2024 Leapmotor C10 review
This emerging brand says improvements are on the way to a car that didn’t impress on first impression.
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Does Australia really need another EV from an unheard-of Chinese brand?
We’re about to find out when the Leapmotor C10 arrives in November.
This medium-size SUV will be sold in Australia beside Jeep, thanks to a deal signed earlier this year between Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology and one of the world’s biggest car makers. You may not have heard of them either …
Created by the 2021 merger between FCA and PSA, Stellantis owns 14 brands; Jeep, Peugeot, Fiat, Ram, Alfa Romeo and Maserati, plus others not sold in Australia. Leapmotor will make it 15.
With its majority share of the new Leapmotor International joint venture, Stellantis controls the distribution, marketing, sales and manufacturing of Leapmotor everywhere outside China.
The C10 is the first Leapmotor model designed to go global.
Stellantis Australia is yet to finalise pricing of the SUV, but promises both basic Style and higher Design grades will be in the zone between $45,000 and $50,000.
This means the C10 will cost less than Australia’s favourite EV, the similar-sized Tesla Model Y.
The Leapmotor’s five-seat interior is more than a little Tesla-like; no physical buttons, big central touchscreen, thumb-ball point-and-click devices in the steering wheel.
But the C10 will not come with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability, at least at first. This could be a deal-breaker for some.
The flat-floored interior is plenty roomy, especially the rear seat, and the cargo compartment is large. While the minimalist style may put off some, the quality of neatly made cabin’s materials seems high.
And the C10 is easy on the eye. Leapmotor executives say the SUV was designed in its studio in China, but the exterior is blandly attractive in a vaguely European way.
Leapmotor boasts about the way the C10 is engineered. Its battery cells are enclosed in a space-efficient structural tray that contributes to body stiffness, a process the company calls cell-to-chassis, for example.
But the C10 is no leader when it comes to driving range, charging or performance.
The Leapmotor’s almost 70kWh battery pack delivers a driving range of 420km, according to the WLTP test standard. That’s okay, but the C10 won’t be quick to recharge, at home or on a road trip. Its on-board AC charger can accept only 6.6kW from a home wallbox, while its faster DC charging rate is limited to an unimpressive 84kW.
With a single 160kW motor driving the C10’s rear wheels, performance is acceptably brisk. Selecting the Eco driving mode, however, makes the Leapmotor feel sluggishly weak when the accelerator is pressed.
Still, it’s a decent drive.
Stellantis engineers in Europe helped set up the C10’s suspension, and it delivers both a comfortable ride over bumps and predictable cornering and braking. But its light but feel-free steering and adequate performance aren’t going to quicken the pulse of an eager driver.
It must also be mentioned that the C10 driven at the model’s European introduction in northern Italy had some annoying glitches.
On one occasion the Leapmotor wouldn’t unlock. It doesn’t have a physical key; instead there’s a credit-card sized NFC digital key that unlocks the vehicle via a sensor in the driver’s side rear-view mirror.
The C10 did open after a system reset, and Leapmotor plans to offer a smartphone key app that uses Bluetooth, but even so …
Other problems were satnav freezes and false alarms from the driver drowsiness detection system. Hopefully these gremlins will be banished before the production of right-hand drive C10s headed for Australia.
Attractive, pleasant enough to drive, a nice size and with an even nicer price-tag, the C10 will attract those looking to make the EV move but put off by their cost. But it would probably be wise to wait a while before leaping into Leapmotor’s arms.
Not only to be sure the glitches have been banished, but also because Leapmotor International boss Tianshu Xin says that through 2025 the C10 will get some important improvements; Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility for one thing, faster-charging 800-volt battery tech for another.
LEAPMOTOR C10
PRICE $45,000 to $50,000 (est)
SAFETY Not yet rated
ENGINE Single electric motor, 160kW/320Nm
RANGE 420km (WLTP)
THIRST 19.7kWh/100km (WLTP)
0-100KM/H 7.3 secs
Originally published as 2024 Leapmotor C10 review
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