Leapmotor B10 review

Once you’ve got in, you mean? Because yes, Leapmotor has done away with a traditional key in favour of a key card, which you have to hold against the driver’s wingmirror to unlock/lock the car. Painful. Alternatively there’s a smartphone app, which automatically locks and unlocks the car when you’re in proximity. Thank goodness for that.

After that though, it certainly doesn’t disgrace itself. The 215bhp and instant torque means it can get up to speed fairly briskly, but it’s far from the rapid EV acceleration you’d find in a Tesla Model Y or the punchiest twin-motor version of the Volvo EX30. Even stuck into its sport mode it doesn’t feel that quick, but it’s enough for family life and the odd overtake on a country lane.

Want to slow it down again? Well, you’ve got three levels of regen that are selectable via a menu in the central touchscreen – cumbersome when you’d like to switch it up for town and motorway driving – but none of them are strong enough to be considered a full one-pedal mode. So that means you’re forced to use the brake pedal, which doesn’t offer much feel at all. Very woolly.

Is it the same story when you get to a corner?

Leapmotor talks a good game here. We’re promised perfect 50:50 weight distribution and battery cells integrated into the structure of the vehicle for a lower centre of gravity. We’re also told that the suspension was tuned for Europe at Stellantis’ Balocco test track.

Tip the B10 into a corner and it doesn’t actually roll as much as you’d expect, given how soft the ride is. And yet, there’s almost no feedback through the steering wheel and it’s far too light in anything but the sportiest of its three settings.

Will I find it comfortable?

That depends. Are you trading in your Radical SR3 for a Leapmotor B10? Prepare for exceptional levels of refinement and no need to wear a helmet on public roads!

Coming from literally anything else? This will feel much more softly sprung, so it's pleasantly comfortable but lacks the composure of something like a Kia EV3 or Renault 4. There’s a sense of ‘that’ll do’ about the dynamics... quite a bit of wind noise at motorway speeds too.

The range is good though…

Leapmotor claims up to 270 miles, which puts it well clear of the Skoda Elroq and R4, and matches the smaller battery versions of the EV3.

On a test route that included mostly town and country roads plus a small amount of motorway, we saw 4.3 mi/kWh in good weather. That dropped to 3.6mi/kWh in colder temperatures - still a half decent return.

Is there anything else I need to know?

A word of warning about the driver ‘assist’ systems, particularly the lane keep, which constantly tugs at the wheel no matter how centred in the road you are. It’s way too intrusive and feels like it could do with some serious recalibration. Or binning altogether.

As seems to be the norm nowadays it also constantly bongs at you to warn you of speed limits and random road signs. How annoying. Good luck finding the right menu in the touchscreen to turn it all off.

It also gets a driver attention warning system, which puts you under constant surveillance to make sure you’re paying enough attention. Thankfully it’s far less overbearing than other systems we've tested - including from Leapmotor itself. Phew.