XPENG G6 Performance Black Edition
A comfortable performance
Words by Mark Slack
You may have noticed, not just on the road but from advertisements, every new car brand that’s launched seems to emanate from China. Although not all, most are EVs and one of the most aspiring entrants is XPENG. They arrived in the UK back in 2024 and have launched a nicely compact yet comprehensive line-up of vehicles.
Their G6 mid-size coupe SUV has just received some subtle external changes, but lots more, 20,000 changes according to XPENG, under the skin. Tweaks to the equipment, suspension, steering and technical side of the car. However, one of the major changes is the addition of a performance model, the 480 bhp, all-wheel-drive, dual motor, Black Edition.
Priced at £49,990 the G6 Performance offers an excellent array of standard features and passes the benchmark 62 mph in a whisker over 4 seconds. The all-important range is listed as 316 miles, which from past experience of a G6 suggests in the real world 280 miles is achievable given the right conditions. Exploit your right foot though – easily done – and the range will sink! In the overall car park of such brands the G6 range isn’t at all bad and very useable.
Charging time is excellent, it can charge from a 450kwh charger from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 12 minutes, and few if any EVs can match the XPENG at the moment. This makes it eminently more practical and useable. However, there’s always a ‘but’! You’ll struggle to find a 450kwh charger here in the UK, certainly for the time being at least. If the lack of infrastructure, not to mention the extremely high cost here in the UK, annoys you as a customer, then just think how the car makers feel about it.
On the road the G6 Performance model rides well, arguably more settled than the long-range model, and although no sports machine it’s surprising just how nimble it can be on a more twisting road. It’s certainly better on A roads and dual carriageways, and a very pleasant drive. Comfort is faultless and equipment levels generous.
Despite my disapprobation for touchscreen and tech-mania, XPENG’s ‘Hey XPENG’ voice command system actually works rather well. It saves dipping into numerous menus. You can also move command icons from any screen to feature on the ‘home’ screen by dragging them as if on your laptop. A nod to the fact that tech features in cars do need to be made easier, quicker and safer to access when driving.
A Standard range G6 model will join the range later, priced at £39,990 with a 292-mile range and the benchmark 62 mph passed in a respectable 6.9 seconds. Pick of the crop for this writer though is the Performance Black Edition. Its sparkling performance, creature comforts and excellent build quality might tempt even Tesla drivers.
Words by Mark Slack
