Leapmotor B10 review
The styling is forgettable as is the drive, but the keenly-priced, well equipped Leapmotor B10 has plenty of appeal
Our opinion on the Leapmotor B10
There are lots of reasons to choose the Leapmotor B10 ahead of its many competitors. The electric underpinnings are impressive – range seems to be realistic, plus charging speeds are pretty solid, too. It makes sense Leapmotor has only introduced the best equipped B10 to the UK to grow interest in the brand, and as a result the amount of kit on offer is very generous. But nannying safety tech and a drab drive are letdowns in what is otherwise the brand’s most convincing offering to date.
About the Leapmotor B10
Leapmotor is another new Chinese brand targeting the UK market – but it should stand out from the rest, because it’s partly owned by Stellantis. That means it’s part of the same family as Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat and Jeep to name a few.
Instead of utilising technology from its parent company, Leapmotor is doing things differently. The B10 – and Leapmotor’s other models – have a bespoke EV architecture, and the result is that inside it feels and looks alien to other Stellantis cars such as the Peugeot E-2008, Vauxhall Mokka Electric and Jeep Avenger Electric.
Sitting below the C10, the B10 is a pure-electric SUV that’s very much at the larger end of the B-segment. A range-extending hybrid will join the line up in due course, but for now there’s just one 67.1kWh battery with 270 miles of range and a rear-mounted 215bhp electric motor. There are no trim levels, either – all kit comes as standard on the B10.
Leapmotor B10 prices and latest deals
Pricing for the Leapmotor B10 starts at £29,995 thanks to Leapmotor’s own ‘Leap-Grant’ of £1,500. Certain metallic paints cost an extra £575, but that’s it in terms of the B10’s options. That means the B10 is only £2,755 less than the larger C10 model, although the former comes with slightly more range, is similarly equipped and has the same amount of power.
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Performance & driving experience
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While the C10 has the option of pure-electric and a range-extender hybrid, the B10 is currently being sold as an EV only. Unlike other electric vehicles from Stellantis, which use the older e-CMP or the newer STLA platforms, the B10 sits on Leapmotor’s ‘Leap 3.5’ platform – an evolution of the C10’s ‘Leap 3.0’ platform.
Leapmotor pointed out to us that the B10 sold in Europe – as opposed to the one launched in China a few months prior – has benefited from input from its Stellantis parent, with the suspension honed at Fiat’s Balocco proving ground in Italy.
| Model | Power | 0-62mph | Top speed |
| Leapmotor B10 | 215bhp | 8 seconds | 106mph |
Performance, 0-60mph acceleration and top speed
Some supposedly family-friendly EVs have ludicrous turns of speed thanks to high levels of torque generated by their electric motors. The B10 isn’t one of these, although we think few would argue with the straight-line oomph on offer here. The throttle pedal doesn’t feel too highly strung, so it’s easy to drive the B10 smoothly – but mash your foot to the floor and you’ll find the instant shove we’ve come to associate with EVs.
There are three drive modes in the B10, which are located within the ‘Driving’ sub-menu of the infotainment. It’s not really worth diving in and fiddling between Sport, Standard and Comfort, however, as they don’t change the characteristics too much.
Town driving, visibility and parking
It might be one of the largest B-segment SUVs out there, but the B10 does its best work around town. There’s no option for one-pedal driving (although this will be addressed in an over-the-air update soon), and the ride can patter over rough surfaces, but thanks in part to rear-wheel drive, there’s a tight turning circle of 10.7 metres with excellent all-round visibility and light, effortless steering.
The quality of the 360-degree camera impressed us, too, switching easily to to focus on each side, making parking an absolute doddle.
Country road driving and handling
It’s on narrower B-road where the B10 is at its most frustrating, in particular the ADAS functionality. The lane keep assist system is truly awful, constantly tugging at the steering wheel even when you’re nowhere near the white lines on either side. The beeping is incessant, too, and not limited to the width of country roads. It lets you know when there’s a change in the speed limit, a bend ahead and other, general bits of information that any normal driver would be able to spot by themselves.
With a decent amount of torque and traction control turned off, it’s possible to experience the rear-driven nature of the B10. Not that you’d want to. The steering, while fairly quick, is exceptionally numb and isn’t keen to self-centre, making you wonder just what was going on during its ‘development’ time at Balocco. The softly sprung suspension causes plenty of lean in tighter bends, too.
Motorway driving and long-distance comfort
High-speed ride quality is very good in the B10. You feel the occasional jolt in the cabin over imperfections in the road, but it’ll dampen out larger bumps and potholes successfully. Road noise is very well dampened too – although we did notice a fair amount of wind noise, especially around the wing mirrors.
The B10’s electric motor’s punch doesn’t diminish too much at motorway speeds, either, so overtakes can be done in a pinch. The stodgy, uncommunicative steering also settles, so you’re not making too many corrections.
“The three levels of brake regen are pretty straightforward, although in the maximum ‘Strong’ setting it’s still nowhere near a one-pedal experience.” - Alastair Crooks, senior news reporter.
Range, charging & running costs
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While other markets get a choice of two trim levels and two battery sizes, we’re only getting the larger battery and higher-spec variant. Managing Director of Leapmotor International UK, Damien Dally, told Auto Express “the range of around 200 miles” in the smaller battery B10 “wasn’t good enough” for UK customers, which was refreshingly honest.
The B10’s 67.1kWh battery provides a pretty respectable range of 270 miles. That’s exactly the same as the Kia EV3 Air, much more than the Ford Puma Gen-E (234 miles) and even greater than the Mokka Electric and E-2008 which offer 248 and 250 miles respectively. The MGS5 EV Long Range can do 298 miles on a charge, however.
Electric range, battery life and charge time
During our first test drive in the south of France, the B10 returned 4.1 miles per kWh, which would deliver a healthy 279 miles of range. In the UK, and after a mix of motorways, country roads and city driving, we saw that figure drop to 3.6 miles per kWh, which would still provide an impressive 241 miles. High-speed driving seemed to hurt the B10’s efficiency, but around town we have no doubt you’d be able to match the claimed range figure.
A heat pump is standard on the B10, so we’d expect it to get near to its claimed range in the winter, too. Charging speeds for the B10 stand at a decent 168kW, enabling a 30 to 80 per cent top-up in 20 minutes, roughly the same as most rivals.
| Model | Battery size | Range | Insurance group |
| Leapmotor B10 | 67.1kWh | 270 miles | 32 |
Insurance groups
Sitting in group 32 the Leapmotor B10 will be more expensive than most similarly sized SUVs with internal-combustion engines; the Skoda Karoq, for example, is in group 10. Compared to other electric SUVs, the Leapmotor isn’t too expensive to insure – although the Ford Puma Gen-E, helped by its much smaller 43kWh battery, lands in group 18.
Tax
From April 1 2025, electric cars attract the same Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) or road tax annual rate of £195 as any other cars on the road, but because the Leapmotor B10 costs less than £50,000, it doesn’t attract the £425 expensive vehicle supplement (also referred to as a luxury car tax). The Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) company car tax rate for EVs is 3 per cent for the 2025/26 tax year.
Depreciation
Our experts predict that the B10 will hold on to 43.98 per cent of its value after three years and 36,000 miles. That’s a little bit worse than its C10 bigger brother, which manages 47.53 per cent. The B10’s fares better than the Ford Puma Gen-E (41 per cent), but can’t match the Kia EV3 (47 per cent).
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Interior, design & technology
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We only get the Life Pro Max trim (other markets get a lesser Life Pro variant) and it’s supremely well-equipped for a B-segment SUV.
Every B10 gets:
- A heated steering wheel
- Heated and ventilated front seats with electric adjustment
- A wireless smartphone charger
- Automatic air-conditioning
- Vehicle to Load (V2L) charging
- Heated and powered door mirrors
- Electric bootlid
- Keyless start
The only free paint option is Starry Night Blue. Purple, silver, black, white and grey are all £575 optional extras.
Interior and dashboard design
While its Stellantis cousins share many of their interior components and design (such as the gearshifter and steering wheel buttons), the B10 looks like a completely different offering. However, even with ambient lighting as standard, the cabin is pretty dull in all-black. In contrast, our car, in light grey, gave off a much brighter and welcoming vibe, helped by the standard-fit panoramic sunroof. It’s not the most imaginative cabin we’ve ever sat in, although some would argue the minimalist approach makes it look premium enough.
Materials and build quality
Interior quality is largely decent. There’s soft-touch faux leather almost everywhere, and most surfaces felt screwed together well with no rattles during our drive. Fitting hard plastic grab handles for the passenger was an odd decision, though, and we’re not convinced the flip-down cupholders will prove to be especially durable.
Infotainment, sat-nav and stereo
On the dash you’ll find a 14.6-inch touchscreen and an 8.8-inch driver’s display. The main screen uses the same infotainment layout as the C10 and we experienced the same lightning-quick response to inputs and crisp resolution. However, the menu set-up can be a little overwhelming and it feels like there’s an over-reliance on the screen for almost every function; you can count the physical switches inside the B10 on one hand.
There are a few oddities with the infotainment as well. The sunblind has a prominent location on the screen, and is represented by a generic car symbol – a more intuitive spot would be on the ceiling. The row of icons at the bottom deals with the main menu and climate controls, but we’d prefer a dedicated area for the latter with larger buttons to make it easy to operate them on the move.
At first, the driver’s screen feels disconcertingly close to the steering wheel. You think you’re going to hit it if you do anything other than a wheel shuffle. But in reality it’s fine, and we encountered no problems.
Boot space & practicality
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Leapmotor says there are 22 interior storage spaces in the B10. The usual spaces are pretty generous – the area under the central armrest, for example, is big enough for litre bottles to stand upright and the door bins are a decent size. However, the glove box is tiny. We’d also like a bit more adjustment for the steering wheel column, although the relatively small steering wheel alleviates this issue somewhat.
Dimensions and size
The B10 is a big car for the segment, and it’s almost 301mm longer than the Puma Gen-E as well as wider and taller, plus it’s larger in every dimension than the MGS5 EV. Having a wheelbase of 2,735mm (just 90mm shy of the C10’s) means the B10 feels almost as spacious inside as its bigger brother.
Dimensions comparison | |||
| Model | Leapmotor B10 | Skoda Elroq | Ford Puma Gen-E |
| Length | 4,515mm | 4,488mm | 4,313mm |
| Width | 1,885mm | 1,884mm | 1,805mm |
| Height | 1,655mm | 1,625mm | 1,555mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,735mm | 2,765mm | 2,588mm |
| Boot space | 430-1,415 litres | 470-1,580 litres | 556-1,283 litres |
Seats & passenger space
Up front there’s loads of room to spread out and get comfortable, plus the front seats fold completely flat in the unlikely event you want to have a nap in the B10. Tall passengers won’t feel cramped at all in the back, either, helped by a flat floor and that panoramic sunroof.
Boot space
Once you’ve figured out how to open the boot (there’s a tiny button on the ride side of the bootlid) you’ll find a space that offers 430 litres – which is pretty average for the class, with the MGS5 EV, Kia EV3, Skoda Elroq and Ford Puma Gen-E all boasting larger capacities. There is a 25-inch ‘frunk’ under the bonnet, though we found a fair amount of rainwater trapped in there, despite several drain holes at the bottom.
There’s no way of folding the rear seats from the boot, but once they’re down you’ll get a massive 1,415-litre loading area. The rear seats don’t fold fully flat and there’s a slight bump leading to the boot as well, but there’s no loading lip at the rear.
Reliability & safety
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Euro NCAP’s scores for the Leapmotor B10 are very impressive, but not that surprising, especially when you factor in its standard safety technology. For a car under £30,000, a safety assist score of 85 per cent is very good, yet the implementation of these systems wasn’t great in our experience. The lane centering was too aggressive, the driver drowsiness warning went off seemingly at random, and opening the door caused that side’s indicator to start – something that could cause confusion to other road users. Turning off the various safety aids is a laborious task, completed via the touchscreen, and you have to do it every time you start the car.
Leapmotor is too new a brand to have featured in our Driver Power owner survey and we can’t rely on data taken from other Stellantis cars, because the B10’s underpinnings aren’t shared with any of its siblings. What should help build confidence is Leapmotor’s presence at Stellantis dealerships across the country, with 53 in operation already and plans to double this tally before the end of 2026.
| Euro NCAP safety ratings | |
| Euro NCAP safety rating | Five (out of five stars) |
| Adult occupant protection | 93 per cent |
| Child occupant protection | 93 per cent |
| Vulnerable road user protection | 84 per cent |
| Safety assist | 85 per cent |
Buying and owning
- Best buy: Leapmotor B10
While the B10 gives Leapmotor is a solid small electric SUV, there are loads of rivals to contend with. The Skoda Elroq is our 2025 Car of the Year, although for the same price as the B10 you’ll have to make do with the entry-level SE trim. It’s a similar story with the slightly more expensive Kia EV3. The Ford Puma Gen-E is one of the best to drive in its class, but comes with a rather meek range, and there’s the usual suite of Stellantis models to consider like the Jeep Avenger Electric, Fiat 600e and Vauxhall Mokka Electric, which all offer similar experiences.
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