Choosing the best 7 seater hybrid SUV or best 7 seater PHEV SUV just became a lot easier with the debut of the 2025 Chery Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid. Why do we say easier? Because a glance over the latest VFACTS shows there are hardly any PHEVs in the SUV large category (aside from GWM Tank 500 and Mazda CX-80).
Hyundai may add the Santa Fe PHEV and the MG QS will borrow from the HS to become the 2026 MG QS Super Hybrid next year, so expect some proliferation in the next 12-18 months.
For now, the Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid is the 5+2 seater companion to the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid we drove at the same launch event – with a few features to set it apart from its little bro.
2026 Chery Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid: Specifications
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo four-cylinder plug-in hybrid
Electrical: 18.3kWh battery, 93km range
Output: 150kW / 310Nm
Gearbox: Single-speed auto
Drive type: Front-wheel drive
Wheels: F & R: 19×7.0, 235/50
Tare weight: 1921kg
Official consumption: 1.3L/100km
Starting price: $45,990
2026 Chery Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid: How much does it cost?
A $45,990 drive-away introductory price is the headline-grabber here, with base Urban spec offering 19-inch alloy wheels shod with Continental rubber, a 360-degree camera, 50W wireless charger (with cooling), ambient lighting, 10-speaker sound system, 10.25-inch instrument cluster, 15.6-inch infotainment screen, laminated glass, puddle lamps, and a six-way power driver seat.
At $49,990 drive-away, the Ultimate adds heating and ventilation for the front seats, speakers in the driver’s headrest, HUD, power tailgate and a massage seat function for the passenger (erroneously listed as driver, but as ‘Exclusive Queen’s co-pilot’ in the press kit to ‘enjoy a family-like hug’. Nothing suss.
Running costs are contained via a seven-year capped-price servicing program. Intervals remain 15,000km or 12 months, and the cost schedule is identical to the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid – totalling $3174 over 7 years.
Services ‘A’ through ‘E’ (years 1,2,3,4,5) are around $299 or $349 each, service ‘F’ at 6 years jumps to ~$1290 (major service), and service ‘G’ at year 7 is around $288. For comparison, a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV’s servicing over 5 years is about $1995 (and shorter intervals), so the Chery is on par or better annually.
Plus, if you service at the dealer, you keep your roadside assistance active. Chery provides 7 years roadside, renewable each year with scheduled service. Warranty is 7 years/ unlimited km with 8 years for the battery.
2026 Chery Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid: Interior & packaging
Dimensions of 4724mm long, 1865mm wide and 1718mm high with wide opening rear doors and a 2694mm wheelbase combine with a flat rear floor for excellent accommodation (for the first two rows, anyway).
Cosmetic upgrades over the standard Tiggo 8 include flush door handles, interior upgrades and a fresh palate chart which doesn’t include duck egg blue. Instead, we now have a very tasteful and contemporary mix of greens, greys and blues, with black and white thrown in for good measure.
Quite honestly, the interior – particularly the Ultimate – left us genuinely impressed. Material quality and ergonomics are markedly better not only than the outgoing model, but the Tiggo 7 too, with more phone storage (plus cooling integrated in the chargers) and a more premium feel and ambience.
The second row has USB charging and a 12V socket, as well as its own fan controls and vents (but temperature is tied to the main climate system).
Contoured seats are very supportive and comfortable (notwithstanding the lack of driver’s side massage), with very well-executed NVH suppression evident in all conditions but coarse chip roads.
2026 Chery Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid: Powertrain & handling
The same mechanical package as the Tiggo 7 CSH is employed, which means a 1.5-litre turbocharged, direct-injection four-cylinder engine producing 105kW and 215Nm, teamed up with a 150kW/310Nm permanent magnet synchronous motor.
Battery size is marginally higher than the 7 at 18.4kWh (LFP). Some 95km of EV-only range is available with a combined fuel consumption of 1.3L/100km. In the real world, Chery says the vehicle won’t exceed 6.0L/100km and our worst of 5.9L/100km on the day is on par with those claims.
Up to 40kW of DC fast-charging can fill the battery from 30-80 per cent in 20 minutes. Total system range is quoted at 1200km, with a top speed in EV-only mode of 120km/h.
Compliance over bumps is slightly better than the Tiggo 7 as well, with pothole absorption well-managed, but sharper bumps still filtering through the cabin. Sure-footed handling surprised us, with the steering feel (or lack thereof) being our main criticism.
Performance is always predictable with good off-the-line response but never scintillating. Chery claims the switching between electric and hybrid modes (where the ICE engine springs to life) results in less than 1dB of noise difference. This sounds about right, with the engine only ever increasing in timbre, rather than volume.
2026 Chery Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid: First impressions
Unquestionably, this is the best value plug-in hybrid large SUV at the time of publication. Granted, there is not much competition at the moment, but it is a solid offering in its own right. The low price of admission puts this firmly up against not only combustion-engined medium SUVs from legacy automakers, but the non-hybrid MG QS Excite is $1000 more.
With a more premium feel inside and out than any previous Chery product, it fulfils its intended purpose admirably with minimal fuss. Best of all, if you want to drive it like a regular hybrid and not bother plugging it in, then you still get the benefits typically associated with hybrids too. It’s a strong proposition that will give its chief rivals a headache.
