Gone are the days when everyone asked how to pronounce ‘Xpeng’. The Guangzhou newcomer has firmly established itself in the midsize and premium segments, offering a strong lineup from the stylish P7 to the spacious G9/G6 and the family-oriented X9. With the L03, Xpeng now completes its range at the lower end. We were able to test the car for two days in the tri-border region around Basel before the first deliveries to customers.
Mass market design
Visually, the 4.65 meter long car presents a futuristic but pleasing appearance. It looks modern without being polarizing. The rear, with its continuous light strip, follows current trends, as does the rest of the bodywork. The deep purple of our test car (‘Phantom Purple’) stands out from the usual white and gray options, although brighter colors are nowhere to be found. Yellow brake calipers add a sporty touch, while closable air intakes enhance the front. The L03 strikes a better balance than most, looking unmistakably electric without looking like a spaceship.
Interior: a benchmark for the competition
We take a seat and notice again: the Chinese do not skimp on materials. On most European models in this price range (and even higher), you see much more hard plastic or sloppier workmanship. Xpeng avoids those mistakes and brings a premium feel to the mid-size segment. Nine or 18 speakers (the latter only in the Ultra version) offer high-quality sound. Even navigation announcements and phone calls can be played through the driver’s seat speakers. Each individual premium feature (more on this below) and the high-quality interior are not groundbreaking in themselves, but for a starting price of €35,600, they are impressive.
Lots of space for passengers, but less for luggage.
The front seats strike the right balance between lateral support and comfort. In the class under 40,000 euros, the seats with massage are almost unique. This isn’t a trick where the lumbar support simply moves up and down; here it really gets to work. From shoulders to buttocks, driver and passenger are fully massaged, but noise levels remain reasonable. Of course, seat ventilation and heating are also included, although only for the front seats. Rear passengers do not enjoy these devices, but they are no less comfortable. The backrests are quite reclined, ensuring surprisingly good headroom for tall people despite the slope of the roof. This generous passenger space comes at the cost of a modest boot, with a capacity of just 367 liters. To compensate, there is a folding rear bench and handy hooks to store your shopping in place. The trunk is complemented by a trunk that offers 89 liters in rear-wheel drive models and 44 liters in all-wheel drive versions.
A solid chassis
In autumn conditions we crossed the Black Forest and Alsace. From German autobahns to French country roads to Swiss urban traffic, we’ve experienced it all. Our verdict: the L03 handles all of the above very well. On the highway it accelerates quickly to 193 km/h, electronically limited, and reaches 100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds. At high speeds, the car could tighten up a little more, but it never feels unstable. The noise level is higher than that of German competitors, but it is not unpleasant at all.
On winding country roads, you notice the body lags slightly behind the chassis movements, with noticeable body roll, and the steering, even in its firmest position, remains fairly light. Pedal response also needs some tweaking, as the transition to regen can be bumpy in places.
But these are minor details; Overall, the L03 drives very confidently, especially for a car in this price range.
Maximizing the potential of 400 volts
At the charging station, The 58.2 or 71.1 kWh LFP battery reaches between 10 and 80 percent charge in less than 20 minutes. Additionally, an 11 kW V2L AC charger comes standard. Xpeng specifies the latter at 6 kW, probably the maximum value for China, as other vehicles have only unlocked up to 3.6 kW for the Schuko plug in accordance with the regulations.
Driver assistance: excellent on the highway, difficult when parking
On the highway, the level 2 system reliably maintains lane and distance, and automatic lane changes using the indicator are carried out quickly and safely. Up to 150 km/h, you can let the car drive almost stress-free, especially since the hand detection works capacitively, so you don’t have to constantly move the steering wheel. While the assistance systems impressed us on the highway, they were less consistent elsewhere.
The system is less suitable for rural roads: it tries hard but quickly reaches its limits. The same applies to automatic parking: in an empty parking lot with large spaces, it works smoothly and slowly. However, this slow pace makes it unsuitable for street parking: the car drives too slowly and if another car passes in the opposite lane, the parking process stops.
Smooth and neat: Xpeng excels in software
It is often said (sometimes accurately, sometimes not) that Chinese automakers have software as their core competency. In the case of Xpeng, this is true. The software just works without any problems. Particularly impressive is the navigation map in the head-up display, a feature that until now was mainly found in German premium vehicles. Google Maps is natively integrated and there are a variety of apps available for music streaming. If that’s not enough, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also included. To prevent the smartphone from overheating, the charging pad is actively cooled. Another smart feature is the rear view camera, which is also projected on the head-up display. It takes some ingenuity to come up with this idea, which allows you to look forward and backward simultaneously when parking with just a glance. It sounds crazy, but it works surprisingly well.
| L03 Standard range |
L03 Long range |
L03 Performance |
L03 Ultra performance |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drive | RWD | RWD | AWD | AWD |
| Force | 180 kilowatts | 180 kilowatts | 285 kilowatts | 285 kilowatts |
| Torque | 264 Nm | 264 Nm | 431 Nm | 431 Nm |
| Acceleration | 7.5 seconds | 6.6 seconds | 4.5 seconds | 4.5 seconds |
| Maximum speed | 180 kilometers per hour | 180 kilometers per hour | 180 kilometers per hour | 180 kilometers per hour |
| WLTP range | 445 km | 520 km | 440 km | 440 km |
| Battery capacity | 58.3 kWh | 71.2 kWh | 71.2 kWh | 71.2 kWh |
| DC charging power | 193 kilowatts | 236 kilowatts | 236 kilowatts | 236 kilowatts |
| DC charging time 10-80% |
20 minutes | 20 minutes | 20 minutes | 20 minutes |
| AC charging power | 11 kilowatts | 11 kilowatts | 11 kilowatts | 11 kilowatts |
| AC charging time 5-100% |
6.8 hours | 8.3 hours | 8.3 hours | 8.3 hours |
| Price | €35,600 | €38,600 | €41,600 | €46,600 |
Prices: a declaration of war
As mentioned throughout this report, we’re particularly impressed by the combination of equipment and price. The basic version with rear-wheel drive and a smaller battery has a starting price of 35,600 euros. For an additional €3,000, Xpeng installs the larger battery and another €3,000 adds all-wheel drive. Even the Performance Ultra version we tested, at €46,600, is not cheap, but compared to the competition, it is still very attractive. The same applies to the list of options, which is surprisingly short. A manual towbar costs €990, a non-standard color (other than white) costs €950 and the Black Edition costs €1,200. That’s all. Some premium features require the Ultra trim, but even the lower trims are very well equipped.
Conclusion
With the L03, Xpeng brings its familiar strengths to a new size and price category. Especially in the Ultra version, the equipment level is in some aspects clearly higher than the competition. Some minor defects can be forgiven given the attractive price. Looking at the European (and especially German) market, Xpeng once again shows that it understands Western markets better than many other Chinese brands. The L03 will reach customers in Europe before the end of the year and, with current fuel prices, this price-performance ratio powerhouse is likely to attract even newcomers to electric vehicles.
