Leapmotor B03X 2026 review: International first drive | BYD Atto 2 rival tested

Leapmotor hasn’t had the greatest start in Australia, with its first model, the C10, receiving a lukewarm response at best.

Since then, each new model has represented a big leap, if you will, over that car. The B10 small SUV has been well received and the B05 hatch that’s coming soon promises to be more of a driver’s car.

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It’s already a hit in its native China where it dethroned the Tesla Model Y as the country’s favourite electric SUV after a 15-month reign and European orders are also strong.

It faces a challenge in Australia, though, as its competitors include the popular BYD Atto 2 and Jaecoo J5 EV. It is shorter in length than those two models, but roughly the same height and width. It will also be cross shopped with electric hatchbacks like the BYD Dolphin, GAC Aion UT, Geely EX2 and MG4 Urban.

Priced to compete

Leapmotor is ready for a fight, however. The brand confirmed the B03X will start from $30,000, drive-away, which will instantly make it the cheapest electric SUV in Australia when it arrives in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Full pricing and spec is being kept under wraps until closer to the launch but the little EV will be offered in two model grades, both packing a 53kWh battery.

Standard gear is generous and while we don’t quite know what each grade will get, it should be offered with LED lights all around, remote entry via an app or NFC card, power folding and heated exterior mirrors, auto air conditioning, synthetic leather seats, heated front seats and steering wheel, power adjust front seats, ambient lighting, rain-sensing wipers and scheduled charging.

Tech is covered with a 14.6-inch multimedia display housing most vehicle functions, an 8.8-inch driver’s display, sat-nav, over-the-air updates and a 12-speaker audio system.

In news that will be a relief to some, the B03X will also come with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, unlike Leapmotor’s first Australian model, the C10 SUV.

Safety wise it comes with seven airbags and no less than 21 advanced driver assistance features as well as front and rear parking sensors and a 360-degree camera.

The Leapmotor look

Lookswise it follows Leapmotor’s design philosophy to a T. More than many other newer Chinese brands, Leapmotor’s design flows neatly through each new model. There’s a clear link between the C10, B10, B05 and now the B03X.

It’s a clean design and on the B03X that means no sharp lines - it’s a rounded look at the front with an appealing headlight signature. Side on it looks tall with a chunky C-pillar and blacked out pillars and frames for a floating glasshouse look.

Thankfully the B03X has hidden rather than pop-out exterior door handles which is a win. That’s likely a response to China’s crackdown on pop-out handles.

The adorable LED tail-light signature looks like an open mouth and eyes, but not in a creepy way.

It’s what’s inside that counts

The cutesy vibe continues in the cabin. You’ll find a smiley-faced Leapy character - Leamotor’s mascot - hidden in a number of spots in the front of the cabin.

The interior design is relatively well executed. It’s not groundbreaking but at least it adds a bit more than the cheap minimalism found in some rivals.

There’s plenty of soft-touch material on the doors and dash and the interior colour choices include darker hues as well as light greys mixed with a royal blue.

Leapmotor claims there are 33 storage spaces in the entire car. I didn’t count but that sounds like a lot.

The power window switches are counterintuitive because you press up to put the window down and vice versa.

The front seats don’t have a huge amount of upper or lower body bolstering so they’re not particularly supportive but they are comfortable.

The gear shifter is on the steering wheel which is becoming common and it frees up console space. That centre console sits a little too high for me.

Storage wise there is a long, deep centre bin and an open space under the console. On top there’s a phone charger next to two narrow cupholders.

You can fit bottles in the door cavities but not wide ones.

Virtually all vehicle functions are housed in the large 14.6-inch multimedia screen, or via two toggles on the steering wheel.

Tesla started this nonsense and it seems a bunch of mostly Chinese brands are happy to play follow the leader.

The frustrating lack of buttons means diving into menus to find things and spending time to work out how to move your mirrors.

However, the multimedia screen is logically laid out and it has clear, crisp graphics. The screen is customisable so you can curate your own home screen. The 8.8-inch driver display is small but clear.

What are the rear seat and boot like?

The rear seat is surprisingly spacious, with ample head, toe and legroom, but there’s not a huge amount of room across the bench. Two large adults would be fine in the back but three would be a stretch.

There’s no fold-down armrest in the centre and no air vents of any kind in the rear which was noticeable on our drive as we had a third person in the rear seat. You do get a USB-A and -C port.

The rear seats are flat but comfortable and there’s a handy feature Leapmotor should probably thank Honda for - Magic seats! Pull a lever on the seat base and it flips up on both sides to allow more space to load tall items.

Leapmotor says the boot can swallow 510 litres, but I suspect that’s with the multi-level boot floor in its lowest position. That’s more space than the last Australian-made Holden Commodore, by the way.

Underneath that is another neat feature - a 105L waterproof bin with a plug so you can hose it out. However, it means you don’t get a spare wheel of any kind. There was no tyre repair kit to be found in our test cars, so presumably you would need to put your charge cables and the repair kit in that under-floor storage.

What’s under the Leapmotor B03X’s bonnet?

The Leapmotor B03X is a single motor, front-wheel-drive EV delivering 145kW of power and 200Nm of torque.

It can cover 0-100km/h in 8.6 seconds and has a maximum speed of 160km/h.

The 53kWh battery is good for a WLTP driving range of 382km, which is a bit more than the BYD Atto 2, while energy use is 15.7kwh/100km.

There’s an 11kW onboard charger for AC charging but DC maxes out at 133kW. At that rate you should be able to top up from 10 to 80 per cent battery power in roughly 21 minutes.

The B03X has vehicle-to-load capabilities meaning you can charge or run small appliances with your car.

What’s it like on the road?

On the road the Leapmotor is quite a competent car. The 8.6sec acceleration time is solid for a car like this. There’s no point in a six second 0-100km/h time for an urban SUV. It can be a little sluggish off the mark which is surprising for an EV. This was evident pulling into traffic via the short motorway on-ramps of Southern Spain where the launch program was held.

Ride quality is mostly good but the roads we drove on are pretty smooth. Some uneven road sections proved it’s not all smooth sailing in the B03X but overall it’s compliant. We will reserve final judgement on ride quality until we drive it on Australia’s deeply average roads.

Steering is light and dull but that’s not a major issue in an urban runabout and many potential buyers likely won’t care. However, Leapmotor has listened to feedback and will roll out an over-the-air update in a couple of weeks that aims to address the lifeless steering.

There are three drive and steering modes including Sport, as well as three regenerative braking modes.

We drove this car on some twisty Andalusian mountain roads and it handled much better than expected. It’s certainly a massive improvement over the dreadful Leapmotor C10. It won’t corner like an Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica but it’s also half the price. It’s more in line with an Atto 2.

Some wheel skidding and traction loss is possible when accelerating hard or changing direction at the last minute - not surprising given the FWD’s 200Nm of torque - but the Yokohama 18-inch wheel and tyre package does a decent job.

Around town and safety

Leapmotor says it has a tight 10-metre turning circle and it’s an absolute breeze to park.

The advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) are not as loud as some of its rivals, but it is still intrusive, despite Leapmotor working hard on ADAS calibration. The over-speed warning in particular is incessant. But thankfully you can change the levels or turn most ADAS functions off completely via the settings.

There’s no Euro NCAP rating just yet but Leapmotor says it is hoping for a maximum five stars.