XPENG built its name on pure electric cars, so a version with a petrol engine on board is a notable turn. The Everything Electric CARS review covers the X9 REV, a large electric MPV fitted with a range extender, and puts total range at around 1,600 km, with 452 km of that on battery alone. The setup pairs a 63.3 kWh LFP battery with a 1.5 litre turbocharged engine that acts as a generator rather than driving the wheels. The reviewer, who has driven the pure EV X9, says the range extender version feels almost identical from behind the wheel, quiet and smooth, with the engine rarely making itself known. The pitch is EV comfort without charging anxiety on the kind of long trip that still trips up battery only cars.
A range extender, sometimes called an EREV, uses a small engine only to top up the battery, which is a different idea from a conventional hybrid that also drives the wheels with its engine. The concept is not new, and the video draws a line back to the BMW i3 range extender, but it has found fresh momentum in China, where range extended models have become one of the faster growing parts of the new energy vehicle market as a bridge for buyers wary of charging gaps. For a buyer, the trade is clear enough. You carry the weight and complexity of an engine and a fuel tank, and in return you skip the queue at a charger on a holiday drive or a route with thin infrastructure. The X9 REV is aimed squarely at people who want an electric daily driver but still take the occasional very long trip, which is a larger group than the pure EV world sometimes admits.
The review spends much of its time on comfort and packaging. It praises dual chamber air suspension that the host says smooths out bumps and reduces the lurching that can trigger motion sickness, and notes the system can adjust quickly to the road surface. Inside, the X9 REV gets a 17.1 inch screen, reclining zero gravity rear seats that fold flat, and a fold down rear entertainment display. The host measures the car at 5,316 mm long with a wheelbase over 3 m, yet reports that rear wheel steering brings the turning circle to around 5.3 m, which he says makes it easier to park than the size suggests. On charging, the video cites XPENG's Kunpeng system with an 800 volt architecture and 5C battery technology, quoting a 10 to 80 percent charge in roughly 10 to 15 minutes. Boot space runs from about 650 L to over 2,500 L with the rear seats folded. The host stresses the packaging is not compromised by the range extender, saying the boot stays large despite the added engine and fuel tank. He also notes three full rows of seats, heated seats in the third row, and an engine so well isolated that he rarely heard or felt it, and says the car could cover a long inter city trip such as Beijing to Shanghai without stopping to fuel or charge.
Bottom line: The clever part is not the range number, it is that XPENG made a range extender that behaves like one of its EVs rather than a compromise. For anyone who loves the idea of electric but has one or two trips a year that charging still makes painful, this is a sensible hedge, and the segment is growing for exactly that reason. The catch is as much philosophical as practical: you are buying an engine you may barely use, and paying to carry it everywhere you go. If your long trips are genuinely rare, a pure EV may still be the cleaner answer.
Commentary on a third-party video. Figures and claims are as presented in the source and have not been independently verified. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.