Introduced to Ireland earlier this year, XPENG is a new name for Irish motorists seeking to buy an electric car. The first model to arrive here from the Chinese electric car company is the ‘ultra smart’ all-electric G6 Coupe mid-sized crossover SUV quite similar in size to its main rival, Tesla’s Model Y. The G6 is already making inroads into the Irish passenger car sales charts.
The G6 has a streamlined silhouette, contoured bodywork, forward sloping bonnet, full LED headlights, a discreet facia, recessed door handles, sporty 20-inch alloy wheels, beautiful full-width diamond-design taillights and 20-inch rims with Michelin tyres. The front end has double-row headlights formed by two closely spaced LED strips. The slim light bars front and rear give the car a very futuristic appearance.
The gorgeous interior has simplicity at its core with an unfussy dashboard and centre console. There’s no On/Off button; you just select the gear you want and drive off. Features include a treated panoramic glass roof, soft-touch coverings and padding and nice tweed-like trim across dash and doors. Upholstery was in an off-white faux leather which looked extremely well.
The car was developed using AI technology, so touch-button technology is to the fore. The main feature is a 14.96-inch standing infotainment touchscreen with integrated controls that allow for a nearly buttonless dashboard. This screen controls almost all of the car’s technology bar a few permanent controls on the base of the screen - for the 360deg camera, fan, seat heaters etc. It means going through screen menus to adjust such things as side mirrors, radio, phone etc. There was even a Sentry mode to protect your car, a mindfulness space and a sleep space - I didn’t try them! For me, there’s so much technology, it would take me a week to understand it all. I’d prefer more physical buttons for key features.
Front seats have 6-way adjustment, 4-way lumbar support and memory settings; seat cushions and backrests can be heated and ventilated. I needed to turn off the ventilation on my seat after collecting the car but couldn’t see how to do so driving. A request to the Voice Assist solved the problem! The steering wheel also gets the minimalist treatment with just two thick spokes, while the 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster provides all relevant information. Gears are located off the steering wheel column. There are two USB ports, a mobile phone charger pad for two devices, and a powerful 960W audio system with 18 speakers. Storage areas include excellent front door bins, an enormous area below the front armrest, a large central storage area, but no glovebox.
Rear seat spaciousness is class-leading with very good head and legroom and a flat floor. Rear seats can be heated.
The boot is self-closing; the boot floor is quite high and luggage capacity a generous 571 to 1,374 litres with rear seats folded. There’s a big area below for cables, but no frunk.
Standard equipment includes X-Pilot with adaptive cruise control, active lane change, an auto exit parking assist, a good reversing camera and parking sensors. The driver monitoring system I turned off.
Plusses were the all-round coverage of the car with a 360deg camera, and standard heat pump to improve driving range in winter.
Variants are: Standard and Long Range (both with rear-wheel drive), and Performance with permanent all-wheel drive here in Q3 2025. Both Standard and Long Range versions are powered by a single rear-mounted electric motor while Performance has an additional electric front wheel motor that boosts output to a combined 476hp. From 0-100km/h acceleration times are 6.9 secs and 6.7 secs, annual road tax is €120. Standard model (258hp and 440Nm, 435km range) is powered by a 66kWh battery pack; Long Range (570km range) and all-wheel drive versions with 87.5kWh batteries offer up to 570kms. Energy consumption is a claimed 17.5kWh/100km. As an electric car, you get immediate torque of 440Nm, and automatic transmission. Fast DC charging 215/280kW from 10pc - 80pc takes 20 minutes. The G6 was awarded a top five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP.
On the road, I found this a beautiful car to drive with very good acceleration and all onboard travelled in high comfort. I found the steering a bit light at first but soon got used to it, and there’s good feedback from the steering wheel. When I indicated to make a turn, the front light bar on that side flashed my intention.
For now, the G6 Coupe SUV is sold through XPENG South Dublin. The brand is distributed here by Motor Distributors Limited (MDL) on the Naas Road in Dublin.
PRICE: The car is very competitively priced at €42,000 for the Standard model and €49,440 for the Long Range, inclusive of all EV grants and incentives.
