Leapmotor T03 review

Is the Leapmotor T03 a good car?

In the rapidly-declining small car market, the new Leapmotor T03 EV is a refreshing proposition. It comes backed by the might of Stellantis – owner of Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall – and the reassurance that all sales will be via existing Stellantis dealers. The T03 itself has genuine appeal, too. It’s not overly characterful, although it’s decent enough to drive, with a well-mannered ride and enough performance in most circumstances. Couple this with usable range, an extensive array of standard kit and an attractive price tag, and Leapmotor has come up with a real challenger to not only the Dacia Spring but petrol-powered city cars, too. 

How much does the Leapmotor T03 cost?

The Leapmotor T03 is a tiny all-electric city car that is also one of the cheapest electric cars on sale. At just under £16,000, it’s second only to the Dacia Spring in terms of affordability in the UK; the Spring, in its cheapest form, costs slightly under £15,000. The Leapmotor does get a wider range of equipment as standard compared with its Romanian rival, however.  

The T03’s range couldn’t be simpler. There’s just one model to pick from at launch, with more trim versions presumably set to arrive later. Sitting on Leapmotor’s bespoke scalable EV platform, the T03 features a 37.3kWh battery offering 165 miles of range, which is 25 miles more than you get in the Dacia. You should be able to reach that figure all-year round thanks to a cloud-based system that monitors the battery to help keep it at optimal temperature. 

Along with the single battery offering, there’s also just one electric motor to go with it. It’s a front-mounted motor with 95bhp and 158Nm of torque – more than you get in the Dacia Spring. The Leapmotor is quicker to 62mph, taking 12 seconds compared with the 13.7 seconds the Spring needs.

There are some classy touches to the T03, including a panoramic sunroof with an electric sunshade, an eight-inch LCD instrument cluster, a 10.1-inch central touchscreen, sat-nav, voice control, 4G connectivity and air-conditioning. 

Leapmotor might be a new name in Europe, but it has the backing of Stellantis, which owns a majority of the firm. Stellantis hopes to have 500 “points of sales” for Leapmotor across Europe by 2026. The T03 will also be produced at Stellantis’ Tychy plant in Poland, where the Jeep Avenger, Fiat 600 and Alfa Romeo Junior are made.

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This might seem like a back-handed compliment, but the most important thing you can say about the way the Leapmotor T03 drives is that it feels like a normal car. From the outside, you might have a preconceived notion that it will flop around on its comically thin tyres and have all the balance of a mid-game Jenga tower. 

In reality, once you set off, it feels secure, stable and ready to showcase its 165-mile range. On the motorway, the electric motor’s power does tail off, although not to an extent that it makes overtakes particularly anxiety-inducing. There’s enough power here for the T03 to hold its own. It’s pretty refined, too, at speed – there’s not much road noise, because there’s simply not a lot of tyre in contact with the tarmac. And despite the boxy shape, wind noise isn’t terrible, although we noticed some vibration in the door seal around 65mph. 

There are some characteristics that are a result of the T03 dinky proportions. For example, the tiny wheels can mean you’re correcting the steering a little more often on roads with camber, and it’s more susceptible to tramlining, too. 

A 95bhp electric motor sends power to the front wheels via a single-speed automatic, and with a 0-62mph time of 12 seconds, the T03 is quicker than a Dacia Spring (which takes 13.7 seconds). However, the T03 isn’t as responsive as you’d expect of a small EV. There’s a slight delay in the throttle mapping, which means you often have to floor it if you want to make an eager pull away from a junction. However, once under way, we found it to be much more responsive. 

An extremely tight turning circle of 9.7 metres is impressive, although the steering is incredibly light, regardless of whether it is in ‘Sport’, ‘Comfort’ or ‘Standard’ mode. This means you have to turn the wheel a little more than you’d initially expect. Great visibility all around adds to the appeal, while the boxy shape means it’s a doddle to park and scoot around tight back roads. 

There are also three modes for the brake regeneration: ‘Sport’, ‘Eco’ and ‘Standard’. The strength of the regeneration in Sport can almost allow for one-pedal driving, or you can switch it completely off in Eco. Activating the different modes can be done with a swipe of the central touchscreen, although the steering modes require delving into menus. 

While it might be a city car, the T03 can cope with bumps and potholes surprisingly well. It generally feels composed over badly surfaced roads, and although we didn’t find the front seats particularly cosseting, there’s a lot of padding in the rear bench to ensure rear passengers should feel comfortable. 

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There’s only one version of the Leapmotor T03 and it comes with a 37.3kWh battery for a range of 165 miles. A Dacia Spring will return 140 miles from its smaller 26.8kWh battery. 

The T03 weighs 1,203kg – a chunky 229kg more than the Spring. That’s thanks mainly to the T03's generous levels of standard equipment, rather than the larger battery, which is a Leapmotor creation and utilises the brand’s ‘cell to chassis’ technology, incorporating the unit itself into the body of the car. Thin 165-section tyres also contribute to the T03’s range, as do brake regeneration and a low drag coefficient of 0.26. 

While the T03 initially comes in one trim level, there’s potential for Leapmotor to launch a more basic version with less kit and likely a lighter kerb weight, which would increase the range even further.

Leapmotor claims the T03 will return a 30 to 80 per cent charge in 36 minutes. This is achieved by a maximum recharge rate of 48kW. The T03 also comes with an on-board 6.6kW charger that can offer the same top-up in 3.5 hours. 

A Stellantis product, the T03 gets the same level of warranty coverage as the rest of the group’s EVs. There’s a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, plus eight years of cover on the battery.

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The exterior of the Leapmotor T03 is a pretty simple design. There are rounded features to give it a friendly look and Leapmotor says the faux grille was shaped to look like a smile. The proportions are tiny, especially when you see the side profile and the wheels sitting at each corner. 

The ‘cell-to-chassis’ platform is bespoke to the T03 and allows it to have traditional ‘city car’ dimensions, although Leapmotor claims interior space is on a par with what you would normally see in a supermini. With no internal combustion-engined version, there’s greater scope to efficiently pack the electric powertrain within the T03’s body.

Step inside the T03, and you’re met with a pretty basic-looking cabin. There’s just a cup-holder and a slot for a smartphone as a centre console, while between the front occupants there’s another small storage spot, a button for the parking brake and a cup-holder for the rear passengers. The doors offer up a reasonably sized bin for water bottles. 

We found the interior quality to be pretty decent in most places. Sure, there’s hard, scratchy plastic on the dash and doors, but it all feels well put together. The usual touch points are covered in higher quality materials – for example, the leather-clad steering wheel and chromed door handles. 

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

The dash layout is pretty minimal with an eight-inch instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch central touchscreen. The positioning of the touchscreen is a little annoying, as it’s too near the steering wheel, meaning a small section of the display is hidden. 

The infotainment system itself uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon tech, and is quick to respond to inputs. While the shortcut function bar at the bottom is noticeably blurred, the display’s resolution is good. The menu layout is simple and easy to navigate as well. The driver’s screen isn’t configurable, but does show all the key information clearly. 

Sat-nav is standard on the T03 and the map design is easy to read on the move, just as long as the 3D visual mode isn’t selected. This creates an odd distortion of the overhead view.

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A length of 3,620mm and width of 1,652mm mean the T03 is shorter and narrower than the Dacia Spring, although a height of 1,577mm makes it 61mm taller than the Romanian car. You notice the headroom whether up front or in the rear, and when combined with the panoramic sunroof, there’s no chance that tall adults will feel cramped.

Legroom is a little tighter. The front occupants have plenty of space, while in the back you can squeeze a pair of six-footers in at a push, so long as they’re happy straddling the seat in front. As a four-seater, there’s no fold-down central armrest for the rear passengers (neither is there a central armrest up front). 

The boot capacity stands at 210 litres compared with the Spring’s 308 litres. It’s big enough for a weekly shopping trip or a weekend away for two adults, but the shape is annoying. It seemingly needlessly curves around the rear lights, reducing access, and there’s a rather large loading lip, too. Neither is there any underfloor storage.

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The Leapmotor T03 hasn’t been assessed by Euro NCAP yet, although Leapmotor says it will provide great protection to occupants in a crash thanks to its body-cage structure. This uses a one-piece, all-aluminium anti-collision beam and ‘high-strength’ steel, and comprises 60 percent of the T03’s body. 

Levels of standard safety kit are impressive. There are three cameras and five radar sensors, which help implement the T03’s 10 driver-assistance functions, many of which you would expect to be fitted as standard in a family hatchback rather than a budget city car. These include lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, automatic speed assist with traffic sign recognition, driver tiredness detection, blind spot detection and an automatic emergency brake. 

The T03 is too new to judge on reliability, and the underpinnings haven’t been seen on other cars in the UK.

Leapmotor T03 alternatives

There are very few all-electric rivals to the Leapmotor T03 at this £15,995 launch price. The most obvious is the Dacia Spring, which sits either side of the Leapmotor at £14,995 for the Expression variant, and £16,995 for the Extreme. While the Dacia has a bigger boot and a much more recognisable badge, the Leapmotor has more range and is better equipped. 

A slightly leftfield alternative is the £17,990 Microlino. It’s a modern interpretation of the classic Isetta bubble-car design from the Sixties, so it’s certainly got plenty of character. The Microlino’s 114-mile range isn’t the best, though, and neither is its performance, as it tops out at 56mph. In reality, it’s more of a city-based car than the Leapmotor.