Leapmotor C10 review

SUVs are proving to be an extremely popular choice with car buyers, but that hasn’t deterred any new contenders from entering this fiendishly competitive market. This Leapmotor C10 is one of them and is hoping to steal your attention from more mainstream rivals.

So what does it bring to the table? Well, for starters, this pure electric family SUV costs around the same as the Skoda Elroq and Renault Scenic but is much bigger – 4.7m long to be exact, which is the same length as the much pricier BMW iX3.

There's also a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) available dubbed the Leapmotor C10 REEV, which uses a petrol engine generator to boost range. It's a rival for PHEV family SUVs such as the Geely Starray, Hyundai Tucson and MG HS. 

So, it has an attractive price tag, costing you less than a similarly sized Kia EV6 or Skoda Enyaq, but Leapmotor’s focus on value means the C10 also gets lots of standard equipment.

Does that mean it’s just cheap and cheerful? Read on to find out, as we rate the Leapmotor C10 against the best electric SUVs...

What’s new?

- January 2025: new C10 range-extender EV revealed at Brussels motor show, featuring a 213bhp electric motor and 1.5-litre petrol engine
- December 2024: Leapmotor C10 achieves five-star Euro NCAP safety rating

The all-electric Leapmotor C10 is equipped with a 215bhp electric motor that drives the rear wheels. That sounds like a decent amount of power, but at nearly two tonnes, the C10 needs it.

On paper, the C10’s official 0-62mph time of 7.5secs is similar to the MG S6 Single Motor and slightly quicker than the Renault Scenic and the Skoda Elroq 60. There’s enough performance for most buyers, but its casual power delivery means it doesn't feel particularly urgent, with rivals giving you more of a kick in the back when you plant your right foot. 

With a 69.9kWh (usable capacity) battery, the C10 can officially travel up to 263 miles between charges, which is about the same as a 59kWh Elroq 60. However, you can go farther for slightly more money, with the S6 Single Motor (329 miles) and Renault Scenic (381 miles).

Most of the time the C10 has a smooth, comfortable ride, with the suspension dealing with small bumps and undulations well. However, it trips up when trying to tackle potholes and sharper imperfections, especially above town speeds, with such impacts causing a thwack, accompanied by some side-to-side sway.

The Elroq has a calmer, more tightly controlled ride, while the Scenic is better than the C10 at being soft and comfortable. Even Leapmotor’s smaller B10 stablemate thumps less.

The C10’s handling is average at best. The car feels tall as it leans over into bends and front-end grip proves rather limited on a tight, twisty section of country road. 

What’s more, the steering is quite light and numb, lessening your sense of connection to the front wheels and providing little confidence when turning into a bend. The only upside to the lightness is that it makes navigating city streets and tight car parks a doddle - perhaps an indication of what the C10 has been tuned for.

The C10 is quite a refined car to drive around in, suffering from little road and wind noise regardless of whether you’re driving slowly around town or at motorway speeds. It’s a shame the brakes are incredibly grabby and the brake pedal is hard to modulate when trying to bring the C10 to a smooth stop.

"Around town, switching from Sport or Comfort mode and into Eco mode makes the C10's steering really light. I found it similar to when Fiat used to offer a city mode, and is ideal for navigating tight car parks." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Step inside the Leapmotor C10 and first impressions are pretty good. All the materials at eye level appear soft, with the tops of the doors getting the same rubberised material across them. Any harder, untextured surfaces are hidden low down and out of sight, while build quality seems pretty solid too.

If you like the high seating position of a family SUV, the C10 will be right up your street. It’s also really easy to get comfortable behind the wheel, thanks to every C10 coming with electrically adjustable front seats that have plenty of movement.

Forward visibility is good, with slim window pillars and large front windows giving you a clear sight out at junctions and over the car's nose. The view over your shoulder is impressive too, with large rear windows and large cut-outs in the rear pillars increasing your field of vision.

Rear parking sensors and a 360-degree camera come as standard to help with low speed manoeuvres but front sensors are not available. For when it gets dark, automatic LED headlights come as standard.

Every C10 comes with a digital driver's display from the off, so you don’t have to look at the main touchscreen to see how fast you’re going, as you do in, say, a Tesla Model Y. At 10.25in, the display shows you all the info you need with a high resolution, although the one in the Scenic offers a range of layouts.

The C10's infotainment touchscreen measures 14.6in, has a sharp resolution and reacts quickly when you prod it. The downside is you do have to delve into the touchscreen to do pretty much everything, including making changes to the air-conditioning, which is more distracting than the control panel in the Kia EV6 or the physical buttons in the Scenic. 

While earlier examples of the C10 didn't come with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay smartphone connectivity, 2026-on models have it as standard, and older cars will get this functionality retrofitted via an over-the-air (OTA) update

You’ll find hardly any physical buttons inside the C10, with the only exceptions being four buttons on the steering wheel and two scroll wheels. Aesthetically, they’re identical to what you’ll find in the new Tesla Model 3.

"While the infotainment screen is pretty impressive, it’s a bit of a shame you don’t get Apple CarPlay or Android Auto because the built-in maps aren’t the best." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Even if you’re over 6ft tall, you won’t have any complaints when it comes to front space in the Leapmotor C10. In fact, we’re pretty sure even your tallest friends will have head, leg and shoulder room to spare. 

Front storage is decent too, with the C10 offering a deep cubby under the central armrest, a large space under the centre console, a pair of cupholders and a wireless charging pad to place your phone on. The only place where it's not so good is the door bins, which will take a standard water bottle and little else.

Rear space in the C10 is just as impressive as it is in the front, with those tall friends having a level of head and leg room that’s on par with the Kia EV6. There’s also a flat floor across the rear, making it more comfortable for people sitting in the middle seat. Speaking of which, the decent width of the C10 means you should fit three people comfortably in the rear.

The rear seats don’t do anything particularly clever, with only the ability to fold the backrest down in a split 60/40. That’s not as versatile as the 40/20/40 seats you get in a Renault Scenic.

At 435 litres, the C10’s boot space should easily swallow a family’s luggage for a weekend away. Even so, that’s less space than you’ll find in pretty much all of its rivals, with the Skoda Elroq boasting 470 litres, the EV6 and MG S6 around 490 litres, and the Skoda Enyaq a mammoth 585 litres.

"Given the length of the C10, it’s disappointing that the boot isn’t as big as its rivals'. That said, at least you get a frunk for storing the charging cables, giving you more space in the boot." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

If you’re buying the Leapmotor C10 with cash, you’ll find its price tag appealing, because it undercuts many of its rivals, including the Kia EV6, Renault Scenic and Skoda Enyaq.

Better still, if you’re a company car driver, the C10’s lower list price should mean it costs slightly less when paying via salary sacrifice than most rivals, despite sitting in the same BIK tax bracket.

Even with its low price tag, Leapmotor certainly hasn’t skimped on standard kit, with the single trim level getting 20in alloy wheels, vehicle-to-load (V2L) technology, dual-zone climate control, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, keyless entry and start, a panoramic sunroof and a heat pump.

You’ll be slightly less impressed by how quickly (well, slowly) the C10 charges up. You see, with an 83kW maximum charging speed, it’s not as quick as rivals – getting from 30-80% charge in 30 minutes, when the Scenic and Elroq will get from 10-80% in about the same time.

Being such a new brand, Leapmotor wasn’t included in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey. The C10 comes with a four-year, 60,000-mile warranty, and the brand is backed by Stellantis so you’ll have easy access to servicing and parts.

The C10 scored the full five stars when it was tested in 2024 for safety by the experts at Euro NCAP. Standard safety equipment includes automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-centring control, lane-departure warning, blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic detection and braking, and a driver drowsiness monitor. 

That said we found some of these systems annoyingly sensitive - to the point where they’re a hindrance rather than a help, with too many bongs, warnings and tugs of the steering wheel.

You can switch off the lane-keeping assist, including the extra emergency lane-keep system, but that involves going through on-screen menus, rather than just pushing a button, as you can in the Scenic. Leapmotor says it plans OTA software updates to improve the systems.

"Leapmotor doesn't have a proven reliability record here so I think it's good news that it has access to Stellantis service centres, which will hopefully make it much less hassle if anything goes wrong." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Buy it if...

-You want an electric family SUV with a cheap price tag

-Having loads of front and rear space is important to you

-You mainly drive around town at low speeds

Don’t buy it if…

-You value a well controlled ride

-You don’t like relying heavily on touchscreens

-You want a car with a proven reliability record

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