One of the main drawbacks of the very popular Tesla Model 3 is that it doesn’t have a hatchback but a sedan-like trunk which hinders practicality, at least compared to its crossover-bodied brother, the Model Y.
But don’t fret, because Xpeng has the solution for people who don’t want a crossover but need a large trunk opening. This is the all-new Mona M03 EV, which boasts an impressively low drag coefficient and a cavernous cargo area. There is one caveat, however.
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Lots of small aero tweaks lead to more range
Xpeng claims that if the Mona M03 didn't have all the fancy aero tweaks, such as a three-foot-long active air channel, it would have a shorter driving range by about 37 miles. However, the Chinese EV maker didn't actually say how much you could drive on a full charge with the new Mona M03.
That caveat is that you have to live in China because that’s where the car will be sold exclusively–at least at first. But this doesn’t mean that we can’t check out the facts and figures. Who knows, maybe at least one so-called legacy automaker will pick up on the cues and come up with its own version of Xpeng’s latest creation.
First up, let’s talk about that record-breaking drag coefficient. Measured at just 0.194 cd, the Mona M03 takes the crown as the world’s most aerodynamic mass-produced all-electric sedan. The Chinese EV’s drag coefficient is 0.014 lower than the Tesla Model S, 0.026 lower than the Tesla Model 3 and Porsche Taycan. It's also 0.006 lower than the Mercedes-Benz EQS.
There are sleeker cars out there, like the ill-fated Lightyear 0 (0.175 cd) and the 1970s Volkswagen ARW concept (0.15 cd), but neither is in the same category as Xpeng’s sedan with a hatchback.
Speaking of that rear end, the Mona M03–which stands for “Made Of New AI,” by the way–has a nearly 22 cubic feet trunk capacity, and by the looks of it, it’s very easy to load items in and out thanks to the large opening of the hatch.
Gallery: Xpeng Mona M03 (2024)
When it comes to the driving range, all that aerodynamic work seems to have paid off, but we’ll have to wait a little longer to find out exactly how well. The problem is that Xpeng didn’t say how far the Mona M03 will drive on a full charge or how big its battery is. According to CNEVPost, talk on the street is that the slippery sedan could be capable of going up to 372 miles on a full charge, but that’s on the very lenient CLTC cycle.
What we do know is that the car is pretty light for what is essentially a Tesla Model 3 competitor. There will be a 140-kilowatt version that tips the scales at around 3,600 pounds and a 160-kW variant that weighs roughly 3,850 lbs. By comparison, the Model 3 is between 3,500 and 4,100 lbs, depending on the version.
We also know that the Mona M03 will be powered by a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery made by BYD’s subdivision FinDreams Battery, but again, we don’t know how much energy it can store.
With a price of about $20,700 on the Chinese market, the Xpeng Mona M03 will debut tomorrow and hit the streets in the third quarter.
