Should you buy one?

The Leapmotor C10 REEV is a difficult car to recommend because it fits into an incredibly niche usage case. If you’re a regular long-distance driver, a diesel SUV makes much better sense because you’ll get far better fuel economy. In fact, the only reason you’d buy the REEV over a diesel SUV is because you want a car with some pure-electric capability.

What’s worse is you can’t reap the benefits of that pure-electric capability from a tax perspective. Because the UK government has classified the C10 REEV as a plug-in hybrid, it isn’t eligible for the congestion charge exemption. So, if you live in London, you’d be better off with an electric vehicle.

In fact, I reckon the only reason you’d go for the C10 REEV is because you like the idea of electric car ownership, but you hate the idea of charging. If you’re testing the water, this could be an ideal stepping stone. Otherwise, I reckon you’d be better off coming down off the fence and picking one fuel or the other.

What we like

The C10 REEV seems to manage its fuel and electricity efficiently (although I’ll need to test it further in the UK before I make my final call). You also get a lot of equipment for your money and absolutely acres of passenger space in the back.

What we don’t like

The C10 isn’t that exciting to drive, and it feels far slower than its performance specs would suggest. And while Leapmotor has worked to improve the car’s driver assistance tech since I last drove the EV in February, it’s still quite annoying. The boot is also much smaller than the Skoda Enyaq’s.