09/03/2025 XPENG is the latest Chinese EV carmaker to go on sale in Ireland. The G6 is a five-seat, coupe-like SUV is the launch model, soon to be followed by more vehicles that will take on the established premium brands. XPENG was founded in 2014 and in a short period has even built a quadcopter aka flying car – I’ve been in it! It is a car firm led by technology (sound familiar?) and has even put a car into production based on customer feedback using AI! If prior to 2025 you had heard of XPeng you are either well-travelled or an EV car nerd, but like MG and BYD before it, car buyers should get to know this brand as it hits the ground running. XPENG, like so many Chinese carmakers, has ‘in no time at all’ become the size of a small country.
XPENG is imported into Ireland by MDL (Motor Distributors Ireland), the same company that distributes the electricfied Chinese brand BYD. MDL also distributes the Smart EV range plus has decades of distributing Mercedes-Benz under its belt too (among many other brands over the years). So if the highly respected distributor sees a gap in the market for XPENG the offering must be good, right?
XPENG is gunning for the more premium end of the market and the G6 we’re testing this week is a prime example of the Chinese selling method dejour i.e. it throws all the usual luxuries at a car and then undercuts the opposition on price. On first glance and on closer inspection of the G6, Tesla’s Model Y is the clear target/inspiration. There is a new Model Y, just out, and it is an improved version of the car XPeng would have benchmarked against. The original Model Y had a pretty poor ride quality but was huge on cabin space. Later in its run, a seven-seat option became available in Ireland (2025). Global politics aside and the ‘which is the lesser of two evils’ debate between USA (Musk) and China, Irish buyers will go for value and have traditionally sought it out. The G6 on paper alone is an excellent offering starting from €42,000 net of grants.
On the outside G6 looks like many other SUVs. Thanks to pop-out flush door handles and its sloping roofline there is a crosover-ish look to the SUV. There are hints of a few European premium brands in its exterior styling yet teh G6 manages to have its own identity – that is not often said about Chinese carmakers. It appears to deliver on its premium aspirations and does not look out of place among its peers.
Space in the cabin is vast for the car’s footprint – so similar to the Y. The boot is bit too at 571 litres. Should you need to nap the front seats can fold almost flat too! Cabin materials are impressive, although I there was an annoying intermittent squeak from the seats I think (could just be old age!). It’s no surprise that a large screen dominates the dash area and that there are few physical buttons. Frustratingly you will need to learn how to navigate the touch screen to find even the simplest of functions like adjusting the side mirror (a quick swipe gets to the menu to do this) – even the hazard lights aren’t where you’d expect them – the button is above the rearview mirror. The G6 is not alone with its lack of real buttons and this will change in the coming years as EuroNCAP crash testing will insist on some physical buttons for essential secondary controls. Among the goodies that impressed us in the cabin were the twin, cooled, phone charging pads!
The entry G6 is rear-wheel drive only and has a maximum range from a full battery of 435km. For a few quid under €50,000 you can get an all-wheel drive version that has a max battery range of 570km (550km ‘Performance’ model). Both can charge at a very rapid rate (800V): 215kW and 280Kw respectfully. The entry G6 has an LFP battery while the AWD version uses a lithium battery. All variants have a heat pump as standard. pretty much all the ADAS and automated driving aids feature as standard. The semi-autonomous driving function (lane keeping / intelligent adaptive cruise) is a bit too aggressive for my liking and in many ways programmed to deliver a Tesla-like drive. When engaged it is too snappy and not fun, especially when it occasionally tries to take you off down a slip road or suddenly adjusts your cruising speed to its’.
Generally the G6 is very easy to drive with no particular style or dynamic USP to note. You have a number of drive modes and they do exactly ‘what it says on the tin’. During testing, I used ‘Eco’ mode the most to cruise around. I literally felt no desire to go any quicker, at the same time I never felt short of available power. 0-100km/h takes 6.9 seconds (6.7s AWD).
So who’s going to buy the XPENG G6? People looking for good value, lots of space and something that’s a little bit different. There is no denying the aggressive pricing will appeal to many. XPENG has a range of other cars coming online shortly. It also makes very cool quad-copters and other techy stuff that will give buyers bragging rights, plus its founder is believed to be the Chinese version of Elon Musk – wait, what, is that a good thing? The XPENG G6 is not just for disciples of clever tech people. One thing is for sure buyers will have plenty to talk about and brag about – especially the price. Michael Sheridan
