LEVC L380 review: luxury MPV takes space race to a whole new level

Verdict

The LEVC L380 enters a marketplace that, in all honesty, is due a significant talent upgrade – and it doesn’t so much move the needle as replace it completely. It’s supremely comfortable, very generously equipped, and has TARDIS levels of space. If it’s priced right when it comes to the UK, it will simply own this segment.

MPVs have very much fallen out of favour in Europe but, for the rich and the famous, premium people-movers like the Mercedes V-Class and Lexus LM remain very much in vogue.

Now LEVC, makers of the iconic London Taxi, are looking to muscle in on the action with their aptly named L380, an electric car seemingly not too dissimilar in size and appearance to the Airbus plane of a similar name.

While the size statement may contain a sprinkle of sarcasm, the L380 is undoubtedly a big car. So big, in fact, that it’s available to order in China (UK cars are due in the next 18-ish months) with eight seats. That in itself wouldn’t be so surprising but for the fact that those chairs are spread across four rows in a body that’s still a few centimetres shorter than a V-Class.

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Indeed, such is the practicality of the L380, it comes with not one but two rows of fully reclining captains’ seats, with passengers in the second and third rows both able to lay back, complete with a leg rest, without any compromises. This comes courtesy of the near-two-metre rails in the floor that allow all the seats to be spread out or pushed together for greater storage space.

When specified as an eight-seater, the fourth-row seats can fold into the floor electronically, or rotated 90 degrees to enable the so-called ‘fishing mode’, allowing you to dangle your legs out the back and catch your lunch in comfort.

These qualities mean the L380 is just as comfortable bussing a large family around as it is shuttling the wealthy to their private jets. And comfort is very much something both demographics will find at the core of the L380’s repertoire.

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For a start, it sits atop a modified version of Geely’s SEA platform (called SOA), which has proven itself particularly capable under cars such as the Polestar 4 and not yet UK-relevant Zeekr 001.

The L380 sits on single-chamber air suspension with continuous damping control, which makes for a sumptuous ride on nearly all surfaces. It may be a little akin to a waterbed at times, but it should make a decent fist of the UK’s potholed streets.

That same air suspension means the ride height can be adjusted for different purposes, including for loading suitcases or heavy items into the back. The L380 will swallow plenty, with 1,100 litres of space behind the third row and more if you slide the seats forward, which can be done via a switch in the boot.

The car also comes with super light steering, very much a trait of Chinese cars, as well as automatic parking and level 2 ADAS functionality for things like automatic cruise control, lane-keeping assist, and indicator-activated overtakes. The rear-view mirror also has a camera function, in case you’re finding it hard to see through a busload of heads and luggage.

Inside, however, the L380 really comes into its own. As well as copious levels of head, shoulder, knee and foot room, save for the driver’s seat where the front wheel arch limits the space for resting your left foot (perhaps not a problem on right-hand drive versions), there’s a bunch of comfort-oriented features and plenty of premium materials to hand.

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To begin with, all versions come with super soft semi-aniline leather on the seats, doors and dashboard, suede roof lining, and up to 10 layers of cushioning on each seat, as well as heating and ventilation on the frontmost three rows. For the driver and second-row passengers, there’s a massage function as well, which on higher-spec models can be specified via screens embedded in the second-row armrests.

Those same passengers can also make use of a leather-clad tray table with a groove for tablets, 15-inch screens for watching TV and movies on the go, a 7.2-litre fridge unit that can cool between -6 and 15 degrees and warm between 35 and 50 degrees, and an electric sunblind for the enormous 2.12m-squared panoramic roof.

That sunroof, as well as the windscreen and all three side windows, comes with dual-layer glass to make the L380 a very pleasant place to while away the miles. If it’s too quiet, each variant comes equipped with an impressive 14-speaker Yamaha sound system as standard.

For the driver, there’s a large head-up display that features both a blind spot camera feed when indicating, as well as a 300-metre night vision camera that helps highlight other road users.

The L380 also impresses on performance and range, particularly when stacked up against the Mercedes EQV. Drive comes from either a single, rear-mounted 200kW / 268hp motor producing 343Nm of torque, or a dual-motor set up that doubles your numbers for all-wheel drive stability and a 0-62mph sprint of 5.5 seconds, obliterating the EQV’s 12.1-second time.

Range too is considerably better, with 101kWh, 116kWh, or 140kWh battery variants offering 354, 419, and 497-plus miles respectively (on the somewhat optimistic Chinese test cycle) comfortably beating the EQV’s 219-mile range even when marking those numbers down about 25 per cent for real-world range. 

Charging speeds are equally pleasing with DC fast charging as high as 260kW, meaning you can add over 200 miles of range on a 15-minute charge.