What is it?
Few Business Motoring readers are likely to have heard of Xpeng, as the G6, an electric coupe-SUV, is the first launch into the UK from what is yet another Chinese brand, and the first cars only arrived on British roads in July 2025.
Xpeng is also another marque with big ambitions, signified by an agreement worth $700m with Volkswagen to jointly develop electric vehicles. In the UK Xpeng vehicles are being distributed by IM Group, which already looks after Subaru and Isuzu, and the group is currently establishing a dealer network for its new brand which expects to be selling five models to UK buyers by 2029.
The G6 is officially a mid-sized car, though it appears quite large at 4.8 metres long and just under two metres wide. Both the looks and specification make it clear that this is a vehicle with Tesla’s most popular car, the Model Y, in its sights.
There are currently two variants of the G6, both powered by a single motor driving the rear wheels and the difference being battery size – the standard version claims an official WLTP range of 270 miles, while the clearly-named Long Range stretches this to 354 miles for a price from £45,000, £5000 more than the standard model. A third ‘performance’ version with two motors and all-wheel drive will join the range at some point.
All versions of the G6 include a heat pump to optimise battery charging and Xpeng promotes the 800-volt technology employed in its cars, stating that it will take just 20 minutes to recharge the battery from 10 to 80% – however this will require a 280kW DC charger. A complete charge on an AC wallbox typically takes around 9.5 hours.
All versions of the car also come with a five-year/ 75,000-mile warranty plus an eight-year warranty on the battery.
Chinese brands have quickly become known for extensive standard equipment and Xpeng is no different. No matter which version of the G6 one chooses among the niceties supplied as standard are a panoramic sunroof and heating on the steering wheel and the front seats, which are also ventilated, electrically adjustable in many directions and covered in a ‘leatherette’ (as in not real leather and so more environmentally-friendly) upholstery. There are also 20-inch alloy wheels and not one but two wireless smartphone chargers.
Other notables include an 18-speaker, 960 watt audio system and two digital displays in the cockpit – a 10-inch one directly ahead of the driver and an enormous 15-inch touchscreen dominating the centre console, another aspect one can directly compare with Tesla.
Just about every function is controlled by this touchscreen; Xpeng is another manufacturer that has gone for the minimalist interior setup – the only physical controls are mounted on the steering wheel and control functions on the audio system and the climate control. Navigation is included while there is also a virtual assistant activated by a graphic in the top corner of the touchscreen.
The G6 has been crash-tested by Euro NCAP as it went on sale in Europe a year ahead of its UK launch. The car earned a five-star rating with the safety body especially highlighting the effectiveness of its autonomous emergency braking systems in protecting the likes of pedestrians and cyclists. Xpeng lumps its driver assistance electronics under the title XPilot 2.5 and employs some 12 ultrasonic cameras and an equal number of cameras to control them.
There are some particular safety highlights. The digital driver’s display shows graphics of cars ahead of one’s own vehicle and even shows if their brake lights are on – it also shows traffic cones at the side of the road while particularly useful is a feature activated by the indicators which projects on the central touchscreen a live camera image of the car’s blindspot in the direction it’s turning.
What do we think of it?
As mentioned the G6 feels like a big car both on the outside and inside. The exterior is all about curves with very few definite creases, which translates to looks that are easy on the eye if a little innocuous.
This is a roomy car, both in front and back – even with the standard panoramic sunroof headroom is plentiful, while the space available extends to a boot of 571 litres. The rear seats drop back to extend the load bay to 1374 litres, while unusually the front seats can also fold flat if one should ever need to sleep in one’s Xpeng.
Fit and finish is well up to the standards that are today expected, the leatherette soft-touch surfacing widely employed around the interior, while the front of the cabin offers particularly clean lines due to the lack of physical buttons, with the touchscreen expected to control just about everything.
Familiarity with said screen soon makes it easy to use, but the reliance on it for such matters as brake regeneration can be somewhat distracting, especially as its size makes reaching some functions a bit of a stretch for shorter drivers.
Business Motoring spent a week with the G6 Long Range, its powertrain offering an effective 285hp, around 25 horsepower more than its lower-capacity sibling and a 0-62mph time of 6.7 seconds. In the new world of the electric vehicle this rates as not that fast though the car doesn’t really need to be any more rapid than it is – it still manages such EV traits as rapid overtaking very effectively.
There is no power switch on the G6, the car activated by unlocking the doors, which can be done automatically using a smart key. Drive is selected on a stalk which rises at the ‘2 o’clock’ position on the right of the steering wheel. Wiper functions are housed on the same left-hand stalk as the indicators and this does take a bit of getting used to.
The car behaves itself generally well on the move, though the effects of less than smooth road surfaces do find their way into the cabin. Progress is virtually silent but sounds are artificially induced at slower speeds, such as in areas of lower speed limits, as a warning to other road users – one can even choose from a range of tones.
The steering is similarly adequate. It is competent enough but feels a little disconnected when the car is pushed on hard. Overall the Xpeng is more a car one satisfactorily completes a journey in rather than gets excited about driving.
The car has a huge windscreen and thin pillars, which makes for an excellent view in three of the four aspects. The bonnet is low which makes seeing the front extremities not too easy, while the rear screen is almost letterbox-sized, but electronics come to the rescue with parking sensors and a 360-degree surround camera, plus that excellent blind-spot camera view when turning.
One-pedal driving is very much possible with the G6 thanks to ‘X-pedal’, the most dramatic of the four levels of the brake regeneration available. Experience with this on a long journey involving a variety of roads suggests the range can come satisfyingly close to the official figures – the disadvantage is having to choose the setting through the touchscreen, making on-the-road adjustments impractical.
An aspect the new influx of mainly Chinese EVs have become notorious for is the over-zealous use of driver alerts which quickly become intrusive. The G6 is no different, expect in one crucial aspect. As soon as an alert is activated, a useful box pops up on the touchscreen – one touch of it cancels that particular alert function for the rest of the journey.
In summary the G6 is an impressive start from this new brand. It’s roomy, feels like a quality machine and offers a lot for the money. While it’s not the most exciting vehicle to drive, this will bother very few of its potential audience. With one of its perceived rivals, Tesla, producing a less than stellar performance at present, this car could well be yet another problem the US maker could do without.
Business Motoring Test Drives are the initial test of a new vehicle, of usually between 50 and 100 miles. Business Motoring Reviews are usually conducted over a full week, completing several hundred miles.
