Leapmotor B10 review

It’s the Leapmotor B10 of course! Couldn’t you tell from the crazy shape, the revolutionary interior and all the wacky little design details?

Okay, we’ll stop with the sarcasm. It’s a small, generic electric crossover that’ll cost £29,995 in the UK, with deliveries set to begin in December this year.

Hang on, what actually is a Leapmotor?

A very valid question. Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co Ltd is a Chinese startup that was founded back in 2015 but didn’t actually start selling cars until 2019, when it launched a slightly strange looking two-door electric coupe called the S01. Have a quick Google of it. The more we look at it, the more it actually looks like a little bundle of joy.

In 2023, Stellantis (the megacorp behind Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall, Fiat, Alfa Romeo etc etc) acquired a 20 per cent stake in Leapmotor. A new joint venture company called Leapmotor International was then established to sell the cars outside of China, with Stellantis taking a 51 per cent controlling stake to Leapmotor’s 49 per cent.

Does it sell any other cars in the UK?

It does. Leapmotor arrived in the UK earlier this year with a two-pronged attack. Only, one of those prongs was really rather tiny, because it was the Leapmotor T03 – a little electric city car to rival the Dacia Spring.

The other car it currently sells on our shores is the much more conventional C10. That’s a mid-sized electric SUV to rival things like the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Skoda Enyaq and the Renault Scenic.

Tell me more about the B10…

Well, as you might have guessed it’s smaller than the C10. Although at just over 4.5m long it’s actually a touch bigger than most of its direct rivals. Those include but aren’t limited to the Renault 4, Ford Puma Gen-E, Volvo EX30, Kia EV3 and Hyundai Kona Electric, plus the Stellantis set of Peugeot e-2008, Alfa Romeo Junior, DS 3 E-Tense, Vauxhall Mokka Electric, Jeep Avenger etc. Plenty of Chinese rivals these days too, including the MG S5 and the Jaecoo E5.

There’s only one spec of B10 offered here in the UK, and with that sub-£30k price tag it undercuts most of its European rivals.

The powertrain is fairly straightforward too, with a 67.1kWh battery sending juice to a single, rear-mounted motor that makes 215bhp and 177lb ft of torque. The claimed range is a respectable 270 miles.

Rear-wheel drive! It must be pretty fun?

Erm, how to put this? If you’re expecting the B10 to handle like a Mazda MX-5 or a Toyota GR86, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. Then again, if you’re in the market for a small crossover you’re probably not all that interested in how it drives. If this sounds like you, might be best to just skip over the Driving tab of this review.

For those that care, 0-62mph takes around 8.0 seconds and the B10 will top out at 106mph. On the move it’s softly sprung and lacking any real feel from the steering wheel or brake pedal. It also has extremely intrusive driver assist systems.

What’s the interior like?

Very important this bit, and there’s more detail over on the Interior tab. Essentially though, it’s dominated by a 14.6in central touchscreen that provides a “high-end smartphone-like user experience” says erm, Leapmotor itself. There’s also a smaller 8.8in instrument cluster behind the steering wheel and lots of ‘eco leather’.

Plenty of cheap plastics in here too, but then it is a fairly cheap car considering the space and the amount of kit that’s offered as standard. Heated and ventilated seats, a heated steering wheel, a 360-degree camera, 12-speaker audio, a giant panoramic roof, 64-colour ambient lighting, a powered tailgate and a heat pump are all included.

It’s fine, bang average, plain, vanilla and… nope, we’ve run out of synonyms. Anyway, if you’re looking for a small SUV that’s more boring than a Vauxhall Mokka, but also more practical, better equipped and able to go further on a charge then this could be your answer. It’s even sold in the same showrooms thanks to Leapmotor’s Stellantis backing.

There are rivals that are much better to drive and have more premium interiors, but they’re also quite a bit more expensive than the B10. Perhaps bland is best after all?