XPENG G6 Review
China's EV ambitions have arrived on British tarmac and XPENG is one of the brands quite literally leading the charge, built on an 800-volt platform. What we have here is the face-lifted long-range version of the XPENG G6, and it’s their opening statement to the UK: a coupe-style electric SUV, priced aggressively, with features standardised across standard, long-range and performance models, and it’s crammed with tech that is truly more than just novelty throwaway features but instead demonstrates how this can be useful on a day-to-day basis, showing up swathes of the car market in doing so.
Design
Space-age vibes are in full force from the XPENG G6. It looks futuristic, clean and distinctly modernist, with a silhouette that gently falls away towards the rear in that now-familiar coupe-SUV style. The roofline tapers smoothly, giving it a slightly more athletic stance than many in this segment without compromising the sense of space inside. There are obvious comparisons to be made with the Tesla Model Y, and while the resemblance is there in proportions, the G6 is the more interesting car to look at. It feels a touch sportier, more resolved, and right now, carries a certain mystique simply because it’s still such a rare sight on UK roads.
Spend a bit more time with it, and there’s a quiet confidence to the design. Whether it’s gliding past you on a country lane or sitting still in a multi-storey, it has a kind of graceful simplicity. This isn’t a car that shouts for attention, but it doesn’t fade away either. Instead, it’s the smaller details that build a cohesive and pleasing whole. The front light bar has a subtle 'smile' to it, giving the car a friendly face, while the flush, pop-out door handles add both visual cleanliness and everyday usability, something notably absent on the Model Y with its manually operated ones. The alloy wheels have an almost petal-like design, softening the look and adding a slightly organic contrast to the otherwise sharp, modern surfaces.
At the rear, the full-width light bar, split subtly in the middle, gives it a distinctive night-time signature. From this angle, you’d be forgiven for thinking of the Porsche Macan Electric, and it’s arguably the G6 at its most striking. However, this is also where the one real design misstep sits. The rear spoiler, finished in body colour, feels like a missed opportunity. In black, it would create a seamless, glasshouse effect flowing from the rear window all the way to the windscreen, tying the whole design together more cleanly. As it stands, it slightly interrupts what is otherwise a very cohesive piece of design.
Interior
Yikes. That's the first thing that comes to mind stepping into the XPENG G6. Not because anything is wrong, quite the opposite. The quality of materials and fit and finish isn't competing with the Kias and Hyundais of this world; it's up there with BMW and Mercedes-Benz, and the G6 asks for less money than either of those similarly sized Korean rivals. In terms of interior quality, it's most akin to the Genesis GV60, a car we still hold on a pedestal in this regard. Soft suede-like headlining, squishy padding along the tops of the doors and dashboard, ambient lighting throughout, neat visible stitching everywhere, all make the fit and finish solid; it feels genuinely premium, and would feel even more special in the alternative light grey colour-way interior shade.
Space is equally impressive. Rear legroom and headroom are beyond reproach; there's simply a lot of it. The panoramic roof adds a sense of openness to proceedings, and as with so many cars fitted with a wide-angle sweeping roof with a view, the back seat regularly feels like the preferable place to be because of it, and here we have two USB ports, rear ventilation and heated seats that recline as standard. Though the electrically adjustable front seats are far from a hardship; both are equally well equipped, each featuring heating, ventilation and massage functions. The ventilation works well, not token cool air but genuinely effective. The massage, however, was the real surprise; this goes well beyond a rapid lumber adjustment, into something closer to a vigorous deep kneading of the back. Combine that with the heated seat, and it becomes reminiscent of a hot stone massage, something we found ourselves reaching for far more than expected, not just as a driver but as a passenger. Seats are soft with real depth to the cushioning, and after five hours on the road with four people aboard, not one complaint of body fatigue was raised; although, in fact, the side bolsters are slim, so they’re not as huggy as those in the Genesis GV60 or Polestar 3.
A couple of quirks worth noting: there's no frunk and no glovebox. In practice, neither is much of a hardship, but we still found ourselves reaching out for the glovebox on occasion due to habit. Door bins are generously sized, happily swallowing 500ml bottles, sunglass cases and snacks with room to spare. The centre console is where the thoughtful details really reveal themselves: two cupholders with adjustable grips to secure drinks, and spaces for two smartphones that can wirelessly charge side by side, with a subtle lip keeping them firmly in place under spirited driving, unlike the Polestar 3 where they'd routinely migrate rearward. The armrest lifts to reveal a deep, hidden storage compartment, and below the console sits another generous space, ideal for passengers wanting to keep bags clear of their feet. Boot space revealed by an electric tailgate, is practical day and night with two side-mounted LED lights that helpfully illuminate the massive 571-litre boot space that expands to 1,374 litres with seats folded. There’s a small underfloor storage area, really only big enough to keep charging cables and the tyre puncture repair kit.
Infotainment & Tech
To fully get accustomed to how you operate the XPENG G6, and this may sound odd, but you need to understand that there is no heated seat button in the front, not that unusual, but there’s also none in the back, which is fairly uncommon. This is because XPENG is entirely confident in every passenger being able to simply ask for what they’d like from the onboard assistant. The car, to our amazement, is able to work out which passenger is speaking thanks to microphones dotted around the interior, and even more impressively, it never once mistook who was requesting something. Because of this, getting a heated seat turned on, adjusting climate controls, or tweaking other features, can all be done via voice, though these functions can still be accessed through the touchscreen or steering wheel controls if preferred (the other half of the steering controls can be assigned to adjust audio playback). So we don’t miss the buttons quite as much, and in reality, it’s the first time we've ever been able to say this about a car that has stripped away physical climate controls, because XPENG have done such a brilliant job here with voice control that it quickly becomes the primary way of interacting with the car, as it’s fast, accurate and almost always understands what you’re asking. It’s worth noting, though, this isn’t a general AI assistant; ask it anything beyond G6-specific functions and it won’t be able to help.
The central landscape display runs Xmart OS, and it's genuinely iPad-like in its responsiveness; tap something and it happens instantly, with no lag, no loading screens, and smooth animations throughout. There's a good level of personalisation too; key features can be dragged into a lower dock for quick access, and a swipe-down menu handles core controls like mirror adjustments. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both supported; we used the former extensively = it fills the entire display rather than being boxed into a smaller window, and it connected flawlessly every time we entered the car. Furthermore, with the Xmart OS, the logic of moving between home and settings feels immediately familiar, very much in the way a tablet operates. Settings run impressively deep, from regenerative braking levels to fine-tuning ambient lighting colours.
An app store adds further functionality; Disney+, Apple TV and YouTube are all available to download, alongside a solid selection of other titles, making long passenger journeys and charging stops feel well catered for. One area that left us wanting more was the 18-speaker Xopera audio system. With a speaker count like that, expectations are naturally high, and on paper it should be capable of something special. In practice, though, it fell a little flat, lacking the midrange presence that brings music to life, leaving playback feeling somewhat limp by comparison to rival systems with similar configurations. We spent time in the settings trying to coax the best out of it, and adjusting the EQ did add some welcome dynamics, but it never fully delivered on what those numbers promise. A shame, given how accomplished everything else in the cabin is.
That leads us to the driver’s display, which carries more importance here given the absence of a head-up display, one of the few notable omissions in the G6’s otherwise generous spec sheet. Thankfully, the driver’s display itself is highly customisable. It’s split into three sections that can be configured in different layouts, allowing you to prioritise information like speed, efficiency data, or navigation directions. It works well and, importantly, navigation instructions can be pulled through from Apple CarPlay. However, without a HUD, you do find yourself glancing down more often than you might like, particularly when checking speed limits or following directions, something that could have been alleviated with that extra layer of projection directly into your line of sight.
Battery Range & Charging
The G6 uses LFP battery chemistry, which means charging to 100% regularly has little meaningful effect on long-term battery health; reassuring given that XPENG backs it with an 8-year, 100,000-mile warranty.
Built on 800-volt architecture, the G6 supports DC rapid charging at up to 451kW, with a 10–80% charge achievable in just 12 minutes. Our own charging is done at home on a 7kW wallbox, which covers daily use without a second thought, but that rapid charging capability makes the G6 a genuinely compelling road trip companion, the kind of car where a motorway coffee stop is all the recharging window you need.
Range credentials are equally strong, and what's particularly telling is just how narrow the efficiency window is under real-world conditions. Drive it gently with considered one-pedal driving and the G6 will comfortably project around the XPENG's claimed 360 miles; this car isn't fibbing. Push it harder, sustained motorway speeds, fast country roads, climate control running throughout, and that figure settles around 310–320 miles. The key point is that even at its least efficient, the range still feels entirely usable. There's no anxiety at either end of the dial. It’s XPENG-ceptionally efficient under pressure!
The Drive
The XPENG G6 is a polite car. That might sound like faint praise, but spend time with it and you realise it's one of the highest compliments you can pay a car designed to cover serious miles in genuine comfort. Steering is light and easy by default; we left it there throughout most of our time with it, though it can be weighted up if preferred, and the whole experience has a smoothness to it that makes progress feel effortless rather than numb. What reinforces all of this is the cabin refinement. In our testing, we recorded noise levels of around 55dB at 70mph, dropping to 35–45dB on gentler roads below 50mph. Double-glazed windows, thorough insulation, and active noise cancellation work together to create a genuinely cocoon-like environment. On one local stretch of road that had been scraped back but not yet relaid, the sort of surface that usually fills a cabin with tyre roar, the texture barely registered from inside. The suspension sits in a medium-soft register that disguised it well at high speed. In fact, its suspension setup handles the vast majority of surfaces with composure, though on prolonged stretches of truly broken road, when travelling around 20mph or slower, it can develop a slight jiggle, not uncomfortable, but noticeable. It's a minor trade-off for what is otherwise a very well-judged ride and it is placid at speed.
Its tech adds to all of this in ways that keep revealing themselves with use. Pull into a car park and the centre display maps out every available bay; tap the one where you want to park and the G6 simply takes over. What's most striking isn't just the smoothness of it, but it's more assured than most self-parking systems as it doesn’t require any further prompts but the pace. It manoeuvres at the speed you would, not the tentative crawl other systems default to. Whether you'd get quite as squarely into a bay yourself is another question. This is a wide car, and for that reason we ended up letting the G6 park itself more often than not, though when we did take manual control or got ourselves into tight squeezes on the road, the 360-degree camera system proved indispensable. The ability to adjust viewing angles gives you exactly the perspective you need, and the on-screen measurements that appear when you're close to objects, hedges or kerbs take the guesswork out of threading into tighter spaces. Images can get a little grainy in low light, but depth perception remains easy to read and the distance indicators more than compensate. For a car of this width and length, it's a system you'll not just use constantly but pretty much rely on to navigate out of tight areas such as the many narrow country lanes we drove it down.
This Long Range version is rear-wheel driven, and it delivers that signature EV punch when you need it without requiring the step up to the performance model to throw your passengers into their seats! A 0–60mph time of 6.7 seconds means there's plenty of shove on demand, and on the motorway it becomes a genuinely relaxing companion, the kind of car that quietly does the hard work for you. Much of that is down to XPILOT, XPENG's driver assist system, which manages speed, steering/lane positioning and traffic flow with a naturalness that inspires confidence rather than anxiety, and is superb. On longer stints it takes a meaningful amount of strain away, and the difference in how you arrive compared to a more conventional car is noticeable. Its self-driving capabilities give the passengers no clue the human is no longer driving, which is the ultimate praise, as it doesn’t slam on the brakes when a car pulls in front or lurch between lines.
Switch to Sport mode and the steering firms up, throttle response sharpens and the acceleration feels more urgent. The G6 is genuinely fun in this configuration, with the instant torque already making it lively and entertaining. But it's worth being clear about what kind of car this is: unlike the Polestar 3 and Genesis GV60 models, which you can happily accelerate into a tight bend with real intent, the G6 Long Range isn't set up to be driven that way and perhaps talk of smooth and reliable performance would feel more suited. It's not a criticism so much as a character statement. This is a car that has decided exactly what it wants to be; supremely comfortable, refined and effortlessly fast when needed, and it executes that brief with considerable conviction to make it a great family car.
One-pedal driving, which XPENG calls XPedal, is available and well implemented. Approaching sliproads and roundabouts from motorway speeds, the brake pedal becomes largely redundant. Around town and through country lanes, it makes driving feel even more breezy and intuitive, and the 11.6-metre turning circle is tighter than you might expect from a car this size, removing the need for three-point turns in spots where other similarly proportioned cars would have demanded one.
We had the chance to test the headlights at night and we noted the adaptive capability does a solid job of illuminating a good field of range and reacts well to oncoming traffic, though they don't quite match the precision or theatre of pixel or projector-style units found on some rivals.
Verdict
The XPENG G6 quietly overdelivers. That's the most honest summary of a car that, on paper, looks like strong value, and in person confirms it. Everything comes as standard, and when you start comparing what rivals ask for similar money, the G6's proposition becomes increasingly difficult to argue with. Heated, ventilated and massaging comfy front seats, heated comfy rear seats, a panoramic roof, cameras everywhere, autonomous driving and parking that genuinely works; these are features that competitors either charge extra for or simply don't offer at this price point. Add DC rapid charging that takes the battery from 10–80% in just 12 minutes on a suitable charger, and this long-range version that covers 310–360 miles in real-world conditions with a 0–60mph time of 6.7 seconds, enough to make most ICE cars in this class feel pedestrian, and the value case becomes compelling.
As a complete package, there is very little not to like. It drives beautifully, with a composed, refined character that makes long journeys genuinely pleasurable. The cabin is ultra-hushed, the space generous and the interior quality punches well above its price tag. The tech credentials are significant: a voice assistant that handles commands from every seat with uncanny accuracy, self-parking that moves at human pace and places the car squarely in the bay, driver assist that takes over on the motorway so seamlessly that passengers won’t notice, and an infotainment system that is snappy, deep and genuinely easy to personalise.
It's not perfect. The Xopera audio system is the one area where the G6 doesn't live up to its own ambitions, and those who want a car that they can attack corners with will be better served elsewhere. But those are minor footnotes on an otherwise impressive debut. The XPENG G6 is a car that’s been engineered to give you more than you paid for and knows exactly what it wants to be: a refined, tech-forward, long-distance family car that gives you more than you paid for, and it executes that vision with real conviction. For a brand's opening statement in the UK, it couldn’t be much stronger.
