XPeng MONA M03: High-tech, Low Price

What is it?

XPeng, one of China's best known electric vehicle makers, has spent the last few years moving their brand upmarket by introducing vehicles like the G9 SUV and X9 MPV. Now, they're going in the opposite direction, down market, with the introduction of the all-new M03 electric sedan, part of a more affordable series of cars called Mona.

Mona actually began life as part of an electric vehicle program from China’s largest ride hailing company, Didi. Back in 2023, however, Didi decided it was done trying to develop its own cars, and sold their assets and R&D to XPeng, who used it to create Mona. So, what started as a purpose-built ride hailing vehicle, became car that was aimed at private buyers.

Mona will likely be spun off into its own separate brand at some point, but for now, it is a series within the XPeng brand and will be sold alongside other XPeng models. That’s why you won’t spot a single “Mona” badge on this car, only “XPeng” badging. The official price of 16,800-21,900 USD puts it in competition with high selling vehicles like the BYD Qin PLUS.

Tumorous, but sleek

When the M03 debuted, the CEO of XPeng promised that it would be the best-looking sedan in the Chinese car market priced under 200,000 RMB (28,000 USD). Beauty is subjective, but the Mona looks better in person than it does in photos, I would not go so far as to call it “beautiful”. To quote another member of media in attendance at the test drive event, “the headlights certainly have a lot of ‘personality’”.

The overall proportions are quite nice, but certain areas look rather “organic”, and I don’t mean organic in the sense of flowing, natural lines, but rather “tumorous”. That's particularly true on the bulbous rear end. The smooth, round look does have one very big advantage, and that is a very low drag coefficient. In fact, it's the lowest in the world for a production vehicle at 0.194.

Lower drag means squeezing more range from the two available LFP blade batteries supplied by BYD. The 51.8-kWh pack offers a claimed CLTC range of 515 km, while the 62-kWh pack ups that to 620 km. Whichever pack you choose, XPeng makes a rather bold efficiency claim of 11.5 kWh/100 km or 182 MPGe.

Bringing techiness to the masses

The interior of the M03 takes an aesthetic we're used to seeing in more expensive vehicles and introduces it to a lower price point. Case in point, unlike a lot of cars in this segment, the M03 car is bereft of physical buttons apart from door switches. Instead, everything is controlled via the large center screen. There is no instrument cluster or heads-up display.

The screen, measuring 15.6 inches and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 processor, is the focal point of the entire interior. This is one of the cheapest cars I've ever seen with an 8155, and according to XPeng, they've been able to wring every last bit of performance out of it. They claim this enables them to provide much faster response times and higher resolutions than other cars at this price point, and credit where credit is due, the screen does feel very smooth and responsive.

The center screen also features what XPeng calls an “industry first music atmosphere map”. If you are navigating somewhere while listening to music, an equalizer will appear on the bottom of the screen and the lyrics to the song will show up on either side of your route. Other available features include a wireless charging pad, heated and cooled front seats, and an 18-speaker surround sound audio system.

Looking past the tech, the interior material quality and finishing on the M03 is easily a match for other cars in this price point. The minimalist design has little in the way ornamentation, but still manages to avoid looking barren. Just be sure to get the blue interior like our test car, as the all-grey option looks like a hospital waiting room.

The M03 measures 4.78m in length with a wheelbase of 2.815m. Legroom is on the tight side, but an adult of average height will find it spacious enough. Headroom, however, is at best adequate, thanks mostly to that sloping roofline. The lack of fold-down armrest might result in some demerits, but it must be acknowledged that most vehicles in this segment have the same issue. On the back of the center console, you’ll find two USB Type-C charging ports.

The M03 has a true liftback design, which means 620 liters of space with the seats up, and 1603 liters when you lay them down. That’s closer to a midsize SUV than a compact sedan. One reason they're able to achieve that is the use of a torsion beam rear suspension as opposed to multilink. The torsion beam is more compact, allowing it to take up less interior space, but does it result in a compromised ride?

Torsion beam? What torsion beam?

The M03 comes with your choice of two front-mounted electric motor powertrains: 140 kW and 225 Nm (185 hp/167 lb-ft) or 160 kW and 250 Nm (215 hp/185 lb-ft). That number puts it somewhere between the BYD Qin Plus and the Deepal SL03, with the BYD making significantly less power (100 kW), and the SL03 making significantly more torque (310 Nm). Regardless, the M03’s 0 to 100 times of 7.8 and 7.4 seconds are competitive in this category.

I’ll admit that I was a little taken aback when I learned that this car had torsion beam rear suspension. After all, there are plenty of cars available for less money with a more advanced multilink rear suspension. However, I'm going to teach you a little industry secret. Hardware, like multi-link rear suspensions, is very important to a car's ride, but just as important as hardware is tuning. I've driven plenty of vehicles with more advanced multilink rear suspensions and even air suspensions that didn't ride particularly well, because the suspension wasn't tuned properly. Think of it like cutting up a bunch of delicious, expensive ingredients, then throwing them into a bowl and handing it to somebody. That's not good enough. You have to cook the ingredients in order to actually make it a delicious dish.

On paper, this torsion beam rear suspension shouldn't be able to provide the same level of ride quality as a multilink rear. However, I don't think your average consumer would be able to tell the difference. I’ve driven hundreds of cars, and while I do believe that this suspension might not be able to outdo a multilink suspension at the extremes of handling, when it comes to being used as a daily driver, I don't think anybody's going to miss those extra links.

Level 2 as standard

One of XPeng’s defining features as a brand is their driver assistance system, XNGP. It is one of, if not the most, advanced driver assistance systems available from any manufacturer The Mona M03, however, does not have that advanced system, instead utilizing a L2 system with lane cruise control. XPeng told us at the event that there will be a “Max” version of this car that will use the upcoming vision-only system that is going to debut first on the XPeng P7 Plus.

This car's level two ADAS system is quite impressive and not just because of its performance, which is better than any other system at this price point. What I think is most impressive is the fact that it is standard on every trim level, from the cheapest to the most expensive. Most other brands will only offer this level of equipment on their top trim or near top trim cars, while cheaper trim levels have to make do with standard cruise control.

One last thing that made me very happy is the fact that, just like every other version of XPeng’s driver assistance, this one is strict when it comes to driver monitoring. Not only is there a torque sensor in the steering wheel, but also an eyeline monitoring camera. The vehicle will issue an audible warning after less than 5 seconds if it senses that you have taken your hands off the wheel or your eyes off the road. Some other systems rely solely on a sensor in the wheel, or have much more lax warning systems.

Takeaway

Whether or not the XPeng Mona M03 succeeds in the market is ultimately up to the consumer. However, I do think it is a unique proposition in this price point, because it offers an aesthetic and a set of smart features that we normally only saw in more expensive cars. Time to find out whether that's exactly what consumers want at this price.

Specifications

XPeng Mona M03

Motor: Front-mounted

Power: 160 kw, 250 Nm (215 hp/185 lb-ft)

Battery: 62.2-kWh

Range: 620 CLTC

0-100 km/h: 7.4 seconds

Size: 4780*1896*1445 mm

Wheelbase: 2815 mm

Price Range (est.): 14-21,000 USD