Well, looks like we might be seeing another Chinese brand making its way back into Malaysia. The camouflaged SUV you see here is very likely a Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, doing its testing rounds in Malaysia.

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According to the user who posted this in a Facebook group, this SUV was spotted in Puchong. It’s interesting to hear the Chery name again after all these years.

Chery had a very turbulent time in Malaysia. Initially introduced in 2006 by Alado Corp Sdn Bhd, Chery’s range of cheap, Chinese copycats weren’t well-received initially until the Eastar MPV was launched in 2008.

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The timing was right as the Eastar became one of the most popular MPVs in Malaysia at a time when the MPV renaissance was in full swing. Unfortunately, that success couldn’t be replicated with its successor, the Maxime.

Eventually, Chery’s presence here died out and their Facebook page was last active in 2019.

Back to the Tiggo and this design is a clear departure from the one more familiar with Malaysians, which was a copy of the second-gen Toyota RAV4. The original Tiggo is still sold in China as the Tiggo 3.

In fact, there are numerous variations of the Tiggo which are differentiated by the number. The Tiggo 4 Pro is a sportier version of the Tiggo 5 and is sized closely to the Proton X50.

The Tiggo 5x is sold in a few markets overseas including the Philippines, South America, and Russia, where it is called the Tiggo 4 in the latter two markets. Depending on the markets, there are three engine options available for the Tiggo:

• Naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre (116 PS/143 Nm)
• Naturally-aspirated 2.0-litre (122 PS/180 Nm)
• Turbocharged 1.5-litre (156 PS/230 Nm)

Currently, Chery is only available in left-hand drive markets. That being said, could Malaysia be the first right-hand drive market for the Chinese carmaker in years, and will Malaysians accept Chery’s return?