Xpeng G60 offers solid Chinese Coupé SUV alternative

The Xpeng G6 is a new and bigger entrant to the battery electric (BEV) car market in Ireland. The Chinese-built brand is the latest addition to the ever-growing range of Chinese cars being imported by Motor Distributors, one of Ireland’s longest established motor importers.

This car doesn’t necessarily stand out as much as it stands up, in particular against the Tesla Model Y.

This is a coupé SUV car with a sizeable car feel to it. The frameless doors have a solid feel and there’s great rear seat legroom. It just feels spacious and airy which is further confirmed by the 570-litre boot space that expands to 1374 litres with the rear seats folded. That spacious feel is also noticeable by the elbow room across the width of the car.

The Xpeng G6 standard models are powered by a 66kWh battery pack with a 435km WLTP driving range, and rear wheel drive, was the car that I drove recently. The long range and all-wheel drive performance versions with their larger 87.5kWh batteries have a longer WLTP range of up to 570kms on a full charge.

Out on the road the Xpeng G60 has impressive power but it can be thirsty in terms of battery power. The car has a drive by wire system so its easy to feel remote from the road and accelerate beyond your needs.

That’s confirmed by the performance rating of the car, which claims to have a 0-100kms/hr acceleration of just 6.9 seconds. That part is not exceptional in its own right, because BEV’s display greater acceleration power than ICE engine car equivalents. There’s also an optional electrically deployable towbar with a towable capacity of 1,500 kgs which is better than more other BEV’s that I’ve recently driven.

The car is very comfortable with a quality feel to the interior, including the steering wheel. The leatherette seats are firm and easily adjustable with a two-third/one-third rear seat folding that feels weighty.

The downside of this car for me was the high level of technology, almost all of which is operational only through the large central touchscreen. As might be expected in a vehicle developed with leading AI technology, touch-button technology is a major feature of driving this car. It’s not that I’m a dinosaur, there are few if any tactile buttons to be found and setting even the cruise control, required a touchscreen input. So, if you’re not a fan of screen type technology in your car, this may not be the one for you.

Other features present in every Xpeng G6 include 20-inch rims with Michelin tyres, a large panoramic glass roof, multi-adjustable, heated and leatherette-covered seats all around, ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, four USB ports, two 50W induction charging points for smartphones, a 960W audio system with 18 speakers, and an extensive library of music, video, entertainment and social media apps.

The car has an impressive 2024 Euro NCAP five-star safety rating and standard features include driver assistance and operating systems that include blind-spot monitoring and parking assist. The all-round camera coverage makes parking so much easier helped by a 360-degree radar system. The fact that the numerous other functions are centralised on a not always operator-friendly touchscreen, makes setting more complex while the digital instrument screen behind the steering wheel is a little small, there are useful steering-wheel mounted controls for functions such as heating and radio control.

This is a fine solid car that has been loaded with new technology, while the driving range was a little light, from my experience. Over a 580km driving test across a mix of motorways and national and winding rural roads, I found that using the public charging facilities and the occasional fast charge for boosting, that it cost me about €60 or €0.10 per kilometre.

Equipment levels are high for the Xpeng G60 entry price of €43,951, after SEAI and Government grants and there’s a good feel to the car. Just give me a little less touchscreen.