I Actually Thought About Putting a Xpeng X9 in My Driveway… Then I Checked the Charging Port

So here's how it started. Last month my wife said something in the car after we dropped the kid off at piano lessons.

"Can you just get a bigger car already? Every time my mom comes, the three people in the back are rubbing shoulders. And you'll be real happy when our daughter throws up again from being squished."

I drive an old RAV4. It's fine. But I couldn't really argue with her, 'cause I know she's right. Our second kid just started playing hockey, and that gear bag is literally the size of a coffin. Every time I shove it in the trunk, I feel like I'm playing Tetris on hard mode.

So I started looking.

At first, obviously, Tesla Model Y. They're everywhere. I can count seven or eight in my office parking lot alone. Price is clear too — long range AWD is under 50 grand, maybe 45-46k out the door after the federal rebate if it still applies. That's doable. And the Supercharger network is everywhere. There are a bunch of chargers right downstairs at my office. Every time I see my coworkers plug in, go to work, unplug and leave, I think — man, that's just easy.

Then my wife sat in the back of the Model Y and said, "Isn't this basically the same size as my mom's CRV?"

She wasn't wrong.

The Model Y's back seat is just a normal five-seat SUV. Two kids plus one adult? Fine for short trips. But driving four hours to Orlando? The person in the middle will have permanent shoulder dents. And the trunk isn't tiny, but hockey bag + one suitcase pretty much fills it. It's not that it doesn't work. It's just — I'm spending 50 grand and it doesn't really solve the core problem.

Then I saw this video on YouTube. A guy picking up his Xpeng X9. In China.

I was like, whoa.

It's 5.3 meters long. Seven seats. A 6-foot guy sits in the third row and still has knee room. And the trunk is actually carved down into the floor — even with all three rows up, you can still fit a bunch of big suitcases. The third row folds flat electrically with one button. The whole back turns into this massive flat floor. All I could think was — hockey bag, camping gear, the giant pack of toilet paper from Costco, all of it. Just throw it in. No Tetris.

Plus it comes standard with rear-wheel steering. A 5.3-meter MPV that turns tighter than a Model Y. I saw a video of it doing a U-turn in a narrow alley. One move. I almost dropped my phone. It's like they just erased the only bad thing about big cars.

I'm not gonna lie — I got excited. Really excited. So I started looking into how to actually buy one here in the US.

And then the nightmare began.

First, Xpeng says they're gonna expand globally, including the US. But right now? Where do I buy one? I'm in California. Who do I call? There are no dealers. No showrooms. Not even a place to test drive. I'm not flying to Shanghai just to look at a car.

Second, charging.

The more I thought about it, the more my head hurt. Tesla uses NACS. Basically every public fast charger in the US is moving to that standard. Xpeng X9 in China uses their own plug and standard. If they bring it here, does it work with NACS? If not, I'd have to hunt down CCS chargers. CCS chargers exist, but there are fewer of them, they break all the time, and you need like five different apps. It's a mess. Imagine going on a road trip and pulling up to a charger and realizing the plug doesn't fit. Or the charging speed gets cut in half. I'd lose my mind.

I know the X9 has that 800-volt, 5C super fast charging — 10 minutes for over 300 kilometers. On paper, it beats Tesla. But who cares how fast it charges if you can't even plug the thing in?

And then there's service. Tesla service centers are everywhere. You can book an appointment on your phone in two seconds. Xpeng? What if I back into a pole and crack my taillight? Where do I fix it? Do I wait a month for parts from China? Is my car just gonna sit there for a month? Will my insurance go up? I have to figure all this out myself. Nobody's giving me answers.

I'm not saying the X9 is a bad car. Honestly, after watching the reviews, I think it's so good it almost seems unreal. But that's exactly why I'm scared to buy it. You don't even have a real service network in the US. Why should I trust that you'll be reliable?

And price. I know exactly how much a Model Y costs. X9? In China it starts at like 45k US dollars. But that's in China. After tariffs, shipping, all that stuff, I'm guessing at least 55k or even 60k. So same ballpark as a Model Y Long Range. So for the same money, do I buy the car I can actually get fixed, or the car where I become my own customer service agent?

Logically, I should buy the Model Y.

But there's this little voice in my head that keeps saying — dude, that third row on the X9 is so, so nice.

I went back and forth for days. Finally I asked my wife, "If I get you a car that can actually fit seven people, no one's squished, trunk big enough for hockey bag and suitcases — but charging might be a pain, and fixing it might be a nightmare — would you want it?"

She thought for maybe two seconds and said, "No."

She's right. For our family, "less headache" is way more important than "wow". I don't need a car that makes me nervous. I've got work, school pickups, dinner, bills. I don't have the energy to argue with some half-baked service network.

So yeah. I'll probably just buy the Model Y.

But that doesn't mean I'm gonna forget the X9. I just think it's not the right time. Someday — when Xpeng actually has dealers here, builds out their service network, figures out the charging mess, and has a bunch of real American owners giving feedback — I'll come back and take another look.

Hope that day isn't too far away.

'Cause honestly, even when I sit in a Model Y now, I'm still picturing that electric-folding third row, and that trunk that fits seven suitcases.

Yeah. I know. I'm a mess.