What's the difference?
The Genesis GV80 SUV has cultivated a quiet but firm following since its debut but there's a new variant on offer - the coupe.
Offered in one highly-specified grade level for our market, the GV80 3.5T Luxury AWD Coupe proves to be a fierce competitor with luxury and handling for it's European rivals - the BMW X6, Range Rover Velar and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe.
However, the price point is starting to creep a little closer to its rivals, which might not be to everyone's fancy.
I've been family testing the GV80 for a week to see if it gets the seal of approval from my little family of three, read on to find out how it went.
The B10 isn’t Leapmotor’s first car in Australia - the C10 has been here for more than a year now - but for many it might bring about the first time they hear about the Chinese brand.
The 2026 Leapmotor B10 lands in Australia promising to be the most European of its Chinese compatriots, with the brand’s connection to Stellantis giving it access to other brands under the company umbrella like Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Peugeot.
At its local launch, we get behind the wheel in scorching south-east Queensland to find out if that holds true for this electric small SUV, and to see if the B10 can bring with it a better first impression than the already-arrived mid-size C10.
The Genesis GV80 Coupe is a rare breed – it comes packed to the gills with features, has great ownership benefits and can easily accommodate a large family in comfort.
The fuel economy isn’t great but it looks and acts the part of a true luxury SUV. My husband and son were impressed and enjoyed all of the features it has.
I’ll be a shame if the B10 doesn’t sell well, because it doesn’t suffer from many of the downfalls of its compatriots and its price is extremely competitive for what you get.
As a comfortable smallish SUV, it meets par, and it’s on the better side of tech when it comes to cars from China, and it doesn’t have any major on-road red flags.
You really wouldn’t be disappointed with this having paid $40K, just skip the base model and go for the Design.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
At first glance, there’s not a lot that separates the external styling of the Coupe and SUV, at least in the front.
The biggest difference is obviously in the rear and it's here Coupe's design shines. The SUV sibling looks nice but is a little boxy at the rear and features a dicky-looking window. The Coupe's rear is pinched but it’s rather softly done compared to some rivals.
It manages to look sleek and sexy as coupes tend to be without losing any of its large road-side presence.
The 'Storr Green Matte' paintwork on our test car highlights the high-end feel, as does the huge LED external lights and chrome accents.
Head into the cabin and you'll find design elements which accentuate the width of the car – like the long air vent strip that runs the length of the dashboard, a wide centre console and the huge 27-inch OLED technology screen that houses the media system and instrument cluster. Even the touchscreen control panel for climate and seat functions is big.
Our test model has a cream-coloured suede headliner and quilted Nappa leather seats that look plush. Contrasting stitching and the seatbelts are a bright red (or dark orange, depending on who you ask) and the panoramic sunroof adds a bright and cheery element.
The ambient lighting surrounds a lot of the features, like the cupholders and the crystal rotary dials. In fact, when you pop the car into reverse, the light changes from whatever it was to red, which is neat.
As far as luxury cars go, this totally looks the part and while design is very subjective, I love how this looks inside and out. Let us know what you think of it in the comments.
Right after we praise the B10 for its value, we need to talk about its looks. A slight drop in tone as the second Leapmotor to land in Australia looks an awful lot like the first, and it’s relatively bland.
It’s not ugly, but it’s not particularly inspiring and there’s not much character to this little electric SUV.
It’s got a very upright silhouette at the front with a slightly sloping roofline at the rear, so the overall shape is appealing, but the lack of distinct features makes the B10 an anonymous commuter for now, especially with its similarities to the C10.
You can tell them apart by the C10’s slightly larger size if they’re near each other, or the B10’s more in-line headlight bar, where the C10’s have a ‘droop’ at the sides.
The large section of black at the lower half of the front is also unappealing, though darker colours like the optional 'Starry Night Blue' or 'Dawn Purple' (both $990) blend into it better than standard 'Light White'.
To its credit, at least the B10 doesn’t fall victim to the design crutch of adding trim and plastic for no reason.
In terms of the specifics, the B10 is 4515mm long, 1885mm wide and 1665mm tall with a 2735mm wheelbase, making it quite the large small SUV.
Inside, the cabin looks and feels roomy thanks to the test car’s light interior, decent windows and the light from the sunroof, as well as the fact the EV powertrains are compact and generally don’t interfere with cabin space.
Materials aren’t all scratchy hard plastic, though it is dotted around, and the general look of the B10 inside feels more premium than its price would have you thinking, despite the simplicity of the layout and design.
With all of its features offering comfort and luxury, practicality is pretty high for the GV80 Coupe.
The cabin feels almost cavernous up front for my 168cm height. As mentioned, the seats are very comfortable and there is a stretching function that briefly comes on during a longer journey to ease any fatigue in your lumbar.
The rear row is almost as large as the front and there's a limo-like quality to the legroom that taller individuals will enjoy. The headroom is good for the outboard seats but a taller adult will be hunched when sat in the middle. Keep that for a kid!
Amenities in this row are excellent with the powered outboard seats that feature heat and cooling functions, directional air-vents, climate control and retractable sun-blinds (my son's favourites).
The individual storage is a little less than you might expect for such a large car, especially up front, as all options are on the shallow/small side.
There is a middle console (think of it as a tray), glove box, two cupholders, two drink bottle holders and a phone cubby that can be closed to keep things looking neat.
The rear row sees two map pockets, two cupholders and a storage cubby in the fold-down armrest, as well as some shallow bin storage.
Technology looks stellar, is easy to use and found throughout.
You're spoiled for choice when it comes to charging as there are four USB-C ports, three 12-volt sockets and a wireless charging pad to choose from.
And new for 2025 is the UV-C feature, which sterilises whatever you place inside the middle console. Handy for anyone who wants to disinfect small items, like a phone, keys or wallet.
The multimedia system takes a while to get used to as the tech has been updated but once you do, it’s an easy system. You can access the media system via the touchscreen or the rotary dial. Climate control and seat functions are accessed via the large control panel that sits underneath, which is handy for when you're on the go.
The GV80 Coupe has built-in sat nav, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as, a 12-inch colour head-up display.
Because of the sleek rear shape, the boot space sits at 644L when all seats are in use. It’s large enough for my gear and weekly errands and I like the powered tailgate's proximity feature. As long as you have the key fob, it will open when you stand at the rear. Great for when you have your hands full.
The loading space is level and the rear seat has a 40/20/40 split, which opens up storage options. But underneath the floor, there are heaps of cubbies for extra storage of smaller items and it’s here the tyre mobility and roadside assistance kits are housed.
Getting into the B10 requires a minor annoyance - unlocking and locking the car requires a keycard to be tapped on the drivers’ side mirror like you're scanning to access your floor in a hotel elevator.
There’s an app that adds a fair bit of functionality, but having to whip your phone out ahead of jumping in the car is also irritating.
Once you’re in, though, the space inside the B10 is well laid-out, even if much of its functionality is crammed into the big central touchscreen - it’s always ‘points off’ for a lack of physical buttons in this section of a review.
Once you’re used to it and have sorted out your personal settings on the multimedia software, it becomes more natural and less distracting, though Apple CarPlay and Android Auto would occasionally lag in the car on test.
The good news is they now exist for the brand in the B10, with the Leapmotor C10 still lacking the vital in-car mirroring tech.
The ergonomics and interior space work well, generally, with comfortable pews and good vision, plus decent spaces to keep things out of the way. The phone charger being in a very visible and accessible position might tempt some naughty screen-keen drivers, and being in the sun without a vent for cooling while charging means your phone will get proper hot.
The second row is extremely spacious, belying the fact this car is classified as a small SUV. Oodles of legroom and enough headroom for a tall adult means the B10 outguns rivals in terms of good options for parents (note the B10’s extremely strong 95 per cent child safety score from ANCAP, too) or anyone who needs to cart humans around regularly.
Behind the second row is a 490L boot, which becomes 1475L when the second row is folded down.
There’s space under the floor for cables and messy bits, but unfortunately no spare wheel, just a tyre repair kit, so more points off for that.
The GV80 line-up has seen a model facelift for 2025 and the flagship’s powerful V6 engine now comes standard for all models. There's new tech and some design tweaks, too.
That means the price points are starting to creep a lot closer to their Euro rivals as the 3.5T Luxury AWD Coupe is priced from $136,000, before on-road costs.
However, despite only being offered in one variant for our market, the coupe is is ridiculously well-specified and you don't have to add luxury/enhancement packs at additional costs as you do on some of this car's rivals (I'm looking at you Range Rover).
In comparison, the closest rival, the BMW X6 xDrive40 MHEV, sits at $144,900 MSRP, and then the Range Rover Velar Autobiography comes in at $156,430 MSRP before the most expensive rival, the Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 4Matic Coupe, at $159,900 MSRP.
When I start talking about the GV80 Coupe's standard features I lose breath trying to list them all and you're about to learn why.
For comfort and luxury the Coupe is offered with crystal accents on its dials, Nappa leather upholstery, suede trims, a heated steering wheel and a panoramic sunroof.
The front seats are powered and feature a two-position memory function, lumbar- and side-bolster adjustments, extendable under-thigh supports, heat and ventilation functions... and a massage function.
Rear outboard seats are also powered and can be slide backwards/forwards and recline. They feature heat and ventilation functions as well.
Practical features include a powered tailgate with a proximity opening feature, retractable sun blinds (rear row), tri-zone climate control, keyless entry, push-button start, remote start and parking assist (via key fob), carwash and valet mode, and new for 2025, a biometrics system (fingerprint access for vehicle start and profile selection).
Technology includes a new 27-inch OLED screen that houses the multimedia system and instrument cluster, customisable ambient lighting, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, over-the-air updates, satellite navigation, 12-inch coloured head-up display, digital rear view mirror, four USB-C ports, three 12-volt sockets, a wireless charging pad, Bluetooth connectivity and digital radio.
Phew... told ya there's a lot. Oh, and an 18-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system. There. Done.
Talking about the price may well be us highlighting the Leapmotor B10’s strongest point right up top, because you can get into one for less than $40K, drive-away, before the end of March 2026.
While regular pricing for the B10 starts from $37,888, before on-road costs, for the base Style and $40,888 for the kitted-out Design LR, Leapmotor has a limited-time deal starting from $38,990, drive-away, for the B10 Style and $41,990 for the Design LR. LR for Long Range, by the way.
That runs until the end of March, 2026, but even its standard pricing is impressive for what you get.
The entry-grade B10 Style comes with plenty of kit, including an 8.8-inch LCD driver display and large 14.6-inch central multimedia touchscreen, a wireless phone charger, auto climate control, a panoramic sunroof with retractable shade, heated mirrors, auto LED headlights, a set of 18-inch wheels, surround-view parking cameras with dashcam recorder capability, over-the-air (OTA) updates and Level 2 advanced driver assistance (ADAS).
That’s a list of inclusions that can, on paper, rival much more expensive models.
The Design LR, for not much more money, adds heated and ventilated synthetic leather seats with electric adjustment (six-way for the driver, four-way for the passenger), a heated steering wheel, a 12-speaker sound system, ambient lighting, a power tailgate, tinted privacy glass, LED tail-lights and auto folding mirrors.
You’d hate to be in the product planning team of a legacy manufacturer trying to put together a competitive spec for a small electric SUV to sell in Australia against that.
Even other small electric SUVs from China come with much smaller batteries or fewer features around the $40K mark, like the MG S5 EV Essence RWD with its 49kWh battery ($42,990 D/A) or the base Geely EX5 Complete FWD ($40,990 BOC) and the higher Inspire variant is $4000 more.
The GV80 model facelift sees all variants enjoy a powerful 3.5L twin-turbo petrol V6 engine that produces 279kW of power and 530Nm of torque.
The Coupe is an AWD, features an eight-speed auto transmission and can do a 0-100km/h sprint in just 5.7 seconds.
It also has different terrain modes and a braked trailer towing capacity of 2722kg. Whether you’d use this car for that sort of stuff is another matter.
There’s only one powertrain option for the Leapmotor B10, a single, rear-mounted electric motor that produces 160kW and 240Nm, which makes the electric SUV good for a claimed 0-100km/h time of 8.0 seconds in both variants.
Top speed is a claimed 170km/h, also regardless of the variant.
Aye, here's the rub, as the hefty power comes with a thirsty gullet.
The official combined fuel-cycle consumption figure is a hefty 11.7L/100km and my real-world usage came out at 11.4L/100km after doing a lot of open-road trips this week.
I haven’t held back using the power but it's thirsty compared to its rivals which mostly sport mild-hybrid powertrains.
Based on the large 80L fuel tank and official combined fuel cycle consumption figure this car's theoretical driving range is 684km.
Leapmotor claims the B10 will, from its LFP battery of either 56.2kWh for the Style or 67.1kWh for the Design LR, draw 17.2kWh/100km or 17.3kWh/100km, respectively under WLTP testing.
The result is the Style offering up a 361km WLTP-tested driving range, and the Design LR a more useful 434km.
While we were unable to properly confirm this claim on the launch, the trip computer after a mix of highway driving and more spirited back-road testing displayed a figure of 13.5kWh/100km, while the previous 1447km of driving had reportedly measured in at 14.7kWh.
Charging from 30 to 80 per cent takes approximately 20 minutes regardless of spec and battery size. The smaller battery can be charged via DC fast-charging at a maximum 140kW, and the larger at 168kW. Both max out at 11kW under AC charging.
The GV80 Coupe has a deep well of power to dip into and fantastic pick up. The power delivery feels effortless and it’s easy for urban and open-road driving.
The GV80 isn't as dynamic on the road as some of its rivals when it comes to the ‘sporty’ factor and you notice that the most when you hit high winds or tackle a tight turn, as there is some roll, but on the whole it’s a smooth ride. Think of it as more ‘stately’ than sporty.
The cabin is mostly quiet but wind noise can creep in at higher speeds.
The wide windows and high ride mean the visibility is very good and so is the sound quality from the 18-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system. Every school run is a concert!
The GV80 Coupe is large car and will fill out a parking space but it’s not hard to park because the 360-degree view camera system is so good and the projected parking guidelines add assurance in a tight spot.
There is a remote parking assist feature, where you can move the car remotely from your key fob, which is great for those times someone parks a bit too close and there’s not enough door clearance to get in.
The Leapmotor B10 was developed with testing at Stellantis’ European proving ground in Italy. This is because despite Leapmotor being its own brand within China, its international operations are a joint-venture between itself and Stellantis.
There are some on-paper shreds of evidence for this, a rear-wheel drive layout and a claimed 50/50 weight distribution help, but get the B10 on the road and it’s clear this isn’t a car that’s relying entirely on price, a long list of features and some showroom shine to sell.
After the initial familiarisation that comes with many new electric cars, particularly from China, the Leapmotor B10 becomes easy to settle into a rhythm with, especially if you turn off some of its more intrusive ADAS features like lane-keep, driver monitoring and speed limit warning. The latter can sometimes get a limit wrong, and though the B10’s chimes aren’t audibly overbearing, they are persistent.
While the B10 doesn’t excel in any areas on the road, it doesn’t fall down significantly in any either.
Its suspension soaks up bumps relatively well, and despite some vibrations on rougher roads the B10 is pretty comfortable. The tyres it rides on as standard, however, are rather noisy, so if there’s an opportunity to swap out the Linglong defaults to something better, we’d advise it.
The tyres also squeal rather quickly when cornering, not necessarily because the B10 is about to let go, but just because the weight of the car appears to be pushing on the front outside tyre in cornering.
The B10 holds up better than\ a family car really needs to in dynamic driving, but we wouldn’t be doing mountain runs or track days in one.
There’s a little body roll in corners, but not nearly as much as has been in other models riding on the apparently soft suspension preferred in China.
The steering, braking and acceleration all have a mild vagueness to them, but once you’re honed in they’re all predictable. The steering can be adjusted for weight, and its lightest setting is too light, while the acceleration feels lethargic in its lowest setting and too aggressive in its highest.
There’s not a lot of regenerative braking strength, but it’s enough to help regulate speed once you’re used to how mildly it comes in - again, depending on your preferences and settings.
The good news here is that the B10 is easy to drive, and only very serious road bumps on fast corners unsettled it on test - the kind you’d expect to upset any car.
For those concerned with safety, you needn’t worry as the GV80 Coupe has a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing done in 2021 and scored highly for its adult and child protection scores at 91 per cent and 88 per cent, respectively.
Standard safety features include rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure alert, lane keeping aid, traffic sign recognition, intelligent seatbelt warning, a head-up display, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, blind-spot view monitor, parking assist pilot, driver attention alert and safe exit warning.
Other features include child occupant alert, leading vehicle departure alert, tyre pressure monitoring, LED DRLs, a 360-degree view camera system and front and rear sensors.
The GV80 Coupe comes with AEB with forward collision warning, car, pedestrian, cyclist and backover detection which is operational from 5.0–200km/h (up to 85km/h for car detection).
The GV80 features 10-airbags, which is great for the class!
There are ISOFIX mounts on the rear outboard seats plus three top tethers and you might get three seats installed if they’re not too big but two will fit best.
The Leapmotor B10 was bestowed a five-star ANCAP rating in early February 2026 under the body’s most recent criteria.
There are seven airbags, including an important centre airbag, plus the B10 boasts 17 ADAS systems with 12 cameras and sensors helping monitor the road, surroundings and the driver.
As mentioned, those systems can be a little intrusive sometimes, but less than other new models from brands new to Australia.
The B10’s list of safety features includes multi-collision braking, collision sensors, an emergency data recorder, the aforementioned dashcam-style surround-view recording system, belt pretensioners, plus all the elements of the ADAS suite Leapmotor calls 'Leap Pilot'.
This includes adaptive cruise and lane centring, lane departure warning and emergency intervention, collision avoidance and warnings, blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert and brake, speed assist, and driver monitoring and distracted driver warnings.
For baby capsules and child seats there are three top tethers across the second row with ISOFIX anchors on the two outer positions.
The GV80 Coupe comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty and complimentary servicing for five-years or 50,000km, whichever occurs first.
There is also complimentary roadside assistance through Assist Australia for five years.
Since this is a turbo, the servicing intervals are a little annoying at every 12 months or 10,000km but it’s rare for a car brand, let alone a luxury one, to offer anything for free. What Genesis offers is a real plus.
The B10’s post-purchase prospects are generally solid, though Leapmotor’s six-year, 160,000km warranty is an area where it falls short of rivals which are offering longer, unlimited kilometre warranties.
The battery is covered for eight years or 180,000km, whichever comes first, which is pretty par for an EV.
Servicing is capped-price for the first eight years, with each service costing $370 on average. The eight-year span makes it pretty appealing, per 12-month interval or every 20,000km.
There are currently 20 dealers across the country, though more are coming, while Leapmotor also offers eight years of roadside service.