Xpeng G6 review

It's a high-tech Chinese car. In the west we go big for Chinese goods, some of them high-tech. But we're not good at their brand names. The company's called Xiaopeng at home, but has lost some vowels on its way to Europe.

Xpeng makes EVs only. The first one to land in Britain is the G6, a coupe-crossover. Next year it'll add a fancy MPV, the X9. More will follow.

The G6 is a generously sized car, spacious like a Tesla Model Y, roomier than the VW ID.4 or Ford Capri or Peugeot e-3008.

Another Chinese import. Why should I care?

Maybe because of Xpeng’s sheer technological heft: four out of 10 of the company's employees work in R&D, and half of those work in software and AI. Maybe because VW is integrating Xpeng’s tech architecture into its EVs for the Chinese market from 2026. Maybe because Xpeng makes flying cars too.

Maybe because of the G6's leading-edge construction, with huge aluminium castings giving lots of body rigidity, and cell-to-body battery construction fitting a lot of electrical energy into a compact space. Maybe because of the high level of driver-assist as standard.

Or maybe just because you like the sound of getting a Tesla-like vehicle for non-Tesla-like prices.

It looks modern…

Yup, the G6 was designed by JuanMa Lopèz, the same Spaniard who led the design of the Lamborghini Miura concept, before becoming head of exteriors at Ferrari during the gestation of the SF90 and Monza SP barchetta.

That said, it looks like he was told to shape a vehicle that stands out less than a Lambo. The proportions are Tesla, the curves a bit Mercedes. The lack of edges means it relies on the monobrow headlights, the outlined wheel arches and the decision to colour-contrast the spoiler. The end result is, to our eyes, a generic blobject.

Enough first impressions. Hard numbers please.

Xpeng claims the G6 has a drag coefficient of only 0.248, though that's offset by a large frontal area. At almost two metres wide and 4.7m long, it’s in Audi Q6 territory.

It's not slow, either. According to official figures, the standard e-motor develops 254bhp and fires the rear-wheel-drive G6 from 0-62mph in 6.6 seconds.

Opting for the bigger battery means that 0-62mph time drops to a brisk 6.2s and power output increases to 281bhp.

And the electric stats?

It's built on an 800V electrical architecture for ultra-fast charging, and whether you opt for the smaller or bigger battery, both will get from 10-80 percent in 20 minutes on a high-power charger.

The standard 66kWh pack uses robust and cheap LFP chemistry. It's good for a respectable-ish 270 miles (WLTP).

The long range 87.5kWh has the more energy-dense NMC chemistry. Its official range is 354 miles, and it can accept up to 280kW power delivery.

Although the WLTP ranges aren't spectacular, our testing of the big-battery version did get fairly close to the target number, because efficiency was almost 4.0 mi/kWh.

Is the cabin family-friendly or coupe-cramped?

It's roomy. Families will like the space and even the back seat reclines a bit.

Visually it's extremely minimalist. Calming if you will. Until you try to adjust some of the many features via the screen – the only way because it lacks switches. There isn't even a volume knob the passengers can reach (and indeed, after several days' menu-diving, we couldn't find one on-screen either).

What’s it like to drive?

A rear-wheel drive coupe it may be, but it's absolutely not a sports car.

Driving it isn't a terrible chore. The motor is well calibrated, giving smooth acceleration and no surprises. If you're prepared to dig into the screen menus (no buttons or paddles) you can change regenerative braking strength, and the weight of the steering and brake pedal, and of course accelerator response.

The bodyshell feels reassuringly rigid and doesn't shudder when a wheel hits a pothole. So measured by absolute composure, the dynamics are fine.

But odd steering weight makes it a tiring car to drive, because it's hard to place smoothly in curves or hold a motorway lane. Ah, then why not use the advanced driver assistance? Because it's clunky, steering a jerky course down the road.

Given how joyless it is to drive, we'd have opted for a softer more comfortable spring setup. It's a bit firm, especially at town speed.

You keep mentioning the tech. Is the G6 expensive?

No. Even other Chinese firms such as BYD and Leapmotor are going to be given some hurry-up by the G6's prices. The standard-range version is a tenner under £40,000, and the long-range exactly £5,000 more. Both have the same equipment.

The G6 is a very family-oriented vehicle – plenty of room, lots of entertainment options with nothing needing a subscription outside what you’d already pay for (Netflix, Spotify, AppleTV+, etc) and vast levels of comfort.

It sets its stall as a Tesla rival. In other words, a more tech-led experience than most of the long-standing carmakers currently offer.

That's the passenger angle. How is it for the one sat at the wheel? You really have to let the car make the decisions. Adjusting the drive mode, or driver-assist, or even the climate settings, is seriously hard.

It pushes the human into the background. If you're happy to feel like you're being transported, that's fine. This is not a car for involved drivers.

Much of this interface idiocy, and also the poor driver-assist calibration and even the steering assistance, could doubtless be fixed OTA. But we're here to judge the car we're driving now, not the one it might possibly one day become.