• The Leapmotor B10 has already gone on sale in China for $14,500. (105,000 CNY)
• The B10 will also be produced in Europe, thanks to a partnership with Stellantis.
• This slots beneath the midsized C10 crossover already on sale.

Once a little-known brand, Leapmotor is making serious inroads both inside and out of China. Last month, the brand sat at the top of the sales charts for Chinese EV startups, as the first models made their way to Europe, part of a tie-up with Stellantis. Still, Leapmotor’s efforts have been somewhat limited to either the charming T03 city car, or the slightly underbaked C10 large SUV.

 

The brand is still in it for the long haul, though. Last year, it showed off its production-intent design for the B10, a compact SUV meant specifically for European roads. About a week ago the model was officially released in China. The YouTube channel Telescope got some seat time with the entry-level crossover and had some choice words about Leapmotor’s new model. There’s a lot to like, but some of the car still needs work.

Photo by: Leapmotor

The B10 isn’t a big car at all. At 177 inches long (4515 mm) the B10 is about 5 inches longer than the Hyundai Kona Electric, but significantly shorter than the 187-inch long Tesla Model Y. And as par for course for any Chinese EV, the price is a lot lower for the B10. A base model B10 can be had for the equivalent of $14,500 there. 

It seems like you’re getting what you pay for in this instance. Main presenter Haoran Zhou wasn’t too kind to the car’s dynamic abilities. Yes, the rear-mounted 219-horsepower motor made the crossover feel quick, but he criticized the car’s touchy throttle response in sport mode. The power delivery in normal mode was fine, but the driving experience was marred by a steering setup that was too eager to return to center. 

The car’s assisted driving systems got an earful from Zhou, too.

“It’s so conservative and so slow, to the point that it’s potentially dangerous,” he said. The car slowly ambled around freeway turns, going a full 20 km/H (13 mph) under the speed limit. “This system is too slow, it’s creating scenarios and situations that is forcing other drivers out of regulations to overtake us, and that is dangerous no matter how safe you think you are.”

Still, Zhou had high praise for the car’s quality and its comfortable interior. In a static review of the B10, he had a lot of good things to say about the car’s modular interior add-ons and impressive interior room.

This all seems to track with what contributor Alex Goy experienced with his drive with the Leapmotor C10. That car had a pleasant interior and decent perceived quality, but the software, driver assist features and vehicle dynamics were generally not great. Unfortunately, the B10 looks like it may be more of the same.

The B10 is supposed to be made in Europe and go on sale by the end of this year. Let’s hope that the European-spec will fix some of these issues before more negative press comes for the brand. 

Contact the author: [email protected]