XPeng got off to a shaky start in Australia, but the brand has had a reboot — under the control of head office in China, rather than the importer that looked after it previously — in its attempt to tackle the likes of BYD and Tesla, among others.
First up is the updated XPeng G6 mid-sized SUV, the car we’ve tested here.
The brand likes to talk about technology. The Chinese brand pitches itself as a tech company that also makes cars, with flying cars and robots among the things on its to-do list.
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Yet the updated G6 — the mid-sized SUV that launched the brand in Australia — makes its strongest case with something more old-fashioned: price.
The range starts at $51,800 plus on-road costs, which undercuts the Tesla Model Y it’s so obviously chasing. The rear-wheel-drive Long Range we’re driving adds $5000 to that and still ducks under the Tesla.
The question is whether sharp pricing is enough to convince buyers to take a punt on a badge most of them have never heard of.
2026 XPeng G6 price and equipment
There are four variants in the updated XPeng G6 line-up, and the two rear-wheel-drive models are each $3000 cheaper than before.
The RWD Standard Range kicks things off at $51,800 plus on-road costs. It has a 68.5kWh LFP battery, a 185kW/440Nm rear motor and a claimed 480km of WLTP range.
Our RWD Long Range is $56,800. It gets a larger 80.8kWh (gross) LFP battery, a 218kW/440Nm motor and up to 525km of claimed range.
Sitting above it are the dual-motor AWD Performance ($63,800) and AWD Performance Black Edition ($66,800), with 358kW and 660Nm.
Every G6 sits on an 800-volt electrical architecture. XPeng claims the Long Range can charge at up to 451kW, taking it from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 12 minutes in ideal conditions. That’s seriously fast. There’s also vehicle-to-load (V2L) of up to 6kW.
Equipment is generous for the money. Our car comes standard with a panoramic sunroof, electrically adjustable front seats that are both heated and ventilated, a 360-degree camera, an electric tailgate, two cooled wireless phone chargers, ambient lighting and a digital rear-view mirror.
There are no matrix LED headlights, though (the Tesla gets them). You get auto high beam, which is not nearly as smart or sophisticated.
The warranty is seven years with unlimited kilometres for private buyers. The battery is covered for eight years or 160,000km.
Among others, the G6 lines up against the aforementioned Tesla Model Y, the BYD Sealion 7, Zeekr 7X, Kia EV5 and Leapmotor C10 in an increasingly crowded electric SUV market.
2026 XPeng G6: What we think
The first surprise when it comes to the XPeng G6 is the cabin. It’s classier than you might expect at this price.
There’s wood-look trim across the dash and matte silver finishes. Even the speaker grilles are a bit arty, with holes of different sizes.
The attention to detail goes further. The binnacle under the floating centre console has a furry lining rather than bare plastic. Ambient lighting is hidden neatly between the upper and middle door sections, giving a soft glow, and you can set a different colour for the finned section across the base of the dash. All of which works really well.
Much of the G6 feels a bit Tesla-esque. That starts with adjusting the mirrors, which is done through the touchscreen. You get used to it, but if you’re switching between drivers who haven’t created a profile it’s plenty of swiping and tapping.
There’s a two-spoke steering wheel and a gear selector stalk on the right, which frees up space in the centre console.
You engage cruise control Tesla-style by pushing that stalk down. The left-hand controls on the wheel then adjust the speed in 1km/h increments.
For a brand that sells itself on tech, the central screen is fairly generic. But it’s easy to make your own. You can choose the shortcut icons along the bottom, so I added the tailgate, drive modes and Apple CarPlay, among others.
A configurable button on the steering wheel can open the boot, turn the camera on, start lane centring, open the charge port or start auto parking. You can also set the wheel controls to adjust fan speed.
Run Google Maps through Apple CarPlay and the map also appears in the right-hand portion of the digital instrument cluster. That leaves the centre screen free for music, podcasts or the ventilation controls while you keep an eye on the directions. We’re big fans of that functionality, something that’s not as common as it should be.
Not everything is so intuitive. I never worked out how to make the charging cable release on its own. Sometimes it did, but it was slow, and I couldn’t quite work out how I did it. So I usually ended up unlocking it through the screen.
The sound system looks the part, with speakers in the roof and a subwoofer in the boot. There are plenty of settings to play with, including Dynamic, Original and Cinematic sound modes and four levels of spatial audio. A nice touch is that the left indicator ticks through the left speakers and the right through the right. But the sound quality is only average, and there’s not much bass.
Space is a strength. XPeng calls the G6 a coupe SUV, which is marketing talk, but there’s plenty of room and good headroom throughout. The flat rear floor helps when there are three in the back.
The sloping roof does cost you rear vision, though. The rear window is small, and with three rear headrests up, a lot of the view out is blocked. The digital rear-view mirror, which streams from a camera, partially addresses the issue.
The boot is a claimed 571 litres. The rear seats fold 60-40, and there’s a small storage space under the floor.
On the road, the G6 is competent rather than memorable. The rear-drive Long Range has plenty of performance. It puts its power down well, and while the stability control steps in occasionally, it’s generally well behaved.
The ride is where it falls short. The suspension is a little firm, a bit like an old-school Tesla. Over a run of smaller bumps the car jiggles and hops, and it takes a moment to settle. Even on the freeway it can feel busy. The damping needs more work.
The steering is so-so. It’s fairly light, and you can make it heavier in the settings, but it still feels a bit artificial.
There are five drive modes: Eco, Comfort, Sport, Individual and Launch. Individual lets you set throttle response, steering weight, brake pedal feel and regeneration. Regen runs from no regen (coasting) through Low, Medium and High. Off or Low was my preference.
Refinement is generally good. At low speeds, though, you can hear the whirr of the pedestrian warning sound, which some rivals mask better.
The driver monitoring is less annoying than many. It occasionally tells you you’re drowsy, sometimes after nothing more than a yawn, but it gives you a button on screen to quieten it.
2026 XPeng G6: Verdict
The XPeng G6 is sharp value, and it doesn’t do much wrong. The cabin is well finished and roomy, it comes with a lot of equipment, and some of its tech, like CarPlay maps in the instrument cluster, is genuinely clever.
But it’s also a bit generic. It looks like just another inoffensive mid-sized SUV and doesn’t stand out, either to look at or to drive. A bit more personality wouldn’t hurt, and neither would better suspension control.
The G6’s biggest challenge, though, is getting people to give an unfamiliar brand a go.
Buyers who do will find a well-equipped, well-priced electric SUV that does a decent job.
Score: 4/5
2026 XPeng G6 RWD Long Range specifications
Price: $56,800 plus on-road costs
Basics: EV, 5 seats, 5 doors, medium SUV, RWD
Range: 525km (WLTP)
Battery capacity: 80.8kWh gross (LFP)
Battery warranty: 8 years/160,000km
Energy consumption: 17.9kWh/100km (WLTP)
Motor: Single rear-mounted motor: 218kW/440Nm
AC charging: Up to 11kW
DC charging: Up to 451kW
0-100km/h: 6.7 seconds
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