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), I was 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 it costs £1,000 less than the base-model Renault Scenic but wears the same spec as the flagship variant.

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 vast dealer support should make it one of the most pleasant Chinese EVs to own.

Plus, it comes with a four-year warranty (which will see it through any PCP agreement) and a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. If you’re shopping for a spacious family EV on a tight budget, I reckon the C10 will be hard to ignore.

What we like

It 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 (according to our early testing – we could revise this statement once we’ve conducted a proper range test).

What we don’t like

It’s a little derivative and the driving experience is lacking. The steering and brakes leave a lot to be desired and the damping isn’t as sophisticated as a European car. There are more refined alternatives on the market. Not for this money, though.