Leapmotor C10 Review (2025)

Introduction

If you’ve heard of BYD, Jaecoo, Omoda, Ora, or Skywell, adding another new name might not be such a surprise.

If you haven't heard of any of the above, you're in for a shock, as the UK is suddenly being flooded by Chinese car manufacturers that have decided to try and crack the British market.

Some aren't great, but others have hit the ground running in impressive style.

So, it’ll be interesting to see what another Chinese manufacturer, namely Leapmotor, can do.

Unlike some of the above brands, Leapmotor hasn’t come from a rich heritage of vehicle manufacturing in its homeland. In fact, it was co-founded by a company called Dahua Technology, which makes video surveillance equipment.

But, before you dismiss it, several Chinese automotive marques have been successful despite similarly obscure origins, no more so than Geely, which began life producing parts for refrigerators.

Today, it owns 78% of Volvo, 51% of Lotus, 18% of Polestarand 17% of Aston Martin.

Leapmotor has only existed as an automotive company since 2015, and the name itself has only been around since 2017.

Nevertheless, Stellantis, the parent company of multiple car brands, now owns a 51% stake in Leapmotor’s operations outside of China, which is a vote of confidence in the fledgling make.

Leapmotor has already built around half a dozen cars – two of which are coming to the UK in all-electric form.

There is the tiny city car, the T03, and the mid-size SUV, the C10- and we're interested in the latter.

We can’t resist asking the question: can the C10 leap its way to success? We hope so, albeit not literally, of course.

At A Glance

The Leapmotor C10 doesn't look out of place when you first see it. In fact, from some angles, it looks very stylish.

Admittedly, some Chinese cars have a habit of featuring slumped shoulders towards the back and slightly odd proportions. You can see this in the C10, but it fits the bill for the most part.

When viewed head-on, it looks very squared off, with the sides completely vertical. This is enhanced by the thin air intakes bordered by a right-angled indentation and a rectangular horizontal lower grille.

The headlights bulge out ever so slightly, connected by a light bar which runs from side to side.

Around the side of the car, there's a prominent crease lower down, which joins onto the wheel arches, while the roof spoiler above the rear windscreen gives off hints of athletic potential.

The rear looks stylish and minimalist. A lightbar runs across the entire back end, with the manufacturer's name in uppercase lettering underneath. There is plenty of blank space beneath that, along with an indentation that houses the number plate.

Overall, it’s a decent effort by Leapmotor. The C10 doesn't look stunningly beautiful, but it doesn't look out of place on the UK's roads.

Mind you, it has won three accolades related to its looks, including the 2023 International CMF Design Award for technological and natural aesthetic design.

Key Features

The Leapmotor C10 is only available in one trim.

It has 20-inch alloy wheels, a 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen with satellite navigation, a digital radio, a 12-speaker HiFi system, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, and dual-zone air automatic conditioning.

You also get automatic LED headlights, electrically adjustable heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera, and a powered tailgate.

Power comes in the form of an electric motor producing 218PS.

The C10 is rear-wheel drive only – there's no all-wheel drive option.

Range & Batteries

The C10 comes with a 69.9kWh battery. Leapmotor claims that’s good enough for a 263-mile range.

As with any electric car, you won’t achieve that in practice, but anything between 200 and 230 miles is generally about par for the course.

The C10's range is competitive, but several rivals can beat it, including a handful that can go significantly further.

Performance & Drive

The Leapmotor C10 is quite heavy - it weighs almost two tonnes - but it still accelerates from 0 to 62mph in 7.5 seconds. That is quick and a lot faster than plenty of its foes.

Indeed, it picks up speed hard if you put your foot down, pinning you back in your seat, offering an instant burst of torque off the line, as is the case with many electric cars.

You can reign in the power more gradually by using the lower of the three driving modes: Smooth, Stable, and Robust. The latter tends to generate wheelspin, especially if conditions aren’t perfectly dry.

Getting up to speed and then overtaking slower vehicles isn’t a problem at all, and it always feels like there’s plenty of poke in reserve when driving normally.

The suspension is firm but not uncomfortable, offering a decent blend of ride comfort and confidence-inducing stability.

The C10 certainly isn't bothered by rougher, pock-marked road surfaces. It also handles potholes well, soaking up the bumps and lumps along the way. As a result, it feels well-planted, unflustered and grippy, although it can take some time to settle down after being jolted about at higher speeds.

Sadly, things begin to unravel a little when going around a corner. Despite firmer suspension setups often leading to keener handling, it's not to be found here. It isn’t a disaster, but the C10 is prone to understeer without pushing things too hard around bends.

It controls body roll well for an SUV, but the lack of grip in the corners prevents you from throwing it into faster turns with much confidence that it’ll make it on to the next straight.

The steering doesn’t weight up naturally either. It feels artificial at higher speeds and far too light when going slowly, especially when the wheel is in Comfort mode.

Putting the steering in Standard mode firms it up a bit, while Sport does so even more. However, once you've committed to one of these settings, there's little natural progression between light and heavy and little feedback through the wheel.

At lower speeds around town, in Comfort mode, the C10 is easy to drive and live with daily.

Admittedly, it might be a bit too big to be used primarily as an around-town runabout. But despite being an SUV, it's certainly better suited to town and city driving or motorway cruising than tackling twisty rural B-roads. Wind and tyre noise are well-damped out, too.

Regenerative braking is predictable and simple to get used to. It can be configured in four settings: Low, Standard, High, and One-Pedal. The latter puts the brakes on and brings you to a stop when you lift off the accelerator.

The only gripe is that all these settings must be configured via the touchscreen rather than pressing a button, and some modes require the car to be parked before they can be activated.

Charging

The Leapmotor C10's charging speed isn't awe-inspiring.

83kW may sound like a lot, but plenty of EVs can charge at speeds of over 100kW, and several cars can charge three times quicker than the C10.

A 30 to 80% top-up of the batteries takes around half an hour at maximum speed.

Using a standard 7kW home wall box, the same will take just over six hours, but when home charging, its maximum rate drops to 6.6kW.

Beware the marketing tactic, too, as Leapmotor quotes times based on a 30-80% charge for both maximum speed and home charging.

Most manufacturers quote a 10-80% charging time at full speed and a 0-100% time for home charging.

Running Costs & Emissions

Running costs should be minimal, especially if you can charge the Leapmotor C10 at home.

Sadly, one area where long-term savings will soon disappear is road tax. Electric cars will be charged from 1 April this year and will have to pay the same as any other car, namely £195 a year, although you'll still get the first year's road tax for £10.

The C10 should be a good choice as a company car, thanks to its low Benefit in Kind tax. But every electric car on the road is in the same bottom bracket, so there are any number of alternative options out there.

Reliability is an unknown, given that Leapmotor is a new marque in the UK.

One thing that might increase your confidence is the partnership with Stellantis, which means you’ll be able to get your C10 serviced at most of its brands’ main dealers.

Interior & Technology

The C10’s interior definitely has Tesla vibes about it.

It is very minimalistic, featuring a decluttered steering wheel with only a couple of buttons and scrolling wheels. It also has an almost identical infotainment screen set in front of the dashboard.

Unlike a Tesla, though, there is a separate digital instrument display behind the wheel, which looks like a smaller version of the infotainment tablet.

You will find plenty of soft-to-the-touch materials with a premium feel on offer, while harder plastics are in short supply and hidden out of view.

The centre console is quite wide, too, while the dashboard is very straight and simple.

And, really, that’s all there is to write about – there's not a lot else on show, as everything else we could mention is buried within the infotainment touchscreen.

As for the quality of the infotainment itself, the large 14.6-inch touchscreen offers pin-sharp graphics thanks to a high-resolution display. It is pleasingly responsive, too, offering little in the way of lag. The system is crammed full of features, and despite the extent of the facilities on offer, the menu layout is easy to get used to.

Likewise, the 10.3-inch digital instrument display is crystal clear and informative, with smart-looking graphics, although it’s not especially customisable.

Unfortunately, the minimalist interior means the air conditioning controls are hidden within the touchscreen, making it far less convenient to adjust the temperature on the move than with physical controls.

There is also no smartphone mirroring, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – two features now included as standard on almost all new cars – notable by their absence.

Nevertheless, it's a very appealing interior that will undoubtedly suit people looking for an alternative to Tesla.

Practicality & Boot Space

Finding a comfortable driving position in the Leapmotor C10 is easy thanks to power adjustment in the front seats, which feature plenty of travel to suit all heights.

The seats are also very comfortable. In fact, the seatbacks can be reclined backwards until they're flat, enabling you to climb into the rear seats and use the front seats as a bed while you watch something on the infotainment system.

If you're using the driver's seat for its main purpose, though, then you'll be pleased to know that forward visibility is impressive. The fairly thin pillars and swept-back windscreen offer a good view of the road ahead.

It is not as good out of the back, but we've seen far worse. The rear pillars are not that thick compared with some other SUVs.

Nevertheless, rear parking sensors and a 360-degree camera are included as standard.

There is plenty of space in the front seats, with lots of headroom and legroom, so even taller drivers won't be complaining. Meanwhile, the wide centre console saves the need to compete for shoulder space with the person sitting next to you.

Space is generous in the rear, too, with enough room to stretch your legs out. Despite a slight slope in the roofline, there's still more than enough headroom on offer.

If you're transporting three adults in the back, the middle seat occupant has the added convenience of a flat floor with no hump to contend with.

The boot space measures 435 litres, which isn't bad and is on par with competitors like the BYD Atto 3. However, it's beaten by plenty of others, including the Renault Scenic E-Tech, while the Tesla Model Y leads the way with almost twice as much capacity.

The available space expands to 1,410 litres with the rear seats folded down, but they only fold in a 60:40 split, whereas some competitors offer a more convenient 40:20:40 divide.

There is also no loading lip, making it easy to slide bulkier and heavier items in and out.

A 32-litre ‘frunk’ is offered, giving you some additional cargo space underneath the bonnet next to the electric motor.

There is a generous amount of storage space in the cabin, too, although the door bins aren’t overly accommodating.

Nevertheless, there are a couple of large cubbies, including one in the centre console, several cupholders, and a tray to store your phone, which can then be charged wirelessly.

Safety

Last year, the crash-testing experts at Euro NCAP put the Leapmotor C10 through its paces. It earned it a full five-star rating.

The C10 scored 89% for adult occupants, 85% for children and 76% for safety assists.

The latter category includes automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, forward and rear collision warning, blind spot detection, driver drowsiness alert, and lane departure warning.

There are also twelve high-precision sensors, including a front camera, four surround-view cameras, a driver fatigue monitoring camera, and six radars to monitor the car and driver.

Options

Leapmotor is yet to confirm an options list.

However, with only one trim level and one electric motor to choose from, Leapmotor appears to want to give you everything you need by default, so there seems little need to offer additional features.

There are five body colours to choose from, including dark grey, light grey, pearly white, glazed green, and metallic black. The interior can be kitted out with purple or orange upholstery.

You can also downgrade to 18-inch alloy wheels for a more comfortable ride.

Rival Cars

The Leapmotor C10 has no shortage of rivals for your money.

It will be wanting to compete with Kia's athletic EV6, the Skoda Enyaq, and the Renault Scenic E-Tech. Hyundai will be hoping to tempt consumers away with its excellent Ioniq 5, while fellow Chinese brand BYD offers the Atto 3.

Of course, Tesla has the Model Y, too.

If Tesla doesn’t appeal, there’s also the BMW iX3 at the premium end of the market.

Verdict & Next Steps

Overall, the Leapmotor C10 has plenty going in its favour.

It is reasonably affordable, very well equipped and spacious for all occupants – everything that should appeal to potential SUV drivers.

The interior looks really nice, too, and it has a premium feel, which should only tempt you more.

There are drawbacks, though.

Its range is beaten by plenty of rivals, its charging speeds are slower than much of the competition, and its excellent practicality in terms of cabin size comes at the cost of boot space.

While it's not bad to drive, it feels a little uninspired and lacking in dynamism. A firm suspension setup suggests a level of handling that, ultimately, fails to deliver.

The C10 is tempting, but it might not do enough, given you can have something similar from a more established manufacturer for similar money.

Where to next?

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**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Leapmotor C10 Lease.