UK Drive: Leapmotor’s C10 aims to bring value to the electric SUV segment

What is it?

Leapmotor is one of the freshest faces in the UK automotive scene and this car – the C10 – is what it hopes will allow it to put a stamp on the market. The tough thing is that it’s going up against some fearsomely capable rivals, such as the Tesla Model Y and Skoda’s Enyaq.

As with other Leapmotor vehicles, value is what the C10 is focused on – but what else can it deliver besides this?

What’s new?

At £36,500, the Leapmotor C10 undercuts nearly all of its rivals in terms of price. In other, more mainstream models, you’d be looking at entry-level specification cars for that price, whereas the C10 comes equipped with all of the bells and whistles right from the start.

Plus, Leapmotor has a secret weapon up its sleeve – Stellantis. The carmaking giant, which owns the likes of Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall, part-owns Leapmotor, which means – in theory – this new car will have some of the flavour of more established European brands.

What’s under the bonnet?

We’re driving the electric C10, which uses a 69.9kWh battery to deliver a range of up to 263 miles, which is pretty average for the segment. Surprisingly, this is quite a large battery for that level of range, with rivals able to offer more distance between the plugs in smaller-battery cars. That energy is sent to the rear wheels via a 215bhp motor, too, with 0-60mph coming in 7.3 seconds.

Interestingly, you can now get the C10 with a range-extending hybrid setup, which uses a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine as a generator for the battery. This powers a 158kW electric motor to give a more ‘EV-like’ driving experience, while delivering a claimed fuel economy of up to 706mpg. It could be a better option if this full EV model doesn’t work for you.

What’s it like to drive?

The C10 is an easy car to get along with. Its steering is light and simple to manage, while there’s enough performance to get you up to speed quickly enough. It’s just a shame that the car’s overall dynamics leave quite a lot to be desired; there’s a lot of body roll to deal with through the bends and it’s not all that refined once you’re at speed, either.

The electric motor also produces quite a high-pitched whine, while at lower speeds, there’s an odd humming that reverberates through the cabin. Given that this car is mainly focused on around-town driving, this does start to get annoying.

How does it look?

The C10 follows a similar design approach to many of the other Chinese-made SUVs that we’ve seen enter the market over the last few years. It’s rounded, unoffensive and largely devoid of features to get excited about, though you do get a full-width LED light bar at the rear to help jazz things up.

The Leapmotor’s flush door handles give the car an aerodynamic look but aren’t as easy to use as conventional ones. Plus, this car’s key is like a credit card, pressed against a spot on the wing mirror to lock and unlock the vehicle. Unfortunately, this spot had already started to scratch on our test car, so perhaps a standard key might’ve been better.

What’s it like inside?

The interior of the C10 is as plain and unassuming as its exterior. It’s all centred around a large, central screen and you’ll find very few physical controls anywhere. In fact, the sheer number of features inside the screen makes it complicated to use and more distracting when you’re on the move than it should be.

However, space and comfort levels aren’t bad. The material quality is, generally, quite good and we liked the purple hue to the seats which brings a bit of character. The back seats offer loads of leg and headroom, so it’ll be great for larger families, while a 435-litre boot isn’t badly sized either. That said, it’s some way off the 585-litre boot that you’ll get in the Skoda Enyaq.

What’s the spec like?

It’s in terms of equipment levels that the C10 counters. In fact, there’s a dizzying amount of standard features aboard the Leapmotor, including a 14.6-inch central infotainment screen, a 10.25-inch cluster ahead of the driver and a 12-speaker sound system. You also get dual-zone climate control, wireless smartphone charging and a heated steering wheel.

A panoramic sunroof helps to make the cabin feel light and airy and you’ve got a full suite of safety systems including autonomous emergency braking, lane centring control and lane departure warning. Our test car only came with one optional extra – £700 grey paint – which means you don’t need to go venturing into the options list to get a highly-equipped car.

Verdict

If you’re after a car that delivers a lot of equipment for not too much outlay, then the C10 could be for you. It’s got all of the functions you could really want, in truth, and if you’re able to access cheap home charging, then it’ll be a car that could quickly cut your bills.

It’s just a shame that it’s let down by lacklustre handling and a rather drab feeling overall. If you compare prices like-for-like, then the C10 could appear head and shoulders above the rest, but driven back-to-back, this Leapmotor will likely struggle.