New Leapmotor B10 2025 review: budget brand's best EV yet

Verdict

Impressive efficiency and range combined with a spacious interior makes the Leapmotor B10 a solid shout in the family EV sector. A huge kit list elevates its position even further, and that’s before you get to the bargain price tag. There’s a lot to like about this latest Leapmotor and we’d say it’s the most convincing offering yet – though nannying safety tech and a mediocre drive let it down slightly. 

It’s been 12 months since we first drove the Leapmotor T03 city car and C10 SUV, but now it's time for possibly the most important model the brand will launch in the UK: the B10.

Clearly aligned with the C10 more than the dinky T03, the B10 sits somewhere in between the hugely competitive B and C-segment SUV markets – rivalling the likes of the Ford Puma Gen-E, Kia EV3 and MGS5 EV. It also has to compete with the Vauxhall Mokka Electric and Peugeot E-2008 built by parent firm Stellantis, which has a majority ownership of Leapmotor International, the company tasked with bringing Leapmotor to Europe.  

Leapmotor is keeping things very simple with the B10 here in the UK. 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. 

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That means the B10 gets a 67.1kWh battery providing a pretty respectable range of 270 miles. That’s much more than you get in the Ford Puma Gen-E (234 miles) and even more 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.

During our test drive, which included plenty of motorways, country roads and city driving, the B10 returned an efficiency of 4.1 miles per kWh, which equates to 279 miles of range. 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 stands at a decent 168kW, enabling a 30 to 80 per cent top up in 20 minutes, roughly the same speed as most rivals. 

Leapmotor was keen to point out that the B10 sold in Europe – as opposed to the one launched in China a few months ago – has benefitted from suspension development honed at Stellantis’ Balocco proving ground in Italy. Judging by our initial prototype drive in Shanghai earlier in the year, it doesn’t feel like a complete overhaul of the B10’s chassis, though on the road the small SUV felt competent enough.

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The rear-mounted motor provides 215bhp and 240Nm of torque, resulting in a 0-62mph time of eight seconds and a top speed of 106mph. The B10 actually felt a little faster than this and over in China the quoted sprint is 6.8 seconds, which we’d have believed from behind the wheel. In a straight line the B10 is plenty quick enough, with a sensible throttle calibration that gently takes the edge off the instant torque availability. 

Weighing a significant 1,845kg, the B10 was never going to be a car you’d relish throwing around the bends, despite the brand’s efforts at Balocco. Still, body roll wasn’t too severe in tight corners, with the low-slung battery certainly helping to keep the B10 stable. 

We were less enamored with the steering, which felt incredibly light around town and suited the surprisingly tight 10.7-metre turning circle, but lacked any kind of feel or feedback. Despite the motor being at the back (which helps provide a 50:50 weight distribution), the B10 doesn’t come close to the rear-driven dynamics of the MG4 or the Cupra Born. 

The three driving modes of ‘Comfort’, ‘Standard’ and ‘Sport’ tweak the steering weight and throttle response to a small degree, and the same can be said of the brake-regeneration settings. The three levels of regen are pretty straightforward, though in the maximum ‘Strong’ setting it’s still nowhere near a one-pedal experience.

Ride quality is generally very good. The fixed dampers are set up to prioritise comfort, which feels like a welcome decision along with the sensibly sized 18-inch wheels. Low-speed obstacles like drain covers and speed bumps are dealt with easily, though the B10 has an occasional tendency to jiggle in the immediate aftermath. At motorway speeds the ride settles, though wind noise ramps up, especially around the wing mirrors. 

The B10 is a big car for the segment it’s targeting. It’s almost 301mm longer than the Puma Gen-E while being wider and taller, plus it’s larger in every dimension than the MGS5 EV. Having a wheelbase of 2,735mm (just 90mm shorter than the C10) means the B10 feels almost as spacious inside as its bigger brother. Even tall rear passengers won’t feel cramped at all in the back, helped by a flat floor and a huge, standard-fit panoramic sunroof. A boot measuring 430 litres is pretty average for the class, with the MG and Ford boasting larger capacities. 

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What isn’t average is the B10’s kit list. We only get the ‘Life Pro Max’ trim (other markets get a lesser Life Pro variant) and it includes a heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats, a wireless smartphone charger and automatic air-conditioning, plus Vehicle to Load (V2L) tech, so you can charge appliances from the battery. 

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 with a lightning-quick response to inputs and crisp resolution. However, the menu set-up can feel a little overwhelming and there feels an over-reliance on the screen for almost every function; you can count the physical switches inside the B10 on one hand. 

The B10 hasn’t been tested by Euro NCAP just yet, though Leapmotor says it’s aiming to match the C10’s five-star rating. It’ll certainly get good scores for safety technology because there’s adaptive cruise, lane-centring control, hands-off detection and a suite of other systems. 

Yet the implementation of these systems weren’t great in our experience. The lane centering was too aggressive, the driving 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. 

Interior quality is largely decent, however. It’s not the most imaginative cabin we’ve ever sat in, though it all felt screwed together well with no rattles during our drive. The hard plastic grab handles for the passenger are an odd decision and we’re not sure on the longevity of the flip-down cupholders, though.

Where the B10 impresses, seemingly like every other Leapmotor, is price. With Leapmotor’s self-imposed ‘Leap-Grant’ of £1,500 to counter its lack of eligibility for the government's Electric Car Grant, it starts at £29,995. That’s sensational value for a car of this size, let alone an EV that’s as well-equipped as this. 

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