2025 XPeng G6 Standard Range review

• Doors and Seats

  

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• Engine

  

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• Engine Power

  

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• Fuel

  

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• Transmission

  

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• Warranty

  

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• Ancap Safety

  

  5/5 star (2024)

Electric Cars Guide

You’re not alone in your confusion over the sheer volume of new electric vehicles arriving on the Australian market. I still find it hard to remember which brands are coming and I live and breathe automotive news every day.

But XPeng certainly is a brand that’s stamped its place Down Under, and the G6 is the Chinese brand’s first entrant.

It’s a mid-sized electric car that’s roughly equivalent in price and positioning to the Tesla Model Y or the Kia EV5. It has styling reminiscent of the former, but a price tag closer to the latter.

The important bit is the XPeng G6 shapes up as an incredible value-for-money play in our market. It offers a whole host of kit and features as standard (which I’ll get right into) and there are no optional extras.

That said, the devil is in the detail. We’ve previously criticised technology and features with poor calibrations, so I wanted to drill into the efficacy of how it all worked. As long as these features and systems work as intended, XPeng should be onto a winner in Australia.

The XPeng G6 comes to Australia with just two specifications, and there’s relatively little difference between the two because they both come with the same equipment.

What you’ll pay extra for is the 87.5kWh long-range battery and marginally more power. This is rated to allow the car to go 570km (based on WLTP testing) between charges.

But, the Standard Range car is nothing to turn your nose up at. Its 66kWh battery is rated to deliver 435km before running out of charge.

The Standard Range costs $54,800 plus on-road costs, or roughly $60,000 drive-away. This compares favourably with the freshly facelifted Tesla Model Y ($58,900 plus ORCs) and Kia EV5 ($56,770 plus ORCs).

The G6 Long Range variant begins from $59,800 plus on-road costs.

Power is supplied from a 190kW/440Nm rear-mounted electric motor in the Standard Range vehicle, while opting for the Long Range variant adds an extra 20kW.

Charge times are a fast 215kW speed on a DC fast charger, resulting in a 10 to 80 per cent charge in 20 minutes.

Standard inclusions are also generous, including heated/ventilated power-adjusting seats, synthetic leather-look upholstery, a panoramic glass roof, dual-zone climate control, and an 18-speaker sound system. You can’t miss the huge 15-inch touchscreen display either. This joins with the 10.2-inch instrument cluster to round-out the G6’s tech front.

The XPeng G6 is simply too new for there to be healthy stock levels of used examples online. However, there is ample stock of other new and used cars currently available – electric or otherwise.

Find your nearest XPeng dealer here, but don't expect one to be around every corner – at least for the moment. XPeng is planning a wider network, but for the time being, only five Experience Centres are currently up and running, between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

It’s clear to me that XPeng has been looking sideways at electric-car counterpart Tesla. This is obvious as soon as you step inside the cabin. There are smooth surfaces, minimal buttons, and an airy feel to the front row that is reminiscent of the Tesla Model Y.

It feels surprisingly high end too. There’s black headlining to provide a sense of premium-ness, while the standard-fit glass roof is a generous inclusion from the base level. However, it’s tinted so dark that it may as well have been a regular roof.

In any case, these elements help to achieve a comfortable level of spaciousness in the front row. There’s good room in the footwells, decent room side-to-side, and plenty of storage options too.

There’s a lidded centre console bin to stow items, a pair of cupholders, and twin wireless smartphone chargers (with cooling) at hand, plus a tray beneath the flyover central tunnel for placing other bits and pieces.

Most of the car’s settings and features are controlled through the big central touchscreen, which we’ll talk about in the next section, but every other touchpoint is covered in a soft-touch panel.

I’m not a fan of the odd-shaped steering wheel, with its sizeable centre spokes and oval-like shape. It doesn’t make it easy to twirl the steering wheel as you’re slotting it into a perpendicular parking spot.

That’s not the only thing that the XPeng does weird. Instead of traditional door handles, the G6 uses buttons to electrically ‘pop’ open the door latch so you can then exit the car. It’s an odd overcomplication of what should be a simple thing.

While we’re talking of weird aspects, the standard floor mats have no hooks in them so they’re constantly moving around on the car’s carpet flooring.

Second-row spaciousness is plentiful. There’s ample leg room behind my own driving position and my head wasn’t touching the roof lining either.

There are air vents behind the central console, plus twin USB-C charge ports. The car also comes with map pockets behind the seat backs, a fold-down centre arm rest with cupholders, and LED lights in the headlining.

The XPeng G6 doesn’t come with a sliding seat base or reclining back rest for the second row.

A power-operated boot release comes standard on the XPeng G6 which opens to reveal an 571-litre space. There’s a subfloor space to stow charge cables and valuables, plus a cargo blind, but the space is otherwise simple to use and slot large luggage cases into.

There is no spare wheel, just a tyre repair kit.

The XPeng’s 15-inch touchscreen infotainment system is fast-acting and feature rich. It’s relatively simple to get your head around – there are a set of shortcuts along the bottom and a full application draw to boot up different features and functionalities.

I like the colours and the graphics, it’s all bright and airy, and navigating through the settings is pretty self-explanatory.

The entire screen can transform into an Apple CarPlay or Android Auto display – it’s arguably the biggest representation I’ve seen for smartphone mirroring to date. There were some instances in which the CarPlay connectivity cut out for me, but the connection is more stable when wired.

It’s a shame that there are no simple controls for accessing the air-conditioning or side mirror adjustments. It can be tricky to change these on the go because there’s far more finger prodding involved than using traditional buttons and dials.

While the system worked well for the majority of my time with the car, there was a point where I was driving along and the entire tech suite rebooted itself randomly. This meant that not only did the infotainment screen go blank, but the digital driver’s cluster also rebooted, meaning I lost access to my speedometer – a critical piece of information required while driving.

Thankfully this was a once-off during my time with the car.

The standard 18-speaker sound system might sound impressive on paper, but the resultant experience distinctly lacks bass. It’s fine for listening to the radio, though you could likely be disappointed when streaming tunes from your phone.

The XPeng G6 comes with a smartphone companion app in which you can view real-time information about the car. It also acts as a key so that you can unlock and lock the car using a phone, rather than a key.

Euro NCAP tested the XPeng G6 to a five-star standard late in 2024. ANCAP has ported this rating across to Australian cars.

Within the overall five-star score, there's an 88 per cent rating for adult occupants and 86 per cent for child occupants. Vulnerable road users (pedestrians) get an 81 per cent rating, while the performance of the safety assistance systems on the G6 were rated at 80 per cent.

Good news for consumers is the fact that both XPeng G6 specifications benefit from a wide array of safety technology.

The even better news is that the systems worked very well.

You’ve got all of the basics, including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-centring, and rear cross-traffic alert.

The suite even extends to include driver monitoring and attention warnings.

Some newer Chinese brands that have entered the Australian market have brought poorly calibrated cameras, radars, and technology. However, the XPeng ’s suite is well tuned and well suited to Australian conditions.

This means the adaptive cruise control keeps good distances behind other cars, the lane-centring kept the car within lane markings, and the driver monitoring system didn’t carry on if I dared look at the infotainment screen for a brief moment.

Interestingly, the servicing and maintenance for XPeng cars is carried out through Ultra Tune locations in Australia.

This joint arrangement is likely an interim solution while XPeng’s own dealership and service centres are brought online. There are a select few XPeng experience centres at present, distributed across Australia’s eastern coast.

The warranty can be extended for up to 10 years or 220,000km – though the standard arrangement is five years or 120,00km. XPeng is currently offering a complimentary warranty upgrade to a total of 10 years for both the battery (including drive components) and the vehicle itself. This ends on June 30, 2025.

The battery and drive unit are regularly warranted for up to eight years or 160,000km.

A 12-month roadside assistance package is included from the day you collect an XPeng G6. This is extended by 12 months every time the car is serviced at Ultra Tune locations.

The service intervals stand at 12 months or 20,000km.

The standard-range XPeng G6 is rated with a total driving distance of 435km (WLTP). You can get more out of the car by opting for the Long Range variant (570km), but the Standard Range car was good enough for me.

What’s better, the car is remarkably frugal in terms of its energy consumption. XPeng claims 17.5 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometres, but I achieved the far better result of 12.6kWh/100km in my time with the car.

While I spent a lot of time driving the G6 in traffic, my week also included some freeway stints and country touring.

The 66kWh battery can be replenished at up to 215kW using a DC fast charger, or at 11kW using a three-phase set-up. XPeng quotes a DC fast charge time of 20 minutes charging from 10–80 per cent.

The XPeng G6 also comes with vehicle-to-load (V2L) capabilities utilising a 220-volt power outlet.

Spend any sort of time inside the XPeng G6 and you’ll quickly realise that it’s one of the better-driving Chinese-built electric vehicles.

Though the G6 Standard Range 'only' makes do with 190kW compared to the Long Range’s 210kW – there is plenty of grunt when you lean into the throttle and it zips up to the speed limit quickly from a standstill.

I like the way you can simply skip between drive and reverse using the gear selector stalk, like a Mercedes-Benz, and also engage the XPILOT adaptive cruise-control system using a double pull of the lever (like older Teslas).

These points are shamelessly nicked from rival manufacturers, but it’s a smart way to control the car.

Both XPeng G6 specifications are shod in Michelin Pilot Sport EV rubber, which goes a long way to provide assuredness when rounding corners – in the dry or wet. There’s a confidence to the way the car handles its (weighty) mass through bends, even when you’re threading through at speed.

The driving experience can be customised with different regeneration modes, different pedal feels, and varying steering weights.

Naturally, I thought the XPeng G6 fared the best in a suburban setting. It punched out of intersections easily and ran softly over speedhumps and road imperfections.

There’s a quiet and composed feeling to the way the G6 went over train tracks and poorly paved roads too. The bump absorption leaned further into the comfort side of the ledger, but it remained dynamic enough not to feel floaty.

The XPeng G6 isn’t really intended as a tow vehicle, but the company has provided some technical specifications for its limited appeal as a towing rig.

It’s rated to tow up to 1500kg using a braked trailer or 750kg without.

As with most electric cars (or cars in general, really), plan for poor energy efficiency when towing.

The XPeng G6 comes with a healthy payload of 528kg – more than enough for five adults plus luggage.

There is a plethora of choice in the new and affordable electric vehicle arena. This means good buying for the subset of Australians who have held out on an EV until now.

Almost immediately, with its first-ever model, the XPeng G6 has jumped to the pointy end of the competition. This is because not only does it provide a strong argument in the value-for-money stakes, but the underlying product is generally good.

It drives nicely for around-town duties, the interior is spacious, tech-laden, and bright, and the electric efficiency is among the best I’ve seen personally.

No doubt, it’s a strange arrangement for the servicing aspect, but hopefully XPeng brings maintenance in-house in the future.

Arguably, one of the most impressive parts of the XPeng G6 experience is the driving assist technologies. Simply because it works without fault.

Electric Cars Guide

Tom started out in the automotive industry by exploiting his photographic skills but quickly learned journalists got the better end of the deal. With tenures at CarAdvice, Wheels Media, and now Drive, Tom's breadth of experience and industry knowledge informs a strong opinion on all things automotive. At Drive, Tom covers automotive news, car reviews, advice, and holds a special interest in long-form feature stories.

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