BYD Sealion 8 vs Xpeng G6

What's the difference?

As the flagship variant, the BYD Sealion 8 Premium all-wheel drive makes a big first impression as it arrives with seven seats, a plug-in hybrid powertrain and a features list that reads like a wish list.

It’s also stepping into a competitive space, lining up against the Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid, Kia Sorento GT-Line PHEV and Mazda CX-80 P50e Azami - all promising similar blends of efficiency, space and value for Australian families.

The Sealion 8 Premium looks like a strong contender on paper … but does that translate to the real world?

The XPeng G6 is this Chinese brand’s rival to the Tesla Model Y and Zeekr 7X and I am testing the updated version of the model that originally arrived in Australia in 2024.

This new and vastly improved G6 has some important differences compared with the original. But fear not, I’ll take you through all of this.

The grade on test is the Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) Long Range which I think is the pick of the line-up that also includes an entry grade Rear Wheel Drive Standard Range and the top-spec Performance. There’s also a Performance Black that sits above this too, but it’s more of a cosmetic styling package to add a bit of ‘attitude’ to this SUV.

My family and I lived with the updated XPeng G6 RWD Long Range for a week. I am impressed, but I have a few notes of what I'd change as well.