2027 Xpeng G6 review

What is the Xpeng G6 like on the inside?

The Xpeng G6 interior is very much a product of the modern Chinese EV playbook: big screen, minimal buttons, loads of tech and a few things that make you go, "hang on, where's that?''.

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The main event is the massive infotainment touchscreen in the centre of the dash, which controls just about everything. You've also got a digital instrument cluster in front of you, but Xpeng has gone for a pretty minimalist approach elsewhere.

The indicators and wipers are on the usual stalk, but the lights? They're on the screen.

There's also a gear selector stalk, and double-tapping it down activates the cruise control. Once you've spent a bit of time in the car, it becomes pretty easy to live with.

The steering wheel controls are similar. There's a bit of a learning curve, but once you've worked out what does what, you've got easy access to things like volume and cruise control adjustments.

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Between the seats are two ventilated wireless phone chargers, so you can chuck your phone in there and it'll actually charge, not just heat it up. One of those chargers also incorporates an NFC card reader, so you can use that key instead of the regular fob or the Bluetooth-connected app key.

There's plenty of other storage, too: cupholders, a big centre-console bin, decent bottle holders in the doors, and a lower storage area with 12V and USB connectivity.

So, from a practicality perspective, there's not much to complain about.

There's also configurable ambient lighting, which – if your kid is anything like mine – will be one of the car’s best features. You can choose from a range of colours, and it does give the cabin a bit more atmosphere at night.

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There's a huge, heavily tinted glass roof, matched with a dark headliner.

It looks good and makes the cabin feel pretty airy, although if you're not a fan of sitting under a giant greenhouse, Xpeng offers an accessory shade to cover it.

The sun visors have absolutely enormous vanity mirrors, which is handy, but the visors don’t offer extendability. 

The overhead console has your SOS button, emergency kill switch and hazard lights, sitting above an auto-dimming rear-view mirror. What you don't get is a head-up display.

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Then there's the touchscreen, and this is where things get properly tech-heavy.

You can have it in split-screen or full-screen mode, and wireless Apple CarPlay is included. But the native Xpeng system does a lot more than just playing music and showing you where you're going.

You can control vehicle settings, driving modes, efficiency information, lighting, seat adjustment and massage functions from here.

There's also voice control, charging schedules, sound settings, Spotify, an internet browser and a built-in digital video recorder — although you'll need to supply your own USB drive for that.

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And then you've got some of the more unusual stuff.

X-Combos lets you create your own little smart routines, there's a mindfulness space, and there's even a sleep mode designed for camping.

The air-conditioning controls sit along the bottom of the screen, including dual-zone temperature adjustment, fan speed, air direction and recirculation controls, as well as rear climate settings.

And, yep, the touchscreen is also where you'll find the controls for the heated and ventilated front seats, rear seat heating, and heated steering wheel.

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There's a huge amount of functionality here, and there’s also a drop-down quick-access menu, giving you shortcuts for things like side mirror adjustment, opening the charge port or boot, and turning on the seat heaters.

In the back, the  G6 is a very spacious thing. There's loads of legroom, plenty of space for your feet underneath the front seats and good headroom, thanks in part to the recessed section of that glass roof. Even at 182cm/6’0” tall, I could fit without complaint.

There are overhead lights, grab handles, speakers in the roof and doors, ambient lighting, map pockets, directional air vents, two USB-C ports, and bottle holders in the doors.

And because it has a flat floor, fitting three people across the back is easier than it would be in a car with a big centre hump.

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The rear doors use electronic release buttons, although there are conventional manual emergency release levers there as well.

The window switches are thankfully normal, too. They're actual little pull-up, push-down jobs, rather than those on-trend ones that are seemingly backwards in their operation.

For child seats, you've got ISOFIX anchors on the two outer rear positions and top-tether points for all three.

There's a fold-down centre armrest with pop-out cupholders, and the rear backrest splits and offers a significant amount of recline adjustment.

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The boot is generous, too, with 571 litres of cargo capacity. That’s less than some of the rivals, but it can easily swallow a few suitcases, and additional under-floor storage is suitable for charging cables. But you won't find any bag hooks. 

The rear seatbacks can fold down to unlock a maximum cargo capacity of 1374L. Sleepable, I guess?

But, as with many new EVs, there’s no spare wheel. You get a tyre repair kit instead. And, unlike a Tesla, there's no additional storage compartment under the bonnet.

To see how the Xpeng G6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What's under the bonnet?

You’ve got a few choices here when it comes to the Xpeng G6, and while I haven’t driven the entry-level Standard Range, I’m not sure the power deficit would be all that noticeable since it has a smaller, lighter battery.

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Those DC fast-charging rates are insane, right? Well, they also might be a bit fantastical, because nowhere in Australia right now can you recharge at that kind of rate.

There are only a few 350kW chargers around the country, so temper your rapid-recharge expectations, my friends.

To see how the Xpeng G6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the Xpeng G6 drive?

One of the things I really like about the Xpeng G6 is how well sorted the driver-assistance systems are.

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That might sound like a strange thing to lead with in a driving section, but spend enough time in Chinese-built EVs (or read enough reviews of these sorts of cars) and you'll know exactly why I'm mentioning it.

The G6 doesn't constantly chime at you, grab the steering wheel, or make you dive into menus every single time you drive it to desperately turn something off.

The lane-keeping assistance is predictable, the driver monitoring isn't overly sensitive, and generally the safety systems just get on with their job without becoming the most annoying thing in the car.

And the long-range rear-wheel drive version’s power delivery is very smooth and well mannered.

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It's an EV, so when you ask for some oomph, there's a good slap of it. Straight-line performance is swift, and while it isn't particularly sporty through corners, I don't think that's what Xpeng is chasing here.

The steering is accurate and predictable, and the car responds nicely in the bends, but overall the G6 comes across as aiming to be comfortable and easy to drive rather than trying to put a stupid grin on your face.

The standard-fit 20-inch wheels with low-profile Michelin tyres seem an odd inclusion for this Long Range spec, considering it’s supposedly all about extended range driving. I get it, they look cool, but personally I’d prefer an extra few kays of range, so I’d be asking about switching them for the base model’s 18s.

With the 18-inch package you get higher-profile tyres, which are likely to give you a more forgiving ride, not to mention the potential improvement to your driving range, so there's actually a pretty good argument for sticking with the smaller rims, even if they’re dorky.

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On top of that, the ride on the 20s was firmer than anticipated.

On broken or bumpy roads, rather than simply soaking up the bumps and moving on like some rivals do, it does transmit some of that jitter and clunk to the cabin. Of course, there’s a heap of chassis strengthening because of the hefty battery pack, so some of it may come down to that.

Once you get onto a freeway or highway, however, it settles down nicely.

There are selectable drive modes if you want to change the way it responds, although there's no adaptive suspension damping so you're not getting the sort of chassis transformation you might find in a more expensive luxury EV.

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One feature I particularly like is the single-pedal driving system, called X-pedal, or Stop Mode.

With that activated, you can basically drive the car only using the accelerator, with the regenerative braking bringing you smoothly to a complete stop, even on a gradient. Once you've stopped, auto-hold kicks in as well.

The brake pedal does take a little bit of getting used to. But once you work out the relationship between regenerative braking and the friction brakes the pedal response is predictable enough.

And tech fans (as well as nervous parkers) will be happy with the excellent semi-autonomous parking system, and the camera tech which is helpful when merging or reversing, or doing parking moves.

To see how the Xpeng G6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool