The Chery Arrizo 7 was launched for the first time back in late 2013 as a mid-size sedan, and in many of the countries that it’s currently on sale in, the Arrizo 7 essentially stands as the Chinese carmaker’s flagship sedan. These days, the car market is chock-full of mid-size (or D-segment) sedans, with the most prolific ones coming in from Japan, South Korea, or the United States. However, Chinese automobile companies seem to be catching up quite rapidly, and in some cases, they even seem to have a certain edge over their more established counterparts. In certain markets such as the United Arab Emirates, some car buyers still view many of the Chinese-origin carmakers with a certain amount of pessimism, though those days might be numbered.
Chery has about half a dozen or so models that are currently sold in the UAE, amongst which the Arrizo 7 sits above its lesser siblings such as the Arrizo 5 and the even cheaper Arrizo 3. The outgoing iteration of the Arrizo 7 is the facelifted model, but is usually available in only one version -- the entry-level Standard trim. It goes up against cars such as the Hyundai Accent, Honda City, and Nissan Sunny.
Exterior
It might be a regular mid-size sedan, but the Chery Arrizo 7 is certainly on the large side: it spans 4.652 meters from nose to tail, 1.825 meters in width, 1.483 meters tall at the roof, and has a wheelbase stretching to 2.700 meters. However, its total boot capacity isn’t as capacious as one might imagine, totaling to about 455 liters. Styling isn’t class-leading, either, as the Arrizo 7, despite its facelift, doesn’t come across as the most modern and fashionable vehicle on four wheels. Some of its most appealing design aspects include Chery’s “eagle-eye” design for the projector headlights, “U-face” grille with its shiny chrome finish, wide lower air intake, round fog lamps, and a lower spoiler skirt.
The side profile and rear end of the Arrizo 7 has been shaped in accordance with the marque’s “HDS technology” that’s been amalgamated with their “duck-tail” design. Basically, these two allow the sedan a lower coefficient of drag and improves straight-line stability. Some of the stand-out aspects here are the 16-inch alloy wheels, bold side contours and character lines, sculpted trunk and part-LED tail lamps.
Interior
One of the most interesting aspects when it comes to the interior of the Chery Arrizo 7 is the amount of space that’s available for both the front and the rear occupants. The seats are quite comfortable as well, while the design up front is decent enough for a car at its price-point. However, there are loads of low-rent scratchy plastic dotted throughout this cabin, while wind and engine noise are apparent as the speed build. However, Chery has added some additional insulation materials to keep the cabin of the Arrizo 7 as feasibly quiet as possible.
In terms of its equipment, the Arrizo 7 comes with keyless entry, leather seats, leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel, automatic climate control with rear vents, cruise control, four-speaker audio system with Bluetooth, AUX and USB support, and a 7-inch touchscreen head unit. There are also parking sensors with a rearview camera, ABS with EBD and brake assist, hill assist, electronic stability control and dual front airbags.
Engine and performance
Under the hood of the Arrizo 7 is a 1.6-liter naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine that meats-out 125hp and 160Nm of torque -- all of which is sent to the front through a sloppy CVT gearbox. As a result, the Arrizo 7 takes 12.5 seconds to touch 100 km/h and has a top speed of 180 km/h.
Verdict
In the UAE, the Chery Arrizo 7 is only sold in the Standard variant and that costs AED 41,000. That makes it cheaper to some of its closest and better established rivals.
