Leapmotor B10 vs Ferrari GTC4

What's the difference?

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.

The Ferrari GTC4Lusso is a properly fast, beautifully composed, and supremely luxurious four-seat coupe.

Sadly, evermore stringent emissions regulations have put atmo V12's on the knife edge of extinction, with Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and a few others hanging on for grim death.

In fact the twin-turbo V8 Lusso T (powered by the same engine used in the California T and 488) will arrive and be sold alongside this car in Australia later this year.

But we’d like to propose a captive breeding program to keep the big V12s alive because this engine’s soundtrack and the GTC4Lusso’s overall driving experience is magnificent.

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.

Revealed to the world at last year's Geneva motor show, the GTC4Lusso is a substantial evolution of the out-going FF, and follows classic Ferrari GT form, with a glorious, 6.3-litre, naturally aspirated, V12 sitting majestically in its nose.

The car's proportions echo that configuration with a long snout and rear-biased, gently tapered cabin maintaining essentially the same silhouette as the FF. But Ferrari has remodelled the nose and tail; tweaking the aero detailing at the same time.

There's a host of new vents, ducts and louvers contributing to a claimed six per cent improvement in drag coefficient.

For example, the diffuser is a work of aerodynamic art, following a keel shape, with vertical fences channeling air flow towards the centre to reduce drag and increase downforce.

A wide, single-piece grille dominates a smoother front end that moves from upright to a distinct forward lean, with a neat chin spoiler enhancing the racier look.

Larger, triple-blade vents in the front wings add more aggression, and the treatment of the rear side glass and tailgate have been refined and simplified.

Always a subjective call, but we think the restyling work, done in-house by Ferrari Design, has made an already distinctive car even more appealing.

Ferrari says the interior was developed around a 'dual cockpit' concept, to “enhance the shared driving experience”, and the cabin is beautiful.
 
There's a new 10.3-inch colour touchscreen, with the interface for the climate control, sat nav and media all refreshed. It's backed up by a more powerful 1.5Ghz CPU with 2GB of RAM, and it’s much, much better.

'Our' car also boasted the optional ($9500) 8.8-inch ‘Passenger Display’ incorporating performance read-outs, and now, the ability to select music and fiddle with the nav.
 
The attention to design detail and the quality of its execution is breathtaking. Even the slender sunvisors in our test example were hand-stitched leather. And the pedals are drilled alloy. Not alloy covers, or some other faux creation – real aluminium, right down to the passenger footrest pad.

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.

For once we can mention Ferrari and practicality in the same breath because the Lusso offers generous accommodation in the front and rear. Forget '2+2', the back seats are for grown-ups.

With all its drive and dynamic tech on board it's hard to think of a more elegant and capable four-seater for your next trip to the chalet for a cheeky weekend skiing off piste.

In fact, Ferrari says the FF attracted a new, younger batch of owners that make greater use of their cars.

Admittedly, Ferraris don't generally rack up huge kays, but clocking mileage 30 per cent higher than average is significant.

Front seat passengers slip easily into generous and intricately sculpted sports seats, with slim map pockets in the doors and space for bottles, a single large cupholder in the substantial centre console, as well as a lidded storage box (which doubles as a centre armrest) housing 12 volt and USB outlets.

There's also a decent-sized glove box, and a second tray sits further towards the dash to store your black credit cards, Vertu phone(s), and assorted jewellery. Its leather trimmed, double-door closure is reminiscent of the finest Milanese cabinet.

The long, leather-wrapped transmission tunnel continues uninterrupted through to the back, dividing the individual rear bucket seats. A pair of jet fighter style vents sit in the centre, slightly ahead of another two cupholders and a small oddments box containing additional USB ports.

But the big surprise is the amount of head, leg and shoulder room on offer back there. The door aperture is enormous and the front seats quickly tilt and slide forward with the flick of a single handle, so entry and egress is relatively easy.

It's an ultra-comfortable and relaxed place to be, and at 183cm I could sit behind the front seat set to my position with heaps of headroom and three to four centimetres of knee clearance. Finding space for your toes under the front chair is more of a challenge, but an extended journey in the back of the Lusso would be fine.

The only caveat there is the test vehicle’s optional 'Panoramic Glass Roof' ($32,500!), which essentially removes the roof lining, and it would be interesting to sit in a car without it.

Cargo space is real-world useful, with a substantial 450 litres on offer with the rear seats upright, and a full 800 litres available with them folded down.

There’s no spare tyre; a 'can of goo' repair kit being your only option.

At $578,000, the GTC4Lusso is in serious money territory, and as you’d expect, the standard features list is equally imposing.

Highlights include, bi-xenon headlights with LED indicators and daytime running lights, LED tail-lights, 20-inch alloy rims, electric cargo door, front and rear parking sensors plus rear parking camera, cruise control, dual zone climate control air, integrated peripheral anti-theft system (with anti-lift), keyless entry and start, the 10.3-inch touchscreen interface managing 3D navigation, multimedia and vehicle settings, eight-way adjustable electric seats with heating, pneumatic bolsters and lumbar adjustment, plus three memories, carbon ceramic brakes, electric steering column adjustment with memory and ‘easy entry’ function, a tailored car cover and even battery conditioner.

And that’s before you get to the 'usual' stuff like a herd’s worth of leather lining the interior, cranking nine-speaker audio system, electric windows and mirrors, and all the dynamic and safety tech we’ll get to shortly. 

Then, there’s the options list.

There’s a persuasive theory that says once you cross a certain car purchase dollar threshold, let’s say $200k, those options had better be pricey or owners won’t have anything to brag/complain about when introducing their latest acquisition to colleagues in the yacht club car park.

“You know how much that sunroof cost me… just the sunroof? Yep, 32 grand… I know, right!”

By the way, the price of that ‘Low-E’ glass roof will buy you a Subaru XV Premium that Richard tested recently… complete with standard sunroof! 

Short story is ‘our’ car featured $109,580-worth of extras, including the roof, forged rims ($10,600), ‘Scuderia Ferrari’ shields on the fenders ($3100), ‘Hi-Fi premium’ audio ($10,450), and a (must have) front and rear suspension lift system ($11,000).
 
The carbon-rich steering wheel with F1-inspired LED shift lights is a lazy $13k, and the super-cool enamel badge under the lip of the rear spoiler is $1900.

You can point fingers and feign shock at numbers like these, but it all goes to the ultimate personalisation process that is the Ferrari purchase experience; to the point where the factory is now installing a sizeable plaque in each of its cars, listing the options fitted and confirming its original specification for evermore.

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.

The Lusso is powered by a 6.3-litre, 65-degree, naturally aspirated V12 producing a monumental 507kW (680hp) at 8000rpm and 697Nm at 5750rpm.

It features variable valve timing on the intake and exhaust side, the rev ceiling is a lofty 8250rpm, and revisions from the FF installation include redesigned piston crowns, new anti-knock software, and multi-spark injection, for a four per cent gain in power and two percent rise in maximum torque.
 
Also new for the Lusso is the adoption of six-into-one exhaust manifold with equal length pipes and a new electronic bypass valve.

The Lusso features an insanely rapid-shift, seven-speed 'F1 DCT' dual-clutch transmission, working in parallel with Ferrari’s new and improved '4RM-S' system, which combines all-wheel drive, and now, four-wheel steering to enhance power down and dynamic response.

The drive and steering tech is integrated with Ferrari's fourth-gen side slip control, as well as the 'E-Diff' electronic differential and 'SCM-E' suspension damping syste.

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.

In case you're interested - and if a Lusso is genuinely on your shopping list, you're almost certainly not - claimed fuel consumption is reassuringly voracious.

Ferrari’s claimed figure for the combined (urban/extra urban) cycle is 15.0L/100km, emitting 350g/km of CO2 in the process. And you'll need 91 litres of premium unleaded to fill the tank.

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.

Although the big V12's maximum torque doesn’t arrive until close to 6000rpm, 80 per cent of it is available from just 1750, and that means the Lusso is flexible enough to dawdle around town or storm towards the horizon with massive acceleration available via a single twist of the right ankle.

We were able to burble up more than gentle inclines (at reasonable speed), in seventh gear, with the engine more or less ticking over at 2000rpm. In fact, in auto mode, the dual clutch is always keen to march towards its highest ratio.

But if the mood is a little more urgent, despite its substantial, 1.9-tonne kerb weight, (with the help of ‘Performance Launch Control’) this family-friendly force of nature can storm from 0-100km/h in just 3.4 seconds, 0-200km/h in 10.5, and on to a staggering maximum velocity of 335km/h.

From a gruff blare on start-up, through a muscular bellow in the mid-range, to a heart-pounding howl at the top end, pushing the Lusso towards its 8250rpm rev ceiling is a special event… every time.

Channelling all that forward thrust into lateral force is the job of the double wishbone front, multi-link rear suspension, with magnetic dampers and other electronic gee-whizzery in support.

Despite the 4WD system, weight balance is an ideal 47 per cent front, 53 per cent rear, with the 'SS4' torque vectoring set-up distributing torque to the front axle when required even faster than the FF.

The 20-inch Pirelli P Zero rubber grips like a Donald Trump handshake (as do the sports front seats), and the monster brakes - ventilated carbon discs front and rear - are mega.

Even in tight, first gear corners the Lusso turns in quickly and progressively thanks to the four-wheel steering and excellent electric assistance set-up, remains neutral mid-corner and slams its power down on exit.
   
Switch the wheel-mounted Manettino dial from 'Sport' to 'Comfort' and the Lusso settles into an impressively supple mode, deftly soaking up even sharp imperfections.
 
In short, this is a big beast, but point-to-point, it's a fearsomely rapid, surprisingly agile and hugely entertaining drive.

You could easily characterise the Lusso’s entire drivetrain as one big active safety system with the all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, side slip control and E-Diff keeping even the most determined attempts to overdrive the car under control.

Add in ABS, EBD, 'F1-Trac' traction control, and tyre pressure monitoring system, and it's safety fast all the way. But a big black mark has to sit next to the lack of AEB. 

If you do manage to overcome all of that and engage in a crash, there front and side airbags for the driver and front seat passenger, but no curtains front or rear. Sadly, not good enough for a car in this performance and price bracket. There are ISOFIX child restraint location anchors in each of the rear seat positions though.

The GTC4Lusso has not been tested by ANCAP.

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.

Ferrari offers a three year/unlimited km warranty, the latter part of that equation being somewhat hilarious because most Ferraris don't travel very far… ever.

Service is recommended every 12 months or 20,000km, and the seven year 'Genuine Maintenance' program covers scheduled servicing and labour along with genuine parts, oil and brake fluid for the original owner (and subsequent owners) for the first seven years of the car's life. Brilliant.