand kilometers follows replacement of shock absorbers, Chinese cost: $ 65 for the front, and for the rear - $ 45, Japanese will cost $ 120 and $ 90, respectively. Also to 100 thousand. Km. It is necessary to change the silent blocks of levers.

By the same mileage springs can weaken, especially the rear, so the clearance of the machine will decrease by 3-4 cm. Spring replacement will cost $ 23 for China and $ 35 for Japan.

And another unpleasant feature of Cherie Tiggo are the brakes with guide pins: here disc brake calipers sour. In addition, they begin to jam already after 30,000 km. What is characteristic of these brakes is that the internal pads are quickly erased, while the external ones remain intact. In this situation, you can try to clean the guide rods, or replace them. If the case is running, you just have to put a new caliper, which cost $ 160.

Cherie Tiggo Security

As you know, Chinese cars on crash tests do not show the best results, Chery Tiggo is no exception. This car has 2 front airbags and belt pretensioners. In 2011, a crash test was performed using the ANCAP method, in which a version with a 2-liter Acteco 2.0 engine and a steering wheel on the right side participated. When the car hit a wall at a speed of 64 km / h, the pillows worked late, and the mannequin's head hit the steering wheel, and the pedals moved into the cabin when they were hit, and the mannequin damaged its head, chest and legs. The passenger in the event of such a collision is also not left without bruises. So, the result of this test is 2 points out of a possible 16.

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When Toyota RAV 4 was tested in 2002 using the ANCAP method, it quietly received a solid 4-ku, as it scored 27.1 points out of 34. Still, 4 airbags are doing their job. Of course, during the test, Toyota didn’t have everything perfect - during a frontal impact, the steering wheel slightly shifted to the passenger compartment and the dummy in the driver’s seat received a light blow to the legs, and the dummy in the passenger seat got off with a slight chest bruise. But the airbags worked well and on time, precisely because of this, the bruises are insignificant.

Sensations from riding on Chery Tiggo

Behind the wheel of a front-wheel Chery Tiggo with a 2.4-liter engine and manual transmission you feel pretty good, motor frisky enoughIt accelerates approximately with the same dynamics as the Toyota RAV4, there is, of course, a difference of one and a half seconds in favor of Toyota. When you press the gas to the floor, it does not immediately accelerate, for about half a second the car thinks, and only then the momentum increases. Gears are switched quickly and easily, handling is also good.

If we compare Tiggo and RAV4, the smoothness of the Chinese is even better, the suspension behaves softer, smoothing out minor irregularities on the road, and during turns the rolls are smaller than those of Toyota. But in terms of noise, Toyota clearly wins: the engine is quieter, the aerodynamic whistle is less and the rustling of tires is almost unheard of. Also, the Toyota RAV4 suspension does not produce unnecessary sounds, unlike Cherie. And, of course, the brakes of the Chinese are clearly worse than the Japanese.

As for driving off-road, it is better not to risk much, because only front-wheel drive will not allow to leave difficult areas. By the way, Chery's ground clearance is 3 cm more than Toyota, thanks to a non-dormant exhaust pipe. In the RAV4 exhaust pipe can cling to the high bumps, and Tiggo will pass quietly without catching. As a result, against the background of the RAV4, the Tiggo looks quite confident, it can easily drive on the harsh Russian roads, even the language doesn’t turn to call this car a low-profile copy.

This time we are sharing with you a video about buying Chery Tiggo with mileage. This comprehensive overview of the car will surely please you: