I’ve recently been moved to change my long-held views about electric cars. Surprisingly, it took a Chinese electric car to do it. Even more surprisingly, I think my first foray into an electrical or hybrid car could well be one of these, a Leapmotor C10. Instead of a drive for a few days, my time with the C10 was a few weeks over the Christmas/New Year break, so I had many opportunities to commute, to do distance travel, to carry family and friends, airport pickups, and the like.
I was impressed by the car’s versatility, and extremely so with its interior space. For the price, it might well be the cheapest SUV on the market if you priced it by square meter space inside. I picked up a family from Perth airport with three weeks worth of luggage, including everything associated with a two year-old tyrant, and it was all swallowed up by the spacious interior and large cargo area.
Of course Leapmotor has its quirks, and some of them were enough to drive me to distraction. Before moving off, it took fully eleven stabs at the large mid-mounted touch screen to disable certain functions which were overly sensitive and intrusive.
And I had to do that every time I started the car or switched it on. Furthermore, some of the digital features had optional operating habits. The touch screen occasionally refused to recognise fingers, thumbs or eventual verbal abuse. Sometimes they felt like working and sometimes they didn’t. The exterior mirrors seemed to have a fault as well. You can select whether one or both of them will turn down when you engage reverse. On the test car, I found that they turned down, but wouldn’t return to the normal height once you selected neutral or drive.
And then when you selected reverse again, they turn- turned down even further. This resulted in me having difficulty reversing in a tight parking area with stacked pallets, to the extent that I nudged a pallet with the back bumper. My fault entirely. I should’ve checked. But it’s an area that needs to be fixed. Some other software choices also decided to keep me waiting for a long time before they operated, or didn’t work at all.
The sound system was clunky and difficult to navigate, and the omission of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto needs to be rectified. I believe there are plans to do that with an on-air update.
But quirks aside, the Leapmotor was comfortable, exceptionally quiet, particularly on freeways, and had a sizeable range. Paint, panel and interior trim had no obvious flaws and all the seats were generous and comfortable. Unfortunately, on broken territory and rough roads, the ride was choppy, and the front and rear suspension did not appear to be completely in harmony.
The car pointed well, especially for a mid-size SUV, and I very quickly got used to its habits and enjoyed the drive. However, in terms of an all-electric car, I don’t think I’m there yet. Leapmotor offers a hybrid alternative. The cost is virtually identical, it’s still has the seamless surge of an electric motor (the petrol engine is a generator only), and the on-board features are the same. It just takes away the annoyance of having to fiddle with cables whenever you need to top off the tank, so to speak.
Whenever we can get an induction pad built into the garage floor, then I’ll be interested.
| Specification | C10 BEV (All-Electric) | C10 REEV / Ultra Hybrid (Range-Extender) |
| Powertrain | Battery electric vehicle (BEV) | Electric drive with petrol range-extender |
| Engine / Motor | Single rear-mounted electric motor | Rear-mounted electric motor + 1.5-litre petrol generator |
| Maximum Power | ~160 kW | ~158 kW |
| Maximum Torque | ~320 Nm | ~320 Nm |
| Battery Capacity | 69.9 kWh (LFP) | 28.4 kWh |
| Electric Driving Range (WLTP) | ~420 km | ~170 km (EV-only) |
| Total Driving Range | ~420 km | Up to ~1,150 km (combined) |
| Transmission | Single-speed automatic | Single-speed automatic |
| Drive Layout | Rear-wheel drive | Rear-wheel drive |
| Energy / Fuel Economy | ~19–20 kWh/100 km (est) | EV + petrol generator (official combined figures TBC) |
| Charging | AC & DC fast-charging | AC & DC charging + petrol refuelling |
| Indicative Price (AUD) | Style: ~$45,888Design: ~$49,888 (ex-on-roads) | ~$45,900–$49,900 (drive-away est) |