Newcomer offers room to move

Photo: Richard Bosselman

First Drive by Richard Bosselman

The compact crossover/SUV category is a congested segment of our new car market, but it’s also the most shopped, so there’s always room for one more.

So suggests Brian Carr, out to steer the Leapmotor brand into prominence at time when China’s car makes are flooding into New Zealand.

The second Leapmotor car here, the B10 follows the C10, a similar-looking but larger car, also fitted out for five passengers. Shared are a platform and some technology, but the newcomer is even more budget-friendly while still providing modern tech and a lot of space inside, even though it is 224mm shorter.

The B10 line-up starts out as a single-motor full electric, with a range-extender joining in 2026, also in Life and higher-spec Design trims.

Both specification levels feature a 14.6-inch central infotainment screen, an 8.8-inch driver display, wireless phone charging, vehicle-to-Load (V2L) functionality for powering devices directly from the car and phone app-based controls for keyless entry, remote air-con operation and to schedule charging.

The Design version upgrades with ventilated eco-leather seats, a 12-speaker audio system, heated steering wheel and an electric tailgate.

The lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack feeding a common rear drive motor is in two capacities, of 56.2kWh for the Life and 67.1kWh for the Design. So while outputs of 160kW and 240Nm are the same, range and replenishment rates differ, with Design delivering the best of both.

Photo: Richard Bosselman

On the standard WLTP assessment, range equates to a nominal 361km for the Life and 434km for the Design. Real-world highway range is likely to be a little under 300km for the Life, and a little over 300km for the Design. Along with home AC charging at up to 11kW, rapid charging capability extends to 140kW, which should allow a quick turnaround at suitably equipped commercial chargers.

The B10 is the first fully global product from a company that was only founded in 2015, didn’t sell its first vehicle until 2019 and as a Stellantis-backed operation is with Armstrong Group, via its Auto Distributors operation.

Leapmotor takes pride in delivering sophisticated electronics at everyman accessibility; for example, the B10’s infotainment is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip, meaning it has video game quality graphics and is very fast to react to inputs.

Also, while the NZ-spec car doesn’t have the ability for supervised self-drive, that’s simply because the lidar (laser detection system) employed in China hasn’t been installed here. It cannot be retrofitted, but the NZ-spec product has all the underlying hardware and enough computing power to run it.

Driving at launch was limited to urban pace for a short time. Compared to the C10, the B10 seems to have a more compliant ride and the motor produces sufficient power for a car of its size. At a low-speed crawl, it sounds a pedestrian warning that one wag reckons “sounds like some kind of depressed robot". At higher pace, it is much quieter.

Energy recuperation always interests EV drivers; in that regard Leapmotor doesn't provide steering wheel-mounted regenerative braking paddles like many of its competitors.

Badge awareness is a currency Leapmotor has yet to cash in on. An amorphous exterior body styling arguably won’t help engagement.

In respect to the interior environment, "just like a Tesla" is something you can expect to hear. A steering wheel with thumb controller and a big screen to do everything else is straight from the Musk book. So, too is lock/unlock functionality via a key card or by phone app.

Photo: Richard Bosselman

The Design was the variant sampled by Drivesouth. It has the "eco-leather" upholstery, which is an artificial leather material that doesn’t look that convincing but at least is soft to the touch.

The car’s large glasshouse and the slightly raised driving position means the view outward is quite good. It has an excellent reversing camera and lots of sensors. A panorama sunroof — standard on both variants — also helps keep the cabin light and airy.

It’s a shame a head-up display isn’t provisioned for the driver. As is, a lot of info is crammed on to an 8.8-inch driver instrument screen that fills out as a long, thin landscape shape. It’s busy and, unfortunately, sometimes obstructed by your hands when driving and turning the wheel.

B10 enables a wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality that is set to be denied the C10 until facelift (right now, there’s a "computer says no" incompatibility). But the new car is still a bit a odd in that the setup for those apps is a workaround, as they avail via a smartphone mirroring app in the infotainment system. That’s not likely to be as slick as in some other systems, though you can also connect to these via a cable.

One of the big positives of the B10 is the cabin space, particularly in the rear. Leapmotor claims to have the best-in-class headroom and the largest passenger space in the segment. It could become a good Uber choice for that alone. As per EV convention, it does particularly well from having a completely flat floor. Rear seat occupants will also note the front chairs are high-set enough to make it easy to stretch their feet out underneath them.

Open the boot and you find a useful 525 litres of space that enhances to 1700 litres when the 60-40 split rear seats are reclined.

It is possible to tow with the B10, but the maximum weight is limited to 750kg, whether the trailer has braking or not.

It arrives with 17 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), spanning all the usual functions and love-hates.