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Leapmotor may be a new name to the UK car market, but you’ll be able to buy one from some pretty familiar dealers. Thanks to the Chinese firm’s tie-up with Stellantis, you’ll find Leapmotors popping up in many Stellantis brand dealers, like Vauxhall, Citroen, Peugeot, Jeep or Fiat.
That Stellantis relationship means the T03 is actually built in Europe, too – in Poland to be precise – although right-hand drive cars are currently still coming from China.
The T03 is resolutely a little urban runabout, with only the Dacia Spring beating it to the title of Britain’s cheapest EV. But where the two cheapest Dacias are somewhat spartan, without even a touchscreen to talk about, the one-trim-only Leapmotor T03 comes with plenty of kit, including some real luxury features.
Whether anybody wants or would use adaptive cruise control on a T03 remains to be seen, but there are plenty of other conveniences. Driver assistance, safety and advanced bits of kit are frankly amazing at this price.
You’ll find quality is a step up from the Dacia, too. While the drive is perfectly good enough for a round town runabout – the ride can be a bit choppy, but it’s not too uncomfortable – there’s reasonable space in the back for a couple of passengers.
It’s just a shame the car looks a bit awkward – a bit like a Fiat 500 that’s had a botched nose job.
How we tested
We were introduced to the Leapmotor T03 near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, where we drove through the local towns and on plenty of country lanes, including some of the worst road surfaces in the UK. And, of course, we sat in the back and tested the boot.
Independent rating: 8/10
- Pros: Loads of kit, easy drive, reasonable to drive
- Cons: Poor infotainment, challenging looks
- Price range: £15,995
- Battery size: 37.3kWh
- Maximum claimed range: 165 miles
- Miles per kWh: TBC
- Maximum charging rate: 48kW
Battery, range, charging, performance and drive
Many people don’t drive 165 miles in a week, let alone a day. For those folk, a T03 will be perfectly acceptable. It’s an affordable EV transport. Leapmotor claims that if you stick to urban routes – as you probably would in a T03 – you may even get over 200 miles on a single charge.
You’ll not get super-fast charging with a T03 – what do you expect for £15,995? – but it will charge on a fast charger at up to 48kW giving a 30 to 80 per cent charge in 36 minutes. More likely you’ll be charging on a 7kW home or public charger, with the same charge taking 3.5 hours.
At slow speeds, the noise the electric motor makes is a little odd. Accelerating and slowing gives a rising and falling noise that sounds like a police car. We doubt anybody is really going to notice a difference if you select sport mode – yes, there is one – or even eco come to that. Just leave it in standard and you’ll be fine.
Given the car’s short wheelbase, the ride can feel a little choppy over bumps or road humps, but it’s acceptable. We only managed some faster A-roads on our test routes, but it handled 60mph okay and the acceleration felt nippy enough from the 94bhp motor, despite a claimed 0-62mph time of 12.7 seconds.
There’s decent visibility and manoeuvrability is fine. The car is easy to park and thread through city streets.
Interior, practicality and boot space
Another surprise is how spacious the T03 feels inside. Unlike in something like the Hyundai Inster (which is much more expensive) bigger drivers and passengers won’t feel like their shoulders are close to the door frame or the person next to them. It’s reasonably comfortable inside the T03, with good headroom in the front and the back.
Rear passengers have reasonable space, too, although the door aperture isn’t the widest, as you might expect from such a small car. There’s plenty of room to put your feet under the front seats and the deep side windows mean there’s a good view out. The boot is small and one of the only signs of cost-cutting we could find was the lack of a parcel shelf.
If you’ve tried a Dacia Spring and then a Leapmotor T03, you’ll be impressed by the quality in the Leapmotor for the price. The cabin isn’t awash with soft materials – it does feel a bit cheap – but it looks okay and the doors shut with a more reassuring thud than the cheap ‘tink’ noise that the Dacia’s doors shut with.
Technology, stereo and infotainment
The Leapmotor may boast an 8in driver display and 10in infotainment touchscreen, but we found the latter fiddly and frustrating to use, while there’s only Bluetooth connectivity – no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, which is a shame.
There’s an in-built navigation system, although it froze on our test – a quick turn off and turn on again got it going again. Hopefully, the usability and maybe even the addition of CarPlay and Android Auto can be fixed with over-the-air updates, which the T03 can get.
As for that kit on board, you get keyless start, a good-sized sunroof (although not entirely panoramic as the Leapmotor blurb suggests), a rear-view camera and parking sensors, air-con, auto headlights and an electronic handbrake.
You’ll want for nothing with a host of safety and driver assistance features, too, with blind spot detection, lane keep assist and lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and a few too many intrusive bings and bongs that remind you what these systems are doing.
Prices and running costs
It’s not just the list price that’s competitive. Leapmotor promises a four-year finance deal at £199 a month after paying a deposit of £199. Whether anybody wants to keep a Leapmotor for four years with cheap new EVs coming from other Chinese brands – and even Volkswagen and its sister brands – remains to be seen.
There’s only one spec, but a choice of three colours: white will cost you nothing, but starry silver or glacier blue will add a sizeable £650 to your bill.
Running costs should be low, especially if you have access to a low-rate electricity tariff, while there’s a four-year warranty on the car and eight year’s cover for the battery.
Leapmotor T03 rivals
FAQs
How long does it take to charge?
The Leapmotor T03 will charge on a fast charger at up to 48kW giving a 30 to 80 per cent charge in 36 minutes. More likely you’ll be charging on a 7kW home or public charger, with the same charge taking 3.5 hours.
How much does it cost – is it worth it?
The one-size-fits-all price is £15,995 – that’s for a fully-loaded little car that really wants for nothing on kit. You’ll have to pay an extra £650 if you want one of the two posher paint colours
Does Leapmotor replace batteries for free?
There’s the usual eight-year warranty on the battery, plus four year’s cover on the rest of the car.
The verdict: Leapmotor T03
The Leapmotor T03 is all about value, and it offers plenty. Some people don’t need an EV that’ll do mega-miles on a single charge and will be perfectly happy with a little runabout that comes loaded with kit, offers an okay drive and reasonable space for the occasional rear passengers.
If you’re not bothered by an unknown badge, the Leapmotor T03 makes plenty of sense.
