Xpeng G6 (2024 – ) review

As we write, UK prices for the Xpeng G6 haven’t been confirmed but it is already on sale in Europe and there’s a suggestion it will be on a par with prices in Holland, where we drove it. Obviously bottom-line price is less relevant than monthly costs given the way most people buy their cars these days, but it’s still a useful comparison and some informed guesswork would put the starting price at around £45,000 for the smaller of the two battery options. And perhaps closer to £55,000 for the top-of-the-range AWD Performance version we drove. That lands it thick in the fight with cars like the Volvo C40, Polestar 2, Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and myriad others. Strong rivals all, meaning Xpeng will have to offer something pretty special to turn heads. We’ll get to that, but beyond the purchase costs the usual electric car advantages apply, especially if you can home charge, run it as a company car or otherwise benefit from the various incentives to switch.

Literally an unknown quantity at this stage, given Xpeng is a young company with no track record beyond its home market in China. It’s clearly got some serious resources, and a recent technical partnership with Volkswagen suggests its know-how is respected by big-name players. But it’s fair to say you’ll be taking a punt it can deliver on that if you choose one over established rivals, especially those with long warranties like the Kia or Hyundai.

For all the impressive range of standard driver assistance tech, we’re deducting points here for the way the G6, like too many modern cars, buries safety-critical controls in its touch-screen menus. Look at it this way – if you’re found tapping away at a handheld smartphone it’s six points on your licence and a big fine. Yet to do something as important as switch a foglight on or adjust the mirrors, you have to take your eyes off the road long enough to go two or three levels deep in the touch-screen menu. In exactly the kind of situation where the driving conditions demand your full attention. Simply adjusting the airflow from the vents means more time in the menus not looking where you’re going. Even the supposed aids are more annoying than helpful, the lane-keeping bouncing you between the white lines on the motorway, while the automated lane-changes – while slick – are a waste of time on the basis to make the system work you have to manually select the indicator and check the mirror anyway. Begging the question, exactly what do you gain from having the car finish the manoeuvre? Big blind spots around the sides of the windscreen, meanwhile, make roundabouts and junctions a guessing game at times as well. And nor did we enjoy the face scanning camera that, ironically, tells you off for taking your eyes off the road to use the screens.

We’ve driven video game driving simulators with more convincing responses than the Xpeng G6, the light and somewhat eager response to the wheel combining with nervous, top-heavy suspension that makes smooth progress a challenge no matter which of the various steering settings you choose. Sharper bumps are well covered, but the G6 doesn’t handle with the polish of rivals like the Kia EV6 and Xpeng’s relative lack of experience shows compared with the more established players it’s up against. It is an otherwise spacious and comfortable car, though, the tall driving position very much en vogue and driver and front seat passenger divided by a tall centre console with a large storage bin under the armrest, wireless charging pads for two devices up front with another, open-sided, stash space underneath. There’s no glovebox, though. Nor is there a front storage ‘frunk’ under what would be the bonnet where you might otherwise put your charging cables, though there is some room under the boot floor where you can keep them out of the way of the rest of your stuff. It’s a decent size as well, if a little shallow in depth. While the centre position is a little raised up all three rear seat passengers get a great deal, though, with tons of leg space thanks to the flat floor and plenty of headroom, even with that coupe-style sloping profile, the standard panoramic glass roof contributing to the airy, spacious feel. The rear backrest can recline as well, which robs a bit of boot space but is great for kicking back and relaxing on longer journeys.

While UK specifications are still to be confirmed, Xpeng’s policy seems to be to include everything as standard, the only option in the Dutch market where we drove it being a power deployable tow hook. This extends across all three power options, comprising RWD Standard Range, RWD Long Range and AWD Performance, meaning the same kit on all models. Inevitably given Xpeng’s tech background, nearly everything is run through the digital instrument cluster and huge central screen, both impressively slick but running the typically fiddly smartphone-inspired graphics and interfaces seen on many Chinese-built cars. Niggles include annoyingly small numbers for basics like speed readouts on the instrument cluster and air-con controls buried in a busy side menu on the main screen rather than easily accessible via a prominent ‘toolbar’, as they are on some other systems. Fresh from driving the likes of the Renault Rafale and BMW i5 Touring with their big, bold and easy to use operating systems this is especially telling but, given the speed with which companies like Xpeng operate, don’t be surprised if things improve quickly. Case in point – our test cars didn’t have CarPlay or Android Auto but we’re assured this will be in place before customer cars are delivered. No complaints about the amount of stuff you get, though. Features include an in-house premium stereo system, heated seats for all but the centre passenger in the back and ventilation and power adjustment for those up front, a heated steering wheel, power-saving heat pump for the climate control (often a cost extra on rivals), power tailgate, ‘vehicle to load’ compatibility for powering hedge trimmers or charging e-bikes, an app to control the car remotely for charging and pre-heating, and much more.

Xpeng may be a new name for British buyers but, like many Chinese brands, has some pretty formidable electric tech. The base RWD Standard model uses a single motor driving the rear wheels, the 255 horsepower there or thereabouts competitive with what you’d get in the related cars built on VW’s ID platform like the ID.4, Skoda Enyaq or Audi Q4 e-tron. Distance on a full charge is an impressive 270 miles by official stats, the RWD Long Range using a different type of battery with greater capacity for 354 miles by the same measure. It’s also a little more powerful and quicker off the mark. The AWD Performance we drove gets the same battery and an additional motor up front, range dropping slightly to 342 miles but performance taking a significant step up to a combined total of 476 horsepower. Which is enough to keep tabs with your Polestar or Tesla driving mates and more than enough for a family SUV. If Xpeng still has some work to do on the finer details there’s no doubting its skill with electric powertrains, the smooth and silent power delivery and slick regenerative braking (there are various modes but the automated ‘XPedal’ setting works brilliantly) all very impressive. Charging rates on suitably powerful public chargers are also very quick. All perhaps explaining why the likes of VW are keen to strike up a working relationship and share Xpeng’s expertise.