XPENG is the latest best thing from China

The relentless surge of Chinese models flooding on to the Irish market is an amazing phenomenon. Everybody is talking about them. And when you get people talking about something so much you create an awareness and a familiarity that enhances the chances of you buying into the genre.

XPENG is the latest brand people are talking about, with its recent launch expanding into national news broadcasts – and that doesn’t happen too often.

There is a confluence of factors swelling the ranks of the Chinese wave. They include massive over-production of cars for the home (China) market at a time when confidence and buying have dipped.

In parallel with that is the compulsion of economic necessity to sell millions and millions of more of these battery electric vehicles (BEVs) all over the world. They are setting massive targets and, crucially, have the capacity to meet them. They can even build factories in the likes of Europe to be near their markets.

Europe is a huge bloc of opportunity and already they have shown themselves capable of lacing into more expensive legacy brands such as Volkswagen and Mercedes on the one thing that really matters – price. The introduction of lower-priced models has forced a downward ‘alignment’ in the cost of a new car. With prices falling (perhaps stabilising a bit of late) people held off until they feel prices have bottomed out. That has prompted a fall in sales and a slowdown in buying battery electric vehicles (BEVs) overall.

Against that backdrop comes the XPENG G6 mid-sized SUV, the first of many promised by this young company which is using Motor Distributors Ltd (MDL) as its importers here. First in the frame is the G6 coupe which I have just tested, while others potentially primed for here include the G9 flagship SUV, the P7 saloon, and the P7+ fastback saloon.

The G6 is a mid-sized family SUV; it is quite tall with a pronounced crescent shape and is subtly, rather than dramatically, styled. Think Tesla Model Y.

I was greatly impressed with the amount of cabin space. So much so that it will have to be filed under the ‘above average sized SUV’ category. You’ll have no complaints from the back seats on leg, head, elbow room. And there is a large boot: its capacity is 571 litres and with the rear seats folded your luggage compartment stretches to 1,384 litres. The car is 4,753mm long, 1,920mm wide, 1,650mm tall and has a 2,890mm wheelbase.

I must say it has one of the un-fussiest cabins in its class. It is straight out of the Tesla Model Y minimalist template. As are many other elements: front, side profile and dash. Most people’s immediate reaction was ‘Tesla’ when I showed it to them. There are remarkable similarities.

There is one area, however, where Tesla and XPENG go their separate ways. The Chinese model is well off the Top 10 list of good handling cars. The suspension is poor, with lacklustre dampening leading to flouncy driving on any sort of a twisty road. It was among the poorest I have come across in a while. In fairness, many SUVs suffer this affliction; it is a side-effect of being tall and bulky. But the Tesla, while no tarmac hugger supremo, is a good deal better than the XPENG.

If such matters don’t concern you (and most people are not that bothered) then you can happily reflect on the difference in price you’d enjoy in the G6. It tears a gap of nearly €5,000 between the two. With an entry-level price of €42,000, it outguns the Y which kicks off at €46,990. I don’t think there is a lot of spec that the Tesla has over and beyond the XPeng which would make that much of a difference.

I was driving the standard 66kWh battery model which has a claimed range of 435kms. There is a long-range 75 kWh battery with a 570km range (€49,440). I could have done with the longer-range model to take in a sweeping drive to Belfast and back. My test car fell well short of the claimed 435kms though I must say it re-charged quickly on a fast charger and I could see it doing 10pc-to-80pc in under 20 minutes on an even faster one.

My driving was, in the main, on good quality surfaces so there was little or no tyre/road noise. Seating was sturdy and comfortable with good adjustment. I sat high with a great view out front but the design of the rear window and the imposition of a head-rest blocked a lot of rear vision.

The graphic text for the driver-info screen behind the wheel was too small. I found myself squinting. The font size was tiny and really hard to read particularly as it was on a white background. They would do well to redress this criticism.

The same applied to text and icons on the main laptop-sized infotainment screen. As I sat for an hour in the car while filling up prior to the long journey on an abysmally slow charger I explored the jungle of technology. How, for example, do you adjust the wing mirrors? There are no buttons. So you have to delve deep to find the relevant prompt. And make sure you get them set as you want them before setting off because you risk an incident if you try to adjust on the move via the screen.

But enough of the quibbles. The fact of the matter is that the G6 is a thoroughly clever piece of work, has an extensive spread of technology and will not be noticeably beaten on spec or price. It is more ‘executive’ than might first appear to be the case. A bit like an Audi model with just that bit more upmarket about it than, say, a mainstream Volkswagen.

There is a substantial range of safety and comfort elements including adaptive cruise control, driver monitoring system, transparent chassis, 12 cameras and so on. There is no messing with special packs of equipment with which some makers clog their lists. Both the standard and long-range models have the same levels of spec, except for the difference in battery make-up (Lithium Iron Phosphate v Nickel-Manganese for the more powerful model).

The G6 also has a maximum five stars from the EuroNCAP crash test programme. The battery is guaranteed for eight years while there is a five-year warranty on the car.

This is a well-priced but not cheap and cheerful roomy BEV. It only lacks on-road poise. It’s another example of a Chinese automaker getting so much right on its first foray into the Irish market.

No wonder people are talking about them.

XPENG On The Move
Since first deliveries of models began in Norway at the end of 2020, the company has introduced its vehicles to buyers in Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Iceland, Spain, and Portugal.

And, as already mentioned, further expansion is under way.

The G6 coupe SUV, G9 flagship SUV and the P7 saloon have all received Euro NCAP 5-star safety ratings.

By the end of next year, it plans on having a presence in more than 60 markets overall.

The aim is to have half of its total sales on international markets.