Xpeng G6 Review: Brian Byrne, Irish Car

I suppose it's unfortunate for some that there's a big X on the steering wheel of one of the newest car brands in China that arrived in Ireland just last February, writes Brian Byrne. A lot of people gave up on Twitter after it was taken over by a certain richest man and rebranded with the same letter, at the same time dumping all restrictions on it being used for calumny, racism and trumplies to mention just a few. X marks a place where most of us don't want to go.

But X in this instance is for Xpeng, a car brand only established ten years ago. That the guy who set it up is only a tad younger than the Muskman and also a tech billionaire may be coincidental, or maybe that just reflects the age we live in.

Anyhow, the G6 is a coupe SUV in style, in size, targeting other electric cars such as the Tesla Model Y, BMW i4 and the Audi Q6 e-tron. Super-smooth would be the first thing that comes to mind, with almost seamless curves all over. For electric cars, aerodynamics are extra important in maintaining decent range at highway speeds, and Xpeng's designers seem to have cracked this one with a Cd figure of 0.248. For the non-engineers, that's really good, especially for what's a big car. Aesthetically the coupe SUV format can sometimes look odd, but with the G6 they have achieved to my eye a very pleasant form.

That super-smooth character is also evident inside the car, with every attempt made to eliminate things on every surface which might interrupt a sleek finish. To the point that there are almost no buttons apart from the ones that open the doors from inside, instead of using pull handles. The large centre screen dominates, and all adjustments are done between that and an unlabelled pair of roller switches on the steering boss. It's unnerving when you have to ask the system how to set the outside mirrors. Equally, managing the climate and other systems via screen or voice doesn't hack it for me.

(Hope is on the horizon. Finally, the safety people have woken up to the distracting issues of screen reliance, and it's now understood that driver reaction times while using them are worse than if they were drunk or high on drugs. From next year, that's going to be a part of the Euro NCAP crash test evaluations, to push carmakers back to using buttons and switches. I'll come back to that topic again.) Meanwhile, back with the G6, there IS a driver's instrument pod, so not all information is reliant on the centre screen.

The G6 is roomy, and despite the coupe roofline, there's ample headroom even for lanky me in the back. In smooth — oh, there's that word again — artificial leather comfort. Smooth can become bland, though, and that's something which might be said of the overall inside experience of the G6. However, that'll be a matter of taste, I guess. There's a good, big boot.

The 450 km rated range of the standard battery may realistically be 15-18 per cent less in the kind of driving most of us do, but I keep going back to the fact that you can start the day with a full 'tank' of energy, and most times you'll never come near using that. The network is improving — my local service area has got planning permission for a 20-car setup, which will mean that I don't have to get up at 5am to nab a charging space. The G6 will charge quickly, too; 120 km of range can be added in five minutes with a fast charger. The energy consumption is around 19kWh/100km.

Despite a weight of more than two tonnes, the car is a swift mover — push the pedal, and you'll get to 100km/h in 6.7 s or so. But for me, moving at a little more sedate level gave a very pleasant overall driving experience.

Among the techie gimmicks is a video monitoring of the exterior of the car while parked. Any miscreant trying to interfere with it will not just get a warning off, but also their faces will be retained in the system. Not sure if there are GDPR or civil rights issues with that here, but it's there anyhow.

For a car of the size, style, and finish, the cost is right on the button, which is the average price paid for a car in Ireland. Yes, that's going to raise your eyebrows — I'll wager you didn't expect that figure to be so high? Outside my wallet capacity, unfortunately, but there are lots of people apparently who can fork out that level of readies.

PRICE: €40,990. WHAT I LIKED: Ah, look, it's smooth.  

XPeng G6 review: Trish Whelan, Irish Car

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.

 

 

Xpeng G6 review: Brian Byrne, Irish Car

In what has become a very crowded market, another Chinese brand has joined the electric vehicles competition in Ireland in the form of Xpeng, writes Brian Byrne. The first model, the G6, is directly targeting Tesla's Model Y on both price and specification levels. 

It's only a decade since the company was formed in China with the backing of a highly successful tech entrepreneur, He Xiaopeng. The first car rolled out in 2018, and by 2022 Xpeng were selling in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands. By the end of this year the brand will be a contender in no less than 16 European-related markets and 60 countries globally. Back in their home, Xpeng are front runners in the world's most competitive EV market and have sold more than half a million vehicles. The company is also developing robots and electric flying vehicles.

The G6 is a mid-size SUV coupe, a tad longer than the Volkswagen ID.5. The styling is clean and the technical aerodynamic with a Cd of 0.248 is impressive on paper. Design details in the LED lights and frontage are distinctive without being heavy. A modern and smooth version of what we used to call a Kamm-back rear stylistically works very well, and promises that rear headroom won't be compromised. The overall aesthetic seems well thought through. 

The interior styling and finish is minimalist with a bit more. Artificial leather, the unfortunately de rigeur large centre screen, but unlike the Tesla rival there's also a driver instrumentation pod. The high centre console offers dual phone charging pads, with open storage underneath and a deep storage box that doubles as a driver's armrest. There's a real tilt to comfort features, both front seats have full heating and ventilation and position memory. Details include electric door openers. The finish throughout as an impression is somewhat bland, but trim quality is perceptively high. It's a roomy car for those in the rear and the boot has a good 571L capacity.

The G6 comes with a choice of standard or long-range batteries, rated respectively at 435km and 570km ranges and with a 20-minute time to charge from 10pc-80pc. What is a more interesting figure is that, with a high-power charger, a quick 5-minute charge will add 120km, so for many longer journeys there's likely no need to factor in an extended break to get to destination. Both versions are RWD and acceleration can be as fast as 6.7s to 100km/h if that's your need.

It's a typically very high tech Chinese car in terms of cameras and monitors, and one of those is watching the driver all the time to catch yawning or other signs of tiredness or inattention. When I have a longer opportunity with the car I'll see if these are over-sensitive to irritation level. Other cameras are monitoring your car while parked, and if anything bumps or anyone tries to interfere with it, a video record will be kept and alarm raised via the owner's phone.

In what was a relatively short initial experience with the car — an hour or so — it felt a good place to be, and the aerodynamics certainly seemed to work in a lack of wind noise. The drive itself was seamless and virtually silent. It all reinforced the concept that has become reality, electric cars are not the future. They are the now, and however much the new version of President Trump might rail against them in favour of his fossil fuel friends, he is merely a President Canute against the waves. And like it or not, the biggest waves are coming from China. 

The G6 will be the only model in Ireland from Xpeng this year, but two others already in LHD markets in Europe are the G9 large SUV, and the P7+ coupe. All three have achieved top level ENCAP safety ratings.

PRICE: From €40,990. WHAT I LIKED: This car dances Chinese Smooth. 

Another Chinese EV enters Irish market

Yet another Chinese brand is set to roll out in Ireland with the appointment of Motor Distributors Ireland as distributors for Xpeng, writes Brian Byrne.

The first model here will be the Xpeng G6 mid-size SUV, to be followed by other models from the brand.

All Xpeng models, including the G9 flagship SUV, and the P7 sedan with its Pt+ fastback variant, are full battery electric models.

The brand joins MDL's other Chinese makers distributed by the company here, the Smart and the BYD companies.