Holden Calais vs Leapmotor B10

What's the difference?

If Holden had a dollar for every time someone had criticised the new and international flavour of Australia’s formerly home-grown hero, it would surely have more than enough spare cash to blow the dust of that vast South Australian factory and restart local Commodore production immediately.

Hell, there’d probably be enough left over to relaunch the Camira while they were at it. And maybe even knock out a new Gemini or two.

So we’re not going to do that again here. The all-new Commodore, in this case the Calais Tourer, is now here - granted having travelled further than the one it replaces - and so we’ll be playing this review with the straightest of bats.

Because the truth is, if you peel the badging - and thus the swirling emotion - off its elongated rump, then you’ll find this German-built Tourer is, really and truly, a very good thing.

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.