Why plug-ins may be just the right mix
What surprised me most when I was using the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro e+ was my friends kept looking in on me at work.
I have always been used to working anywhere, and very often in my car, as I was waiting for my kids at school or getting places early. But I have always been bothered by people running engines while sitting unpacking lots, especially when they force school children to walk past all the smoke. And as a side note, doesn’t it always seem to be big SUVs and trucks that do this?
So, anyway my friends kept looking in on me working because I was sitting in the hot sun in a closed car with no engine running. I had an iPad on the steering wheel, a keyboard on my lap, my phone propped up on the dashboard and a nice hot coffee to boot.
Now, this is how to use technology.
Plug-in hybrids are generally meant to offer more of an electric experience than one of internal combustion. But they are meant to be plugged in. What happens is by fully charging, or mostly charging, the battery you get is mostly an electric experience. In the case of this Tiggo 8 Pro e+, they state 75 kilometers and that pretty much matched what I found myself. I fast-charged it once to full, and once more slowly to full, and pretty much ignored it for a week.
Most plug-in hybrids currently available on the market are from the luxury brands, so this vehicle does fill a space. To me, it feels like it would appeal most to those that are used to the pickup-based SUVs from which this could be a nice step up especially with the quietness of mostly electric movement. The interior was nice and pleasant, not overly luxurious but more premium utilitarian done quite nicely. Quilted leather seats that were very comfortable to drive and work from, and the driver’s seat even have a special relaxation position. The second row passengers are well cared for as well with their own cupholders vents and USB plug. I tried working in the back seat (I told you I spent a lot of time in it working) but I always ended up in the front.
The drive system here is interesting, but is pretty much something you can ignore. There are 9 different driving modes, which work using the 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine and the two electric motors. It is astounding that the combustion engine is a 1.5, and you will feel it a bit when it comes on to support or charge, but it tells you where the technology is skewed. Set everything up right and it should be a pretty much all electric life.
The Tiggo 8 Pro e+ should be plugged in to charge. It will charge itself while running but it isn’t meant to be like other regular hybrids. If you do not plug it in regularly to charge, and force it to use the fuel engine it works very hard and isn’t that efficient. Plugged in regularly, even just at home for a slow overnight change (which is better for the battery) or in a mall or office for a quick charge, and things work well and you are quite pleased with yourself when you see kilometer per liter numbers you can’t believe until you actually fill up eventually and do the calculations yourself.
