The SCMP is embarking on a six-part series of motoring reviews to focus on Chinese electric vehicles that are made for the export market, either in the right-hand drive versions or their original left-hand drive editions. In the first of this six-part series, Mark Andrews puts Xpeng's G6 sports-utility vehicle through the paces, concluding that it is not so much a car that you drive than the car that drives you.
Xpeng is currently the biggest disappointment of the three best-known Chinese electric vehicle (EV) start-ups, selling fewer cars than Li Auto or Nio.
Where Xpeng does better is in the global market. The G6 sports-utility vehicle, launched in June 2023, is the vanguard of Xpeng's push into Hong Kong's right-hand drive market with its larger sibling the X9 people-mover.
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How does the G6 handle? The Guangzhou-based carmaker recently put the SUV to a test at the Guangdong International Circuit in Zhaoqing, going toe-to-toe against Tesla's bestselling Model Y and - rather surprisingly - BMW's iX3.
The G6 and Model Y both outperformed the iX3 on the track, which was unsurprising since both were designed-from-scratch EVs, each with dual-motors. The iX3 was converted from the petrol-guzzling X3, with only an electric motor on the rear axle.
Customers around Xpeng G6 sport-utility vehicle (SUV) at a showroom on June 14, 2023. Photo: Weibo alt=Customers around Xpeng G6 sport-utility vehicle (SUV) at a showroom on June 14, 2023. Photo: Weibo>
I felt that Xpeng had a slight edge over Tesla in the driving experience. But with neither car aiming to be the all-out performance model, their handling and drive on the track was moot. What is more important is how the G6 handles on the public road. In this matter, the G6 is not so much a car that you drive, than a car that drives you.
Xpeng, founded 10 years ago, is the self-anointed leader in China's assisted-driving technology. It fought a lawsuit in 2020 with Tesla over alleged theft of autonomous driving software codes, which was eventually dropped by the plaintiff. Xpeng was the world's first to launch a mass-produced car, the P5, equipped with Lidar, using lasers for range and guidance. Elon Musk famously quipped that installing lidar on production models was "a fool's errand," and Tesla's camera-based FSD guidance system is now under investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after several fatal crashes. The G6 comes with its XNGP fully loaded and fully functioning.
The G6 XNGP consists of a highway mode for driving on long distances and an urban mode for certain Chinese cities. Since my test drive, Xpeng told me the XNGP has moved away from its reliance on high-definition mapping and is available in most Chinese cities except in restricted areas (such as near military bases).
The interior of Xpeng's G6 at a showroom in Guangzhou on June 14, 2023. (VCG) alt=The interior of Xpeng's G6 at a showroom in Guangzhou on June 14, 2023. (VCG)>
The system performed flawlessly when I tested it in June on the 98-kilometre (61 miles) stretch of highway between the cities of Zhaoqing and Guangzhou, even when we were confronted with a traffic jam and temporary roadworks.
Inner-city traffic in Guangzhou, a city of 18 million people, was more of a challenge for the system. All Chinese cities deal with the confluence of two, three and four-wheel vehicles, but in Guangzhou, there was commingling of every transport mode, which confounded the system, requiring more human interventions. Interestingly, the XNGP performed worse in Guangzhou than my earlier trial on a P7i in Shanghai.
Xpeng provides software updates frequently over the air, and the carmaker said the system can now identify a stationary vehicle blocking a lane, a significant improvement that was absent in the version I tested.
The G6 drives with little feedback with reasonably well-balanced steering. I tested the dual-motor version, which can hit 100km/h in 3.9 seconds. The single-motor version reaches that in 5.9 seconds. The suspension is on the soft side, as is typical of Chinese cars.
Every variant of the G6, based on an 800-volt architecture, is only capable of 3C charging, which means 300km of driving range with 10 minutes of charging. Higher-spec versions use a 87.5kWh battery which gives the single motor version up to 755km of range, or 700km range for the dual-motor edition. There is also a cheaper version with a smaller lithium iron phosphate battery capable of 580km. Many competitors now offer 5C charging.
Chinese customers are famously enamoured of electronic bells and whistles, which is why I found the absence of a head-up display in the G6 the biggest disappointment. It would have made the situational awareness much better, even when the car is in driving assistance mode. Instead, there is a 15-inch infotainment screen which displays data with a narrow 10-inch panel. Although most features are accessible through the infotainment screen, they can also be controlled through voice command via the built-in AI assistant, dubbed Xiao P.
"Xiao P, find my way home," in either Mandarin Chinese or English, and the route appears on the panel. This is one of the most advanced in the industry, capable of supporting multiple voice commands in a stream.
There are creature comforts aplenty, including dual wireless phone charging pads and cup holders. The Max version boasts seats wrapped in Nappa leather, with electrically adjustable, heated and ventilated front seats. Rear seats are manually adjustable while passengers get two Type C USB ports. Cheaper versions use less leather. With a non-opening panoramic roof, the interior seems quite light, with more than adequate head and leg space for rear passengers.
The G6 is one of XPeng's first right-hand drive models. The carmaker attracted 500 orders within two months of sales starting in May in Hong Kong, and delivery is imminent.
Overall, the car offers an enticing package. It looks, though, would have been enhanced by a permanently deployed spoiler on the rear. Currently this is only available as an electrically deployed one on the dual-motor version, which furthermore, is a cost option.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright ? 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
