2025 XPeng G6 Long Range Review: Why the latest Tesla Model Y rival to land in Australia is more than a copy and paste imitation

Like a dam wall cracking and then bursting, rivals for the Tesla Model Y are now flooding into Australia.

This week it’s the XPeng G6, a vehicle not so much inspired by the top-selling electric mid-size SUV as evolved from it.

No, the G6 is not the result of some old school Chinese cost-and-paste engineering and design, even if it’s almost exactly the same dimensions as the Y and looks like one that’s been pumped full of helium and popped the seams.

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It’s just clear where the XPeng product development team were focussed when developing the G6’s attributes.

Please explain? Well, if you had to list Model Y faults a stiff ride, an austere interior and no speedometer in front of the driver would be common complaints.

The Xpeng G6 addresses those areas, undercuts the Y on price and throws in a long high-tech equipment list and a powertrain that demonstrates impressive frugality.

2025 XPeng G6 Long Range price and equipment

‘Great’, you might say, ‘but who the hell is XPeng?’

Fair question.

It’s a 10-year-old independently-owned Chinese brand that’s only just getting into its stride thanks to some Volkswagen investment and its most recent models, which are starting to sell big at home.

The G6 has been a cornerstone of its early and aggressive international expansion, which now extends to 30-or-so markets. It launched and started delivering G6s via Australian distributor TrueEV in December 2024.

There are two models in the line-up, the $54,800 Standard Range and the $59,800 Long Range (both prices are plus on-road costs).

The significance here is they undercut their direct Model Y rivals by $1100 and $10,100 respectively.

Clearly, based on that pricing, TrueEV is encouraging potential buyers to step-up to the Long Range.

As its name suggests its primary advantage over the cheaper model is how far it can go between recharges. This is achieved via an 87.5kWh NMC battery pack that claims 570km at a 17.5kwh/100km average (both WLTP numbers). The Standard Range offers 435km from its LFP battery at the same consumption average.

Both models employ an 800V architecture which allows a claimed DC recharging rate up to 280kW for the Long Range and 215kW for the Standard Range. Both can charge at up to 11kW AC.

The G6 also comes with vehicle to load (V2L) charging via the external port.

Both G6s also drive their rear wheels via a single e-motor and reduction gear. The Long Range makes 210kW/440Nm, the Standard Range 190kW/440Nm. The main difference here is the acceleration rate to 100km/h – 6.2 seconds for the Long Range and 6.6 for the Standard Range.

Inside vegan leather trim is spread pretty lavishly, there is front seat power adjustment, dual-zone climate control and an 18-speaker stereo including two speakers in the driver’s headrest.

When it comes to equipment there is no difference. Externally they both get a panoramic sunroof, LED headlights, a power tailgate, 20-inch alloy wheels and access via a smartphone Bluetooth key.

There is heaps of high-end tech; a 14.96-inch infotainment touchscreen and 10.2-inch digital instrument panel, embedded sat-nav, digital and FM radio, third party apps and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There are USB ports and dual 50W cooled smartphone chargers as well.

The level of smarts in the XPeng G6 is underlined by its semi-autonomous driving capability, traffic monitoring and self-parking that even selects the parking spot for you. It works.

That’s backed up by more orthodox assistants like autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. The G6 also comes with a plethora of camera views, sensors, a five star ANCAP rating and seven airbags.

There’s no spare tyre, no extra charge for any paint choice or either (black or white) interior trim, the warranty is five years/120,000km and the batter warranty eight years/160,000km

2025 XPeng G6 Long Range: What we think

If we’ve learned one thing about Chinese cars it’s that they read great in brochures and impress on the showroom floor.

But once you get going they can fall apart a bit. It’s not for want of having the right bits, more that they aren’t that well calibrated together.

Well, the XPeng G6 isn’t perfect, but it’s certainly liveable, even comfortable.

The key to it all is the relaxed driving feel. If XPeng has indeed considered the Model Y then it’s done the smart thing and veered away from its darty steering and sharp ride.

The G6 has the relaxed loping gait of those long wheelbase Aussie luxury cars of yore like the Ford Fairlane. It’s about cossetting not carving corners.

Even rolling on 20-inch Michelin tyres, passengers are protected from most surface irregularities and road noises. Only at ultra-low speeds are lumps and joins notably jolting.

The weak dynamic point of the G6 is the steering. It’s just too relaxed and approximate. I do admit I might not have got the steering tune right as there are three modes to choose from. There are also four drive modes, three brake modes, four energy saving modes and even a meditation mode (for when figuring out which of the other modes to choose drives you a bit batty).

The powertrain’s performance is strong enough without being memorable. It’s best bit is its economy. In our 600km with the G6 (basically Sydney CBD to Canberra CBD return via freeways, highways and backways), the average came out at 18kWh/100km. That’s pretty decent for a 2.0-tonne EV.

We couldn’t test the ultimate recharging speed of the Long Range because the fastest charger within range was rated at 150kW DC.

As already mentioned, the five-seat interior of the G6 feels and looks more premium than the Model Y. Unlike the Tesla, you do feel like you’re driving a vehicle at least commensurate with the price tag.

Added to that, the amount of space in the G6 is exceptional. There’s acres of room in the back and no shortage in the front either. Despite no glovebox (dual HEPA filters for the a-c instead) there is plentiful storage.

The boot is big at 571 litres, expanding to 1341 litres with the rear seats spli-folded. But curiously, despite rolling on a new EV-specific platform, there is no frunk.

While the speedo is appreciated – it simply helps the driver not be distracted – there is still too much drilling into the touchscreen of the G6.

You want to adjust the exterior mirrors, the direction of the air vents, change drive modes or many other basic things, then you do it through the screen. Buttons on the steering wheel also perform multiple functions. There are shortcuts and an artificial intelligence helper, but she battled to understand my Aussie accent.

There were other annoyances. Pecking noises through the headrest speakers warning of lane keeping indiscretions forced it to be turned off. Meanwhile the sat-nav map was covered by a side-camera view each time the indicators were activated at low speed. Not handy if you need to know which way to go next!

2025 XPeng G6 Long Range: Verdict

It’s not so much XPeng has succeeded in building a better Tesla Model Y but a different one.

While they are in many ways the same, the XPeng G6 Long Range offers a different softer and friendlier take on an electric medium SUV than the Y. It just doesn’t seem so spartan and severe.

Overall, it’s a pretty shrewd combination of keeping what’s good about Y, fixing what’s not so good, mixing in some of XPeng’s high-end tech and then delivering it at a pretty appealing price.

What we don’t yet know is how well XPeng design and engineering will cope longer term. After all, this is a young company and brand new to Australia.

Or to use the watery analogy that started all this; XPeng’s jumped in the deep end and now we’re just waiting to see if it will sink or swim.

SCORE: 4.0/5

2025 XPeng G6 Long Range specifications

Price: $59,800 (plus on-road costs)
Basics: EV, 5 seats, 5 doors, medium SUV, RWD
Range: 570km (WLTP)
Battery capacity: 87.5kWh
Battery warranty: 8 years/160,000km
Energy consumption: 17.5Wh/100km (WLTP)
Motor: 1 rear permanent magnet synchronous, 210kW/440Nm.
AC charging: 11kW, Type 2 plug
DC charging: 280kW, CCS combo plug
0-100km/h: 6.2 seconds