2026 Leapmotor B10 review: International first drive

The race for electric car affordability in Australia has a new combatant in the Leapmotor B10, whose imminent local launch will see it inherit the title of Australia’s equal-most affordable electric SUV.

How affordable? Try an entry-point of $38,990 drive-away, undercutting all but one of its rivals in the fiercely contested segment. More on that later.

The B10 is just the second model from the Chinese brand, co-owned by global conglomerate Stellantis, to hit Australian dealerships. It joins the larger C10 medium SUV in the local line-up.

While the C10 is available both as an EV and a range extender electric vehicle (REEV), the B10 lobs here initially as a battery-electric SUV. An REEV will follow in 2026, but for now it’s the electric B10 doing the heavy lifting for Leapmotor in Australia.

The two-variant B10 line-up starts with the Style, priced from $38,990 drive-away, and tops out with the flagship Design priced from $41,990 drive-away.

That’s some pretty sharp pricing for what is a feature-packed offering, undercutting the bulk of its rivals. Meanwhile, at least one major competitor, perhaps in response to Leapmotor’s ‘most affordable EV SUV’ claim, or perhaps not, slashed its prices to match the B10’s.

The Chery E5, previously priced from $42,990 plus on-road costs, can now be had for a B10-matching $38,990 drive-away. Both come in under the MG S5 EV (the replacement for the ageing MG ZS EV), which starts from $40,490 drive-away. The BYD Atto 3 starts from $39,990 before on-road costs, or around $43,000 drive-away.

Leapmotor has taken a leaf out of the challenger brand playbook with the B10, cramming its small SUV full of equipment and features.

Standard equipment highlights include 18-inch alloy wheels, dusk-sensing LED headlights, a panoramic glass roof, climate control, wireless phone charging, a big 14.6-inch touchscreen with Bluetooth connectivity and satellite navigation, an 8.8-inch digital instrument display, and 360-degree camera with in-built dashcam.

Conspicuous by their absence – for now – are Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. But fans of smartphone mirroring need not fear. Both will be available via over-the-air updates in January, 2026, according to Leapmotor.

Stepping into the flagship B10 Design brings synthetic leather-look seats with six-way driver and four-way passenger power adjustment, heated and ventilated front seats, interior ambient lighting, a heated steering wheel, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, a powered tailgate, and a 12-speaker sound system.

That all seems like decent value for the extra $3000 spend over the entry-level B10 Style. But perhaps the flagship’s biggest ace in the hole is its bigger battery and improved driving range over its B10 Style stablemate.

Whereas the price-leading Style is fitted with a 56.2kWh battery pack offering an estimated 361km of driving range (WLTP), the B10 Design ups the ante with a 67.1kWh battery and an estimated range of 434km WLTP.

Leapmotor hasn’t strayed far from the small SUV playbook, certainly in terms of design. There’s a generic look and feel to the B10, with an overall design philosophy that mirrors some of its Chinese cohort with a touch of German design language thrown in.

It’s on the larger side of the small SUV segment, stopping the tape at a smidge over 4.5m long, a shade under 1.9m wide, around 1.65m tall and on a wheelbase of 2735mm. That dwarfs the identically priced (for now) Chery E5 and is a close a match, although still larger in all key dimensions, for the MG S5 EV.

That larger footprint pays dividends inside, where the B10 offers a spacious and well-designed cabin. Like much of the segment, minimalism is the order of the day with a large infotainment screen dominating the dash. It’s the nerve centre of the B10, with every function and feature buried within its 14.6-inch dimensions. This is becoming the norm in today’s automotive landscape, and while it continues to rankle, at least the Leapmotor’s system is responsive and intuitive to use.

Not so the 8.8-inch driver display, which is perched atop the steering column and isn’t the last word in functionality.

The digital speed readout, for example, sits on the right side of the screen where it is blocked from view by the steering wheel. There is no ability to move it either, the driver display largely static, except for the useless vehicle and traffic animation taking up valuable real estate in the centre of the screen. Real estate that would be better served by a clear and concise digital speedo. This could be easily remedied with an over-the-air update. So, how about it, Leapmotor?

The rest of the interior offers a nice blend of materials with an inherent solidity to the build quality. The doors close with a satisfying meatiness, while the synthetic leather-look seat trim is top-notch and of a quality that wouldn’t look out of place in cars costing twice as much.

The front seats are comfortable enough for some long-distance touring, while the second row proved spacious for two adults, if a little tight for three across.

Out back, there’s a decent 490 litres of cargo capacity, expanding to 1475L with the second row folded away. For context, the MG S5 EV offers 453L/1441L, while the Chery E5 brings 300L/1079L of luggage space.

So, a light and spacious interior, wedded to a long list of standard equipment, at a price point as low as it’s ever been for the segment in Australia. But, how does the Leapmotor B10 drive?

Both variants are powered by a single electric motor at the rear wheels making 160kW and 240Nm. Yep, somewhat unusually for the segment, the B10 is rear-wheel drive. Not that you’ll induce any tail-wagging wheelspin, the B10 dispatching the benchmark 0–100km/h sprint in a very un-EV-like 8.0 seconds.

Acceleration might not be EV-brisk, but it’s perfectly suited to the environs an SUV like the B10 is likely to spend the bulk of its time in. The interesting thing here is that the B10 builds its speed progressively, without that instant torque delivery we’ve come to expect. Whether by design or accident, this makes the B10 the most ICE-like EV I’ve driven yet. Buyers transitioning from ICE to EV won’t be in for a shock.

Leapmotor has leant on its relationship with Stellantis – the owners of brands like Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot amongst others – too, and the result is a nicely tuned chassis that offers decent ride comfort. The brand claims “rigorous testing” took place at Alfa Romeo’s famous Balocco proving ground in Italy, underscoring Leapmotor’s worldly aspirations.

Certainly, that’s paid dividends with composed road manners, the B10 absorbing scrappy surfaces nicely. The road conditions in the south of France mirror that of Australia’s patchy motorways and B-roads. Australian-delivered B10s will feature Leapmotor’s European tune, providing a good indication of what to expect.

The steering weight errs on the light side, and while it misses out on some of the tactility keen drivers tend to prefer, it is responsive and accurate. Toggling through the various drive modes provides more heft to the steering feel, as well as sharper acceleration, but the difference is negligible.

Brake pedal feel is good, and the transition between regenerative and friction brakes is smooth and unobtrusive. There are three levels of regeneration, although one-pedal driving is off the table, with even the strongest of the three regen modes requiring pedal inputs to bring the B10 to a complete stop.

A major bugbear, however, continues to be the less-than-stellar calibration of the B10’s safety and advanced driver assist systems. Overly intrusive and jerky, not to mention noisy in terms of annoying beeps, Leapmotor has a way to go if it wants to make good on its “designed for Europe” promise.

The systems can, of course, be turned off, but like so many that have come before, the function to do so is buried deep inside an infotainment system that requires a lot of inputs to access.

Helpfully, owners can set up individual driving profiles, allowing for a wide band of personal preferences including deactivating any or all of the B10’s safety systems with a single press on the infotainment screen. The systems default to ‘on’, however, and need to be deactivated at every start-up.

The B10 claws back some points for its energy use, which is frugal. Leapmotor claims the B10 will use 17.3kWh per 100 kilometres. My time behind the wheel at launch saw an indicated 14.2kWh/100km after a couple of hundred kilometres of mixed driving conditions, including long stretches on energy-sapping motorways.

That results in a theoretical driving range of 472km from the 67.1kWh battery in the Design I spent my time in, which is around 10 per cent better than the claimed 434km. Decent.

Charge times for the larger battery in the B10 Design come in at 11 hours using a regular wall socket, three hours when using a home-installed wallbox at a maximum rate of 11kW (all B10s are fitted with an on-board 11kW AC charger), or 20 minutes (from 30–80 per cent) using a fast charger at its maximum rate of 168kW.

Buyers opting for the Style and its smaller 56.2kWh battery will find fast-charging capped at a lower 140kW, but resulting in the same 20-minute 30–80 per cent recharge time. Plugging into a regular wall socket will take 9h 20min, easily an overnight charge, while 11kW A/C charging reduces that time to 2h 30min.

So what’s our initial take on the Leapmotor B10? Certainly, its value equation is hard to beat – an electric SUV for under $40K on the road seemed unthinkable not all that long ago.

Leapmotor is certainly breaking new ground with the B10. Budget-friendly and crammed with standard equipment, the B10 announces Leapmotor as a serious player in the EV space.

Yes, there are some annoyances, such as the badly calibrated safety systems, but as an affordable entry point into the world of full battery-electric motoring, the B10 hits a lot – but not all – of the right notes.

Rob Margeit is an award-winning Australian motoring journalist and editor who has been writing about cars and motorsport for over 25 years. A former editor of Australian Auto Action, Rob’s work has also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Wheels, Motor Magazine, Street Machine and Top Gear Australia. Rob’s current rides include a 1996 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and a 2000 Honda HR-V Sport.

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