First Drive: Can Leapmotor’s B10 bring something new to the EV segment?

What is it?

It’s yet another Chinese-made, small-ish, electric SUV. As you might have noticed, there’s quite a lot of them now – but this one also has a sprinkling of European DNA under the skin.

Yes, it’s made and designed in China, but Leapmotor is 20% owned by Stellantis – the enormous company behind Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and so on. As a result, you can buy the B10 in the same sorts of places you’d find an e-Grandland or an e-3008.

The difference is, it undercuts both of these on price pretty significantly. But where should you be putting your cash?

What’s new?

Everything, in a word. Two Leapmotor models are already on sale in the UK: the tiny T03 city car, and the C10 SUV. The B10 sits roughly in the middle, but on an entirely different platform from either of those two. In terms of other rivals, think of it as the same size as a Peugeot e-3008 or Renault Scenic.

Although it’s designed and built in China, Leapmotor says it borrowed some help from Stellantis’s European team of engineers, particularly when it came to the chassis. That should mean you get the best of both worlds: the latest battery, electric motor and interior tech from China, but with some European influence on how it actually drives. At least, that’s the theory.

What’s under the bonnet?

All B10s get a 67.7kWh battery – pretty sizeable for this type of car – and a single 215bhp electric motor. Unlike most of its rivals, save for the MGS5 EV, the Leapmotor is rear-wheel drive too. Does that make a difference? Sort of – if nothing else, it helps the B10 put its power down a bit more effectively.

Charging-wise, it’ll manage a maximum of 168kW on a rapid charger, or 11kW on a regular slow charger – both of which are pretty impressive stats on a relatively budget EV.

What’s it like to drive?

Here’s where things start to unravel. Leapmotor is adamant that the car has spent time being finessed at Stellantis’s Italian test track, but in reality, it still doesn’t feel anything close to a European product behind the wheel.

No matter which of the three driving modes you engage via the touch screen, the steering feels limp and disconnected. The ride is pretty soft – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing – but it’s not very composed, with the car bouncing around like a blancmange at larger bumps in the road.

It is at least relatively relaxing to amble around in at 30mph. It’s quiet too: we detected very little wind and road noise, certainly less than the average budget EV.

How does it look?

Things aren’t much more European from the outside. You could argue – from the side profile at least – that the B10 looks like a shrunk-in-the-wash Porsche Cayenne from a few years ago. Proportionally though, there’s something a bit off: like its wheels are too small for its body.

That aside, there’s not much else to criticise Leapmotor for. There’s attractive detailing all around the B10, with LED lightbars front and rear, and sleek flip-out door handles.

There are a few colour options to pick from, but other than that, all B10s sold in the UK will look identical.

What’s it like inside?

Inside, the B10 isn’t half bad. It’s attractively designed, looking far more modern than a lot of its rivals – Chinese or otherwise – and material quality is also very impressive. There’s not much scratchy or hard plastic to be found, and even the ‘eco’ fake leather feels pleasant to the touch.

The large central touch screen is attractive to look at and pretty responsive, too. Less good is its general usability: a lot of the car’s controls are buried away in there, often behind a few separate menus. There is a permanent bar of items along the bottom of the screen – including adjusting the interior temperature – but they’re small and fiddly to use, with many of the icons not particularly clear at a glance.

It is at least spacious: Leapmotor says this has the most interior space in its class, and we’d be inclined to agree. Boot space is average at 430 litres, but you do also get a 25-litre ‘frunk’ under the bonnet to store your charging cables.

What’s the spec like?

There’s certainly a lot of equipment squeezed inside the B10. There’s only one trim level, and it is positively loaded with toys, despite the pretty low price.

Front seats are electrically operated, as well as heated and cooled. There’s a panoramic roof with an electric blind, which can even be operated via a smartphone app, and of course, an electric bootlid too. There’s vehicle to load, which lets you use the B10 to power pretty much anything with a three-pin plug, and that all-important heat pump to help maximise your range in winter.

Leapmotor also promises Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are on the way too, which is just as well, because the B10’s own infotainment software feels rather unfinished. For example, Spotify is built in, but will only let you choose one track at a time – which it then plays on repeat forever.

Voice controls are similarly questionable. It can just about handle a simple task, such as changing the cabin temperature, but you’ll need to ask it in a very specific way – and then wait what seems like two minutes for it to work out what to do. Compared to something like Google Assistant, which you’ll find in various brands from Renault to Volvo, it’s completely hopeless.

Verdict

On the face of it, there’s a lot to like about the B10. It’s well-priced, spacious and gets a decent-sized battery too. The interior looks and feels pleasantly put together, much more so than a lot of rivals at this price.

But it’s hard to shake the feeling that this isn’t a finished product. Leapmotor says that the car will get regular over-the-air updates to its software, but assessing the B10 as it stands now, there are usability issues that will soon start to grate. Nor does it drive as well as other Stellantis EVs – despite their involvement in its development.

If you’re tight on budget and need a comfortable EV to get from A to B, then the B10 is worth considering. But if you’re expecting a bargain version of a Vauxhall or Peugeot, you’re likely to be disappointed.