You may have seen the Leapmotor badge out on the road, which spans the length of the tailgate on the brand’s first local model – the C10. It’s a good-looking SUV, but it isn’t an ideal fleet vehicle in its current form.
The Chinese automaker, backed by US-Euro automotive giant Stellantis, got our hopes up when it arrived Down Under with the sub-$50,000 mid-size electric SUV but, as we discovered, the C10 is let down by a few teething issues.
Leapmotor offers two trim grades for the C10, which include the base Style and flagship Design, both powered by the same single-motor rear-wheel drive system that offers up 160kW/320Nm.
Underpinning the electric drivetrain is a 69.9kWh battery, which allows for a WLTP range of 420km. Across a week of testing, we found the range claim to be accurate, if not conservative, with average energy use of 16.2kWh/100km.
Pricing is sharp, with the Style available from $45,888 and the Design from $49,888 plus on-road costs, which puts the C10 ahead of key competitors like the Tesla Model Y ($55,900), Kia EV5 ($56,770) and Deepal S07 ($53,900).
While tech-rich, incredibly spacious and all-round premium inside, it lacks smartphone mirroring on its 14.6-inch central display which, for fleets that put multiple drivers in their vehicles each day, is a let-down. Sure, you can login to Spotify, but then every other driver either has to peruse your library or logout and use their own account.
This clumsy oversight is one the company has acknowledged, with Leapmotor’s global CEO, Xin Tianshu, reportedly committing to an over-the-air fix later this year. But until Leapmotor rolls out the patch, we deem the lack of smartphone mirroring a serious detractor for fleet operators.
From the driver’s seat, the 10.25-inch digital driver display is clear and offers access to all of the information you could want or need. Steering-wheel mounted controls take care of toggling, as well as adjusting the side mirrors.
A panoramic sunroof, with electrically adjusted sunshade, lets plenty of light into the cabin but does not create excessive reflections or glare. We left it open for the entire week of testing, because the weather called for it.
Space inside is significant. So much so that the front seats can be completely reclined, allowing front row occupants to lay flat. We aren’t sure what benefit this offers, particularly for fleet operators, but it highlights the spaciousness on offer.
Safety technology is plentiful, with Leapmotor’s ADAS system offering 17 safety functions including driver drowsiness and attention warnings. The system is a bit chaotic, though, and borders on the ‘touchy’ side.
All Leapmotor C10 models are offered with a seven-year/160,000km warranty on the vehicle and eight-year/160,000km warranty on the battery pack.
How does it drive?
The Leapmotor C10 is a great EV to drive, with ample performance, firm steering, a planted chassis and sporty driving position. It’s not until you spend more time in it that the cracks start to show.
Bear in mind, this is a sub-$50,000 EV and we’re being picky. Had this come along a few years ago, maybe we’d breeze over some of the issues we found.
Take off hard from a set of lights and there’s a delay from the electric motor, as if torque is being restricted to avoid wheel slip, making for lazy acceleration. Once up and moving, it feels as though it has every last newton metre, but from a standstill it’s sluggish. It still offers a 0-100km/h time of 7.5 seconds, which begs the question: how quickly would it accelerate if it launched with a bit more gusto?
Then there’s the sometimes confused braking, which is probably related to the way the car uses regen, most noticeable during hard braking efforts. It isn’t a performance car, so hard braking efforts shouldn’t be frequent, but a more assured regen feel would greatly improve the C10’s appeal.
The independent suspension and chassis tuning was handled by Maserati, Leapmotor claims, and we’d believe it based on comfort. It’s plush, quiet and soaks up bumps with indifference. However, push the car a little beyond its happy place and there’s plenty of body roll and traction loss from the inside rear tyre.
It’s clear the C10 is not particularly sporty, evidenced in its braking, cornering and lazy acceleration off the mark. That would normally be fine in a mid-size SUV, except for the fact its competitors offer a more engaging drive.
Drive it like you’re a typical fleet user, though, and it’s a pleasant place to be. Yes, the ADAS features are a little bit in-your-face, and no, it doesn’t have smartphone mirroring, but it’s a solid all-rounder.
The sound system is great, the screens are crystal clear and the cabin is better than it ought to be at this pricepoint. With a few tweaks, the C10 could nail the fleet brief.
Fleet Verdict
As we suggested earlier, this isn’t an ideal fleet pick – yet. Should Leapmotor fix the gripes, most of which can likely be patched with software updates, then it could quite possibly edge ahead of its competitors given the sensational price tag.
The newly arrived C10 REEV (which stands for Range Extender EV) is arguably a more appealing proposition. It’s technically a plug-in hybrid, but it’s more EV than PHEV any way you skin it.
Leapmotor’s C10 REEV uses a 1.5-litre petrol engine as a generator, powering a 28.4kWh battery pack using an inbuilt 50kW inverter. A full tank (55 litres) offers a combined range of 970km and it’ll offer an electric-only range of 145km before the petrol donk will fire to life.
Even more appealing than its driving range is the price tag: $45,900 drive-away for the base Style and $49,900 drive-away for the top-spec Design. This makes it one of the cheapest PHEVs on the market, behind only the BYD Sealion 6 Essential ($42,990 before on-road costs).
If you want a dedicated EV and like the sound of the C10, wait for the software updates. If, however, you’re open to the idea of a range extender EV, the REEV could offer the best of both worlds.
