Leapmotor T03 review

They say good things come in small packages so the Leapmotor T03 should be right on the money. After all, it's just 3.6 metres long (about the same as a VW e-Up!).

But what is a Leapmotor? Well, it’s one of a handful of Chinese car companies we've seen launching new models in the UK recently. As well as the T03 we're reviewing here, it also sells the much larger Leapmotor C10.

One characteristic that sets Leapmotor apart from other Chinese brands is that it has the backing of Stellantis. And that means the T03 has been developed with help from the group behind plenty of other small electric cars, including the Citroën ë-C3 and Fiat 500e.

Leapmotor T03 and other cheap EVs video

So should you take a leap of faith on the Leapmotor T03 or are you better off with one of those other models – or, indeed, the Dacia Spring, the Hyundai Inster or our current Car of the Year, the Renault 5? Read on to find out how we rate the T03 against the best electric car rivals…

If you decide to buy a Leapmotor T03, you'll have no trouble deciding which version to get – because there's no choice. Every T03 comes with a 36kWh battery and a 95bhp motor powering the front wheels.

Officially it can get you from 0-62mph in 12.7 seconds, which is quicker than a Dacia Spring but slower than most electric cars, including the Citroën ë-C3, Hyundai Inster and Renault 5.

It builds speed quickly enough once it gets going, but there's a slight delay between you planting your right foot and the T03 surging forwards from a standstill. 

The T03 rides impressively well, with its well-balanced suspension soaking up all but the worst imperfections around town and making it more comfortable than the Spring. Things fall apart slightly as speeds increase, with the T03 starting to feel a little more floaty. Don’t get us wrong, it’s still comfortable, but the Renault 5 is vastly better at all speeds.

The steering in the T03 could be better too. Switching between the three driving modes – Standard, Comfort and Sport – makes the steering lighter or heavier, and we’d suggest leaving it in the heaviest setting, Sport. It’s more precise than in the Spring and gives you enough feedback for driving around town or on country roads, but doesn’t give you enough feel to call the T03 sporty.

The other two driving modes are best left for slow and tight city back roads or car parks. They feel very light when driving at any speed above 20mph. 

The 36kWh (usable capacity) battery is bigger than the one in the Dacia Spring (25kWh) and the T03 will officially travel slightly further between charges, managing 165 miles compared with 140 miles for the Spring.

The Hyundai Inster does much better, officially managing 203 miles in Standard Range form and 230 if you go for the Long Range model, while the ë-C3 can manage up to 201 miles.

When we tested the T03 on a 103-mile commute including motorways and town driving, it managed an efficiency of 4.0mi/kWh, giving a theoretical range of 144 miles. That was much better than the Spring over the same journey.

Refinement is better than in the Spring, with not much road noise at speed but a fair amount of wind noise. What’s more, you’ll notice quite a lot of motor whine at slow speeds around town. Larger rivals, including the ë-C3 and Renault 5, are more refined alternatives.

“While you don’t really notice it around town, I found the Leapmotor T03’s extra oomph compared with the Dacia Spring really handy when it came to accelerating up to motorway speeds on my commute.” – Doug Revolta, Head of Video

If you’re less than 6ft tall you’ll find it easy enough to get comfy behind the wheel of the Leapmotor T03, thanks to a seat that can be adjusted up, down, in and out.

Taller drivers might find that their knees are perched quite high, because the driver’s seat doesn’t slide all that far back. Of course, that’s only something that’ll affect those over 6ft, so we suspect it’ll be much more annoying for most that the steering wheel only adjusts up and down.

Thanks to the T03’s boxy shape, forward visibility is pretty good, with an easy view out over the small bonnet to make placing the car easy. The windscreen pillars are on the thicker side, meaning that they can get in the way slightly at junctions, but a quick lean quickly solves that issue.

While the door mirrors are a good size for such a small car and the side windows are large, there are wide rear pillars and a small rear window (which doesn't have a wiper). On the plus side, the standard rear parking sensors and rear-view camera help when parking.

Every Leapmotor T03 comes with two screens up front, the first of which is an 8in digital driver’s display. The display is pretty impressive when it comes to its definition, making it really easy to read, but it’s a shame it has no functionality beyond showing you your speed and brief navigation details.

The other screen is a 10in touchscreen that gives you access to the infotainment features. Again, its definition is good for the most part and it reacts quickly as you prod around the menus.

Weirdly, though, the definition of the T03's sat-nav app isn’t as good, making it a little harder to read than other parts of the system. The sat-nav gets confused quite easily, making it frustrating that you don’t get Android Auto or Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring, as you do in the Dacia Spring. 

We much prefer the Renault 5 Techno’s Google-based infotainment system, because it’s far easier to use, has clearer menus and has the Google Map built in. 

Prodding around the T03's interior reveals that it’s dominated by hard plastics, but they’re far from offensive because all the materials have some form of colouring or texturing. It’s more appealing on the surface than the Spring but not as funky as the Citroën ë-C3.

Build quality feels good – the doors close with a reassuring thud, for example, unlike on the Spring. Plus, the steering wheel-mounted stalks (which look as though they've been sourced from Mercedes car models) feel secure and tough.

"While the interior is filled with hard plastics, you can’t argue with the T03’s build quality. I did lots of prodding around in it and it feels like it should stand the test of time." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

You’re probably thinking that anyone over six feet tall would struggle to fit inside this dinky city car but that's not the case. You see, while a tall driver might struggle for leg room in the Leapmotor T03, there’s a surprising amount of space generally.

Starting in the front, there’s more than enough head room for a pair of six-footers, plus loads of passenger leg room. It’s also wide enough for two broad people to sit in the front without rubbing shoulders.

Front storage is less impressive, but you do get a cupholder and a holder for your phone below the dashboard, a small cubby between the front seats, and door bins with a cupholder large enough for a big water bottle.

When it comes to rear head room, it’s much the same story as in the front, with even those just over 6ft tall having more than enough space without their hair rubbing on the standard-fit glass panoramic roof.

Leg room, meanwhile, is sufficient rather than generous, with those under 6ft having just enough knee space and loads of room under the front seats for their feet.

As with the Dacia Spring, you’ll only find two seats in the back of the T03. That’s good news when it comes to shoulder room for those two people, but something to consider if you often use all three rear seats.

In that case, you might want to look at the Citroën ë-C3, MG4 or Renault 5 instead. At least the T03 has five doors, making it easier to climb into the rear than in a three-door Mini Cooper Electric.

The T03's boot space is nothing to write home about, with just 210 litres of space. That’s less than the Spring (308 litres) and Hyundai Inster (280 litres), as well as larger rivals including the ë-C3 (310 litres) and Renault 5 (326 litres).

Worse still, the T03’s boot is deep but narrow, so large boxy items simply won't go in unless you fold down the back seats. They drop in one piece – as they do in the Spring – but still, the T03 is not a great choice for trips to buy bulky items.

"Given the T03's overall size, I'm impressed by how spacious it is inside. We just about managed to fit two 6ft road testers in the back seats with no real issues." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

As a cash purchase, the Leapmotor T03 has a lower starting price than almost every electric car rival. The exception is the entry-level Dacia Spring Expression, which costs less but doesn't get as much standard equipment.

If you compare the T03 with a similarly equipped Spring Extreme, they cost about the same, while the Citroën ë-C3, Hyundai Inster and Renault 5 all cost much more.

With just one version on offer, every T03 gets a decent amount of standard kit, including 15in alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, keyless start, automatic air-conditioning, and electrically adjustable and heated wing mirrors.

When the T03’s battery is empty and you need to recharge, you can plug into a CCS fast charger and recharge at a rate of up to 48kW – which is quicker than the maximum charging rate of the Spring, but still not particularly impressive. It means that charging the T03’s battery from 10-80% using a public EV charger will take approximately 53 minutes.

Plugging into a typical 7kW home EV charger, meanwhile, will get you from 0-100% in about three and a half hours.

The experts at Euro NCAP have yet to test the T03 for safety, so we can’t compare it to its rivals. That said, it does tick several important boxes in terms of safety equipment, with lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assistance, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, door opening warning and speed-limit recognition as standard.

Leapmotor is too new to have featured in our What Car? Reliability Survey but every T03 comes with a four-year standard warranty. That’s not as generous as Dacia’s service-activated seven-year warranty or Hyundai’s five-year warranty, but slightly more generous than Citroën and Vauxhall (three years).

It’s fair to say people get more nervous about reliability with new brands than with established ones. At least with Leapmotor its partnership with Stellantis means there are plenty of service centres and easy access to parts.

"Leapmotor says it's all about value rather than being cheap, and you can see that in the T03's standard equipment list. I find it quite surprising you get so much for so little." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

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