Articles by Andrew Chesterton

An Indian-built Toyota LandCruiser FJ would include a plan to introduce petrol-hybrid powertrains, potentially opening the door to an Australian launch for the cut-price off-road hero, according to new reports.A new Toyota production facility in India’s Maharashtra region is expected to come online in 2029 – some three years after production of the petrol-powered FJ will commence elsewhere – with the delayed start expected to pave the way for new petrol-electric powertrains.That’s the word from Rush Lane, which reports that the FJ is slated for production at the new facility, both for domestic sale and for export markets. Thailand, where most of Australia’s utes are manufactured, is the other major production hub.Australia is unlikely to source cars from India, but the publication’s local sources suggest petrol and hybrid variants will be produced. Once those powertrains are developed, they would likely be produced at all production facilities.It’s the hybrid that would be of most interest to Australia, with Toyota here so far ruling out the FJ almost exclusively because of its basic petrol engine that wouldn’t meet tightening regulations. Without it, the brand says the FJ would be “very appealing”.“The LandCruiser name in Australia would be very appealing, but the hardcore reality we are facing in our country… variable regulations, new criterias, new vehicle efficiency standards,” the brand's then VP of Sales and Marketing Sean Hanley has previously told us.“We have to look very carefully at our product portfolio. What do we think we’re going to need? What are we going to sell in numbers? What do customers want and need?“Customers need that bigger LandCruiser. Customers need that LandCruiser ute. Customers need that HiLux. So we’ve got to be very carefully planned on our product portfolio moving forward.“It’s not about NVES, it’s just about regulations.“We’re moving to Euro 6 emissions standards. That’s the reality,” he said.A petrol-hybrid powertrain by the end of the decade might well put the FJ back on Australia’s hit list, where – according to recent price expectations in Japan – it would undercut everything from the Denza B5 to the GWM Tank 300.In Japan, the FJ will reportedly start at around $4.5m yen, which converts to just under $40,000. 

Sure, the Chinese automotive industry is a global giant right now, but it hasn’t been that way for all that long. While Toyota has been pumping out passenger cars since the 1930s – and Mercedes-Benz for even longer still – China’s factories only really fired up in the 1980s, and only then in tiny numbers.Before that, the country produced mostly commercial vehicles. But in the late 1980s, the Chinese government decided to pump up the country’s automotive manufacturing capabilities. The only problem was, it didn’t really know how to. And so it made what would be a game-changing decision.While the county had largely locked out international companies, a decision was made to allow Chinese marques to partner with global brands in joint ventures, giving the local brands a chance to learn at the hands of the global giants, and giving said giants the chance to tap into one of the world’s biggest markets, which was undergoing a middle-class boom.The biggest change arrived with the 1994 Automobile Industry Policy, which was designed to  attract global OEMs to China, though with ownership of new companies restricted to no more than 50 per cent.GM, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Nissan, VW, Toyota and more all jumped at the chance to tap into the Chinese market, and things happened fast. By 2009, China had gone from being an automotive minnow to the single biggest manufacturer of vehicles anywhere in the world.Now, hindsight is 20:20 and all that, but it wasn’t hard to see where all this was going. The Chinese brands soon had the know-how, and suddenly the international brands weren’t all that necessary. Several have since shuttered.At the same time, a shift in taste was occurring in China’s domestic market. On my first trip there, back in around 2013, everybody wanted a foreign badge. On my last trip, about three weeks ago, almost every car on the road was Chinese.Why am I telling you all this? Because it feels a little bit like history is repeating, only in reverse.Now China holds the cards when it comes to building high-quality, low-cost EVs and PHEVs, and legacy brands are only too happy to learn from them.Nissan had bet a sizeable chunk of its future on its partnership with Dongfeng, and specifically the plug-in hybrid Frontier Pro ute and its SUV sibling. The Chairman of the Nissan China Management Committee and President of Dongfeng (Nissan’s primary partner in China) Ma Zhixin recently explained how the brand would lean more into its Chinese manufacturing connections in a new push to be more globally competitive, in an interview with Chinese media.“My return to the Chinese market is to do my best to get Nissan’s business back on track, and bring China’s excellent products and technologies to the world”, said Zhixin.So too says Nissan’s new global boss, Ivan Espinosa, who recently told the media that “China will play a very important role in Nissan Global’s future.”Mazda recently dialled back its own EV ambitions, pushing the launch of its first in-house EV back to 2029. Instead, it has partnered with Chinese brand Changan Automobiles on the Mazda 6e and CX-6e SUV, both of which will soon launch in Australia with Mazda badging.Honda has started importing EVs made in China through Dongfeng Motor back into Japan (something previously largely unheard of). The Hyundai Elexio is made by Beijing Hyundai, a partnership with BAIC. The Kia EV5 is made in China through a partnership with the Jiangsu Yueda Group.It's almost as though China has cracked the cut-price manufacturing code, and the legacy brands want to learn how it's done, all while planning their own in-house models further down the track. Which all sounds a bit familiar.What they do with that skill set remains to be seen, but history does have a funny way of repeating sometimes.

News continues to filter in about the incoming Mitsubishi Pajero, including the axing of an iconic body style and the off-road icons the brand will be targeting with its potentially make-or-break 4WD.The latest news comes from Japan, where Best Car reports the iconic short-wheelbase Pajero will not feature in this new generation, marking the first time a Pajero generation hasn't offered a 'shorty' at some point in its lifespan.Now something of a collector's item, the three-door Pajero (which was removed from sale in Australia in 2011) would likely look out of place today, where it would be a more luxurious answer to something like a Suzuki Jimny.Instead, the Pajero will reportedly be full-size, five-door only – in fact, it will be the biggest in its history – with its length expected to exceed five metres.Expected to be Triton-based, and to use the Mitsubishi ute's powertrain, the Pajero will be bringing 150kW of power and 470Nm of torque to the off-road party. It should also match the ute's 3500kg braked towing capacity, and off-road capability and on-road comfort are clearly a focus.In fact, Japanese media has already spotted a camouflaged Pajero alongside a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, presumably for benchmarking purposes, suggesting Mitsubishi has the king in its sights.Legacy is a point not lost on Mitsubishi, which says any new model has to live up to the badge's heritage.“For me, the Pajero is an object of admiration,” Mitsubishi's president, Keisuke Kishiura Kishiura has told Automotive News.“Thanks to its off-road capability, allowing it to tackle any weather or road surface with confidence, its reliability, which withstands even the harshest conditions, and its ride quality and comfort that minimise fatigue on long drives, the Pajero has been cherished by customers around the world.”The Mitsubishi Pajero is expected to launch in late 2026.

The cheapest LandCruiser will start at the equivalent of just $40,000, with pricing for the incoming LandCruiser FJ being reported in Japan.That makes it the cheapest LandCruiser in the family by some margin, and Toyota clearly expects it to make a splash, with Thailand manufacturing almost doubling, and production expected to expand to India.That's the latest from Japanese media, where Creative 311 has the scoop on the FJ's price tag in Japan, which is expected to be officially confirmed on May 15.In Japan, the FJ will start at around $4.5m yen, which converts to just under $40,000. That kind of pricing would position the FJ below its Chinese rivals in the space, including the GWM Tank 300 ($48,990).But... there is a sizable catch. The LandCruiser FJ isn't confirmed for our market, where Toyota executives have suggested the model's 2.7-litre petrol engine wouldn't meet its regulation standards, specifically the fact it meets Euro 5 standards.“The LandCruiser name in Australia would be very appealing, but the hardcore reality we are facing in our country… variable regulations, new criterias, new vehicle efficiency standards,” the brand's then VP of Sales and Marketing Sean Hanley has previously told us.“We have to look very carefully at our product portfolio. What do we think we’re going to need? What are we going to sell in numbers? What do customers want and need?"Clearly aimed at tackling rough stuff on a budget, the FJ is equipped with a proper part-time 4WD system and a rear diff lock as standard kit. Also interesting is that, in Japan, only the paint colour is an option, with the Toyota otherwise delivered in a standard trim level.Would the LandCruiser FJ work in Australia as a cut-price off-road option?

Few brands do the whole cheap and cheerful thing better than the Chinese newcomers. Marques like Leapmotor, Geely, BYD and Chery have put such downward pressure on pricing that they’ve effectively redefined what things cost, and the old guard has been left scrambling (and often failing) to keep up. The challenge, though, is getting the balance exactly right. If you picture the scales of justice, with those little plates hanging off chains, you really want each side to be exactly even. The cheerfulness has to match the level of cheap and less of the former means more of the latter to balance the ledger. And on (admittedly brief) first impressions, the Leapmotor B03X is going to want to be cheap. It’s not that it lacks cheer entirely. It’s more that this feels like unapologetic cut-price motoring from behind the wheel, and Leapmotor would need to price it as such to make a splash in our market.In China, for example, it’s very, very affordable. The cheapest version converts to around $14,000 in Aussie dollars. That’s not going to happen in our market, but if it started in the mid-$20k bracket, those scales would be spirit-level balanced.But before we go any further than that, I should probably explain just what the hell I’m talking about, right?The B03X is Leapmotor’s small and all-electric SUV, called the A10 in China. At 4270mm long, 1810mm wide and 1635mm tall, we’re talking BYD Atto 2-sized here, which is the B03X’s clearest direct rival. In its domestic market it’s offered with two LFP battery sizes, 39.8kWh or 53kWh, with a claimed CLTC range of 403km or 505km. You need to shave some distance from both to get closer to an accurate WLTP number. I’m hypothesising here, but I’d say around 410kms from the bigger battery would be about right.DC fast charging is limited to around 130kW, but the brand says that's enough to go from 30 to 80 per cent charges in around 15mins. There's no word yet on AC charging, or how long it takes to go from empty to full.Providing the power is a front-mounted (so front-wheel drive) electric motor, and the power outputs are, well, less than impressive. You can choose between 70kW and 150Nm, presumably with the smaller and lighter battery. The most powerful version dials those figures all the way up (well, not that far up, actually) to 90kW and 150Nm.You don’t need to don a deerstalker hat to figure out what those outputs mean for acceleration. We put the B03X to a brief test on a rented track near Leapmotor’s Chinese HQ, and found flat-footed acceleration to be leisurely at best.The brand says the run to 100km/h can take up to 12 seconds, but it feels longer. Prepare to be overtaken by Lime bikes. And possibly pedestrians. That alone largely limits the B03X to the urban jungle. You'd need a sun dial to accurately measure overtaking manoeuvres on our long and dusty highways.I’m hesitant to waggle a finger too aggressively at vehicles we drive in China, as their tastes differ so much from our own. Most brands – Leapmotor included – change the ride and handling balance for export markets. And should the B03X make it to Australia, they will likely do the same, as the domestic-market version felt a little too soft and spongey through its suspension.If that’s the cheap, what’s the cheerful? You get a hell of a lot of stuff for your investment, whatever that ends up being. An electric powertrain, decent city range, 18-inch alloy wheels, LED lighting, a giant 14.6-inch central screen, a second digital driver display, clever under-seat storage, seat heating, a glass roof, a cabin without a scrap of fabric and an automatic boot.You also get Leapmotor's version of a slightly watered-down take on Tesla's Full Self Driving Supervised. The B03X will hold its speed on the freeway, change lanes and even take the right exit without your input.There's also space, and lots of it. Myself and another adult sat in the backseat of the B03X for about 30 minuntes or so, and we found we had plenty of room to get comfy. There’s also more than 600 litres of cargo space – and more than 1500L with the backseat folded flat.The B03X isn’t confirmed for an Australian launch, but it’s on the brand’s consideration list for a local debut. It just needs to get those scales to balance first.

JAC has joined the race to be the new Chinese Holden in Australia, raiding the the now-defunct homegrown brand's former engineering stocks to deliver an Aussie-feeling ride and handling tune to its vehicl

Still don’t reckon diesel is on the chopping block in Australia? Well strap in, because another nail in its coffin has just arrived in the shape of the JAC Hunter PHEV.And with it comes a like-for-like comparison. See, the Hunter shares its underpinnings with the diesel-powered T9 ute, giving the brand’s customers a choice – take the new petrol-electric version, or stick with the cheaper diesel.And having driven both, the people in the latter camp should be able to be counted on one hand. It’s not that the Hunter feels like the best ute in its segment, it’s more that the combination of petrol power and electric propulsion massively improves the drive experience compared to the one with a diesel donk.But more on that in a moment. For now, let’s dig deeper into the details.The Hunter has been JAC’s long-promised volume play, and while we test drove this one in Australia, it’s not actually the ute that will be launching here wearing a sub-$50k price tag later this year.For perspective, the cheapest BYD Shark 6 ute, the Premium, is $57,900, while the Ford Ranger PHEV Stormtrak is currently around $73k drive-away. So the Hunter is sharp.JAC has also commendably joined the localised-ride-and-handling community (like GWM, and Kia and Hyundai before it), recruiting former Holden chassis engineer Michael Barber to fine-tune the Hunter for our conditions.We’re talking more than a nip and tuck here. Barber says he went through 50 damper rebuilds to get the Hunter where he wanted, which was a ute that feels tighter, more responsive to inputs and more confidence inspiring than the JAC products to have come before it.The catch is that, while the work is reportedly done, it hasn’t entirely made its way to the vehicles we’ve tested. Some changes are present (notably a focus on noise, vibration and harshness and the fitment of better acoustic glass), but not all of them. And the brand says the cars that eventually go on sale here will drive very differently to these ones.What we can tell you, though, is a bit more about the powertrain, and how it works. The PHEV system here pairs a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine with twin electric motors (one at each axle) to produce a total 360kW. It doesn’t feel like that much power, to be honest, though the progress is smooth and definitely doesn’t feel underpowered once underway. It is a slow-ish getaway from a standing start, though – we were recording (very unofficial) runs to 100km/h of around 8.5 seconds.Part of the slower-than-expected take-off, I think, is that the different power sources all kick in at different times. The on-screen display suggests the rear motor starts first, which is then joined by the front motor, and then – at around 30km/h – the petrol engine kicks in, adding a noticeable boost in performance. Again, it does not feel underpowered, and the power delivery provides a constant urge when everything is humming along altogether. And it’s infinitely smoother and more predictable than the diesel-powered alternative.The other focus for JAC has been proper work-ready performance. The Hunter will tow 3.5 tonnes no matter the battery state (I think because the software won’t let it fall below 20 per cent charge), combined with a 915kg payload, front and rear diff locks and five pre-programmed off-road modes. Clearly JAC is taking the demands of the Aussie market seriously.On board is a V2L connection, while a 31.2kWh LFP battery (with 45kW DC fast charging) delivers an all-electric driving range of around 100kms, and contributes to the total driving range (so with a full battery and a full tank) of more than 1000kms on the NEDC cycle.Our brief preview test included what I would describe as moderate off-road challenges, including a couple of deep gullies and some pretty steep dirt climbs, and the Hunter did it all easily enough that it felt like it had plenty more to give. Interestingly, it’s also very quiet off-road – I had to check whether the petrol engine was running a couple of times, and it was.On the road, the Hunter feels a marked improvement over the diesel T9, even if it doesn't feel as spritely under foot as some of its plug-in rivals. The transition from electric power to petrol power feels subtle and unobtrusive, and the steering is good for the segment, too – though even on my very brief trip I was desperate to turn off the overzealous driver attention monitor, which loved a happy beep and bong.It also has that kind of jittery ride quality a lot of unladen utes have, but it's impossible to pass judgement on that stuff yet, as we haven't driven the finished product. On price and spec alone, the Hunter looks as though it will draw plenty in for a look. And if Mr Barber can deliver an Aussie masterclass in ride and handling, it should attract plenty more.But for that we'll have to wait and see.

If bigger really is better, then Leapmotor might be onto something with the D19. Because the Chinese brand’s newest flagship SUV is a monster.Just launched in China, the D19 is a three-row, six- or seven-seat large SUV offered in either full BEV (with two or three electric motors) guise, or as a plug-in hybrid REEV, or range extender electric vehicle, which is the one we’ve tested.At more than 5.2m long and almost two metres wide, we’re talking bigger than a LandCruiser 300 Series here, but while the hulking Toyota is designed to reduce mountains to mere molehills, the D19 fulfills another brief entirely.This one is about space, and lots of it. Which is fitting really, given our brief test in China revealed a drive experience that felt a bit like being in zero gravity, only with fewer George Clooneys and Sandra Bullocks. But more on that in a moment. Before we get into the details, can I just put my cards on the table. I reckon that, in the three-row-SUV world, six seats are infinitely better than seven. I love the two-seat second-row layout in everything from this to the Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Tesla Model Y L. Unless you absolutely need every seat you can get your hands on, then six seats is the way to go.  Now, to the D19. In typical Chinese fashion there’s a lot of stuff. The standard features list includes 20-inch alloys, air suspension, a massive 15.6-inch central screen up front and two 9.0-inch touchscreens in the back. The first and second row seats are heated, ventilated and offer a massage function, too. For the record, this thing costs the equivalent of around $A45k in China, and it’s stacked. There’s even an 8.1-litre fridge, and a 21.4-inch rear screen that folds down from the roof, meaning you can kick back with a cold drink and a movie while someone else drives.The REEV philosophy, as opposed to traditional plug-in hybrids, relies only on the electric motors to drive the wheels, using a smaller ICE engine (in this case a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol) to recharge the battery or provide power to the motors. In short, it drives like an EV, but for longer.In the case of the D19, a lot longer. While something like a Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid is fitted with a 34kWh battery — meaning an all-electric driving range of around 170kms — the Leapmotor is fitted with a choice or 63.7kWh or 80.3kWh LFP batteries, with the latter delivering an all-electric driving range of up to 500kms under CLTC testing.We’ll lose some of that range by the time we convert the promise to WLTP in Australia, but that should still be in the region of 400kms before you need to plug it in.All up, the petrol engine and twin electric motors produce 300kW and 520Nm, enough for a claimed sprint to 100km/h in six seconds, though we managed closer to 10 seconds, admittedly with four adults on board.Built on Leapmotor’s 4.0 platform, the D19 REEV runs an 800v architecture (the BEV version is 1000v), which means fast charging. The brand hasn’t gone too deep into specifics, but promises 30 per cent to 80 per cent in around 20 minutes if plugged into a high-speed DC charger. Leapmotor also hasn’t confirmed the D19's arrival in Australia, but it’s no doubt coming, and could be here in as little as nine months.“In Australia, it could work,” the brand tells me. ”Definitely it's a flagship right now. And wherever there is appetite, we will try to be there. The localisation for overseas is nine-to-12 months after what has happened in China. If tomorrow morning we say, ‘you know what, we want D19’, that is nine months.”So, to the drive. Our wheel time was limited to a rented track near Leapmotor’s Chinese headquarters, and challenging it was not. Corners are an endangered species here, and the only time we got the D19 shifting its weight was through a slalom course the brand set up for us. And let's be honest, at more than 2.5 tonnes, there is a lot of D19 weight to shift, and it feels it. Like a lot of Chinese products, it feels soft in its suspension, giving occupants that sort of weightless bouncing feeling as though walking on the moon.The steering does have a little bit of nice weight to it, though, and the power delivery is nice and smooth. It doesn’t leap off the line, the D19, but rolling acceleration is ample, and it will keep pushing well north of 100km/h.But the short version is this is not set up to feel anything like a performance car. Comfort is the order of the day in this, and that can mean something entirely different in China to the rest of the world.Stellantis (of Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Peugeot fame, among many others) owns 51 per cent of Leapmotor International, and the brand says the cars launched outside of China are tuned in Europe, and drive very, very differently to the butter-soft ride quality demanded in Leapmotor’s home market.A Euro-style drive with China-style pricing and equipment could make the D19 a player if (though we think it’s ‘when’) the big bruiser arrives in our market.

We know that Hyundai is working on a new dual-cab ute, with the brand confirming an in-house-developed workhorse model that will arrive before the end of the decade, both in the USA and in Australia.What we don’t know, or at least not entirely, is why.It’s long been Australian automotive lore that to be successful in Australia, a ute has to be a part of the line-up.Toyota, Ford, Mazda, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen, Jeep – amongst others – have all heeded the call and found a dual-cab for their line-ups.But that was then and this is now.These days, the ute market is contracting. Mid-size SUVs are the vehicle of choice in our market again. Auto giant Toyota forecasts that the new normal won’t be changing again anytime soon.Then there’s the other pressure – China.Our market has never before been so flooded with affordable ute offerings from brands like BYD, GWM, JAC, Foton, LDV and MG. Chery will join the party shortly with its diesel plug-in hybrid.Despite the influx of new brands, fewer people overall are choosing utes. In fact, the segment has shed more than 2500 sales since the beginning of the year, compared with the first three months of 2025.Swollen segment, shrinking sales. Not a great combination.Whatever the reason, there’s no doubting the Kia Tasman hasn’t delivered the sales it was expecting to, though hopes are still high that it will eventually reach its lofty annual sales target of around 20,000 vehicles, with the help of a facelift, new powertrain options and a stronger focus on fleet customers.Other newcomer brands have fared even worse.What will the market look like in 2028 and beyond? Fuel prices won’t be going down, at least over long-term trending, that’s for sure. And customer tastes seem to already be trending in the opposite direction.  In the US, where the market is massive (though dominated by the Toyota Tacoma), and where Chinese brands so far don’t exist, is no doubt the global motivator, but the going in Australia could prove tougher than they might be expecting for the Korean giant.I have no doubt the Hyundai ute will be impressive. The Boulder concept unveiled in New York looks spectacular, and the brand has been on a tear of quality products of late.But it could be timing, not the product itself, that presents the biggest headwinds.

To describe the Leapmotor B05 as different to the Chinese newcomer’s other vehicles to date would be as obvious as describing night as different to day, or delicious beer as different to those powdered grass clippings sometimes referred to as matcha.The point is, it’s different. Very different.While Leapmotor products to date have focused on practicality and price as their raison d'être, the B05 is in fact not an SUV, is not overtly practical, and it has a sharper eye on performance than any model to have come before it.That’s the sales pitch for this electric hot(ish) hatch, anyway, which produces a Cupra Born-worrying 180kW and 320Nm in the flagship Ultra variant we’ve tested in China. Well, worrying for now. Cupra has its own flagship Born, the VZ, and it makes 240kW.Other important stuff? It’s rear-wheel drive, it promises a perfect 50:50 weight distribution, and Leapmotor has handed it to its European counterparts at Stellantis for its ride tuning.It runs an 800v architecture, which means fast charging, and there’s a choice of 56.2kWh or 67.1kWh batteries delivering a range of 500km or 600km under (the more lenient) CLTC testing.All of which sounds pretty good, no? There is a lesser version, which makes 160kW, but the Ultra is the one we’ve tested, albeit briefly, so far.So, let’s start with the key stuff, while the BO5 is confirmed for the end of the year, the Ultra is more likely to follow suit as a model-refreshing flagship.“With the Ultra version, there is probably some brand positioning, brand statement that could work for us. So, we are seriously considering it everywhere,” the brand told us.The other important caveat before we get into the drive experience is that the one we’ve tested isn’t all that indicative of the one we’ll get in Australia. We would get the European version, which Leapmotor says is very different. And not just in the way it’s tuned, but even in the positioning of the suspension components.“We have, after some assessments done in November, lowered the hook point of the suspension arms on the rear, and lowered the centre of gravity, and the car has totally changed behaviour. So if you drive a BO5 in Europe versus BO5 for China, it’s totally different," the brand says.So, with all of that in mind, let’s see what we’re dealing with. And first things first, the B05 doesn’t look like any Leapmotor product to have come before it. While the B10 and C10 SUVs have copped some criticism for what people say are bland looks, that’s not a claim you could level at the B05, which looks sleek and swept-back and properly sporty.I think it's one of the best-looking cars to come out of China in a hot minute, and should be the blueprint for Leapmotor's broader design language. I also think flip-flops are suitable everywhere but a funeral, so feel free to take my fashion advice with a grain of salt. But I like it, and so did my colleagues.That’s especially true of the Ultra, which gets a bigger front splitter and rear wing, while its grey-look 19-inch alloys are linked by gloss-black side skirting.Inside, there are sportier-feeling fabric seats up front which offer heating, cooling and a massage function, while a 14.6-inch central screen and an 8.8-inch driver display handles all your entertainment and driving data needs.So, to the drive. I need you to keep two important thoughts front and centre here. The first is what we covered above — this is the traditional Chinese recipe, not the European a la carte, and so it is different in feel to the one that will land in Australia.The second is that our ‘drive’ was limited to a rented circuit not far from Leapmotor HQ in China. Our time behind the wheel, and the track itself was as dull and straight as a Young Liberals convention. There might have been a corner there somewhere, but I couldn’t find it.What I can tell you, though — even with limited wheel time — is that this is the most convincing Leapmotor product I’ve driven to date.The power delivery is smooth and plentiful — if never truly exhilarating, and slightly slower feeling than its 5.9s sprint to 100km/h claim — and the whole car feels more buttoned down and polished than the C10 and B10.The steering is direct, too, and while the ride was a little too spongey, and body roll a little too intrusive through a short slalom course, I’m willing to hold my judgement until I drive the car we’ll actually be getting. It should also be cheap. Local costs are yet to be confirmed, but pricing in China is sharp. The entry-level 160kW B05 starts there at the equivalent of $AUD25,000. Don't expect anywhere near that pricing here, but I would be shocked if it wasn't among the cheapest warmed-over hatch offerings.The signs here are good, and it seems the combination of Chinese battery and manufacturing know-how and European ride and handling experience (which is the whole point of the Leapmotor International business, which is 51 per cent owned by Stellantis) looks like it’s about to bear fruit.