Should you buy one?

The Leapmotor C10 is an interesting addition to the electric family SUV class – and an entirely recommendable one at that. Having driven some utterly woeful Chinese EVs in the past year (such as the Skywell BE11), we were pleasantly surprised by it.

It’s been screwed together well, it’s bursting with equipment and it’s halfway decent to drive. Yes, some of the technology needs a little further calibration and the ride quality is a little hit-and-miss. But you really can’t argue against it when the C10 costs £1,000 less than the base-model Renault Scenic, but sports as much equipment as the flagship. It is ridiculously well equipped for the money.

Whether or not that’s enough to drag buyers away from established electric SUVs like the Skoda Enyaq and Kia EV6 remains to be seen. Leapmotor certainly has the best chance at toppling the competition, however, as it’s backed up by the logistical might of Stellantis (the parent company behind Fiat, Peugeot, Vauxhall, Citroen and Alfa Romeo). The vast dealer support should make it one of the most pleasant Chinese EVs to own.

To bolster your confidence further, the Leapmotor C10 comes with a four-year warranty from new (which will see it through any PCP finance agreement) and a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating to protect your most precious cargo. If you’re shopping for a spacious family EV on a tight budget, we reckon the C10 will be hard to ignore.

What we like

The Leapmotor C10 has loads of space inside and the equipment list is second to none for a car at this price point. It’s also reasonably comfortable and surprisingly efficient, maximising the potential range in between charges. Styling is pretty slick too – one of our team suggested it even looked like a baby Porsche SUV…

What we don’t like

It’s a little derivative and the driving experience is lacking in much character. The steering and brakes leave a lot to be desired and the suspension damping isn’t as sophisticated as the best European competition. We also deplore the over-active driver safety ‘assistance’ systems whose beeps and bongs are as bad as they come. There are more refined alternatives on the market. Not for this money, though…