Leapmotor C10 vs Mercedes-Benz V-Class

What's the difference?

Plug-in hybrids are really gaining popularity in Australia and it’s great to see the reemergence of range-extender technology because it allows you to drive an EV, but not have the inherent range anxiety that comes with it.

The Leapmotor C10, as a base, is far from a perfect car, but its appealing price point and the amount of space it offers is commendable. It's not a driver's car, but rather just a means of transportation.

The C10 REEV's range-extender powertrain firms as the pick of the C10 line-up if you want the flexibility of being able to charge up the car, or just fuel it up with petrol for simplicity's sake. While it mightn’t be as efficient as rival PHEVs, it generally is quieter, safety system chimes aside.

I look forward to seeing whether Leapmotor can continue to improve the safety systems in the C10 because while the REEV on test here is better than the original EV I drove earlier this year, the way the systems operate still makes it hard to recommend.

The Mercedes-Benz V-Class, and in particular the Mercedes-Benz V220d, lives up to the notion of a luxury people-mover – for the most part. The leaking door is a concern, but may be confined to this vehicle only.

But in most every other way it has the whole prestige bus thing sorted. There is no denying that a more affordable van from a less, shall we say, desirable brand would do just as good a job.

But if you need to be seen to be offering the most luxurious people-mover you can buy in Australia, then you really ought to be looking at the V-Class…. just maybe go for the V250d, if the budget can stretch that far.

If you haven’t already noticed, the Leapmotor C10’s technology seems heavily inspired by Tesla. The same can be said for its design, which is incredibly minimalist.

It’s hard to find any distinguishing features on the outside of the C10 that makes it uniquely a Leapmotor. Everything, even the car’s rounded, jelly bean-like silhouette, is generic and doesn’t stand out from the crowd.

In saying this however, the C10 REEV test car does turn heads and a few people asked what it was. This is likely because no one knows what a Leapmotor is.

It also helps the test car was finished in the delicious-looking Jade Green exterior paint. It’s definitely my pick of the available colour options.

There are the popular exterior design trends like animated lighting sequences, a rear LED light bar, connected front headlights, flush door handles, and Leapmotor script on the tailgate. Nothing revolutionary here in terms of design.

The only way to tell the C10 REEV apart from the C10 EV is its fuel filler flap on the right-hand side of the car. Everything else is identical.

Inside there are two colour choices – Black or Camel Brown. Our tester is fitted with the former, which is definitely the more conservative option.

Regardless of the colour option, the majority of the interior is finished in that colour. It’s more noticeable with the almost orange-looking brown colour option.

This makes the interior look a little bland as it lacks contrast and visual interest.

There’s no denying there are some high-end-feeling touches inside, especially for the price point. You really need to go searching for harder and scratchier plastics, but they are present lower down in the cabin.

Virtually every touch point is soft and spongey, with the entire dashboard being covered in a smooth synthetic leather. Pretty cool for $45k.

This is even before mentioning the seats. The top-spec C10 Design comes with silicone leather upholstery, which is by far one of the softest seats I’ve ever touched and sat in to date. It’ll be interesting how this finish holds up after years of use, however.

A lot of the interior design pivots around the large, 14.6-inch central touchscreen. Thankfully unlike Teslas, there’s also a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster which also displays critical information, like your current speed.

This doesn’t look like your everyday Mercedes-Benz commercial van – the V-Class is certainly more at home parked in the driveway of a luxury hotel than alongside the back door in the alley behind it. 

Admittedly it isn’t as attractive as the Avantgarde flagship, but it has the whole Benz ‘family look’ thing going on, with a stylish grille, swept headlights and a streamlined body. A box on wheels it may be, but it’s a box with nicely rounded edges.

The 17-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels are plain, and the halogen headlights and daytime running lights don’t have quite the same wow factor as the LED units in the high-end model, but it wears that Benz badge loud and proud. And the extremely dark tinted rear windows ensure the privacy of your occupants, as well as giving off the vibe of high-end plush.

I know it’s hard to stray from the formula for a van, but I particularly like the back end of the V-Class – it is reminiscent of the original Vito, with low, broad-set tail-lights and a near-flat backside with a huge tailgate, which doubles as an awning to stand under if the weather is a bit Melbourne. 

The interior is typical Benz, or, in the case of the V220d, Benz on a slight budget.

Although the Leapmotor C10 REEV is a mid-size SUV, its interior space feels considerably larger and more spacious, especially in the second row. This is because the car is built on an EV architecture and has no driveline running down the middle, so interior space can be maximised.

Up front both seats are electrically adjustable, though neither of them offer adjustable thigh support which is a pain for people with longer legs, like myself, as it can sometimes feel like you’re slipping out of the seat. It doesn’t help that the seats are so soft and buttery.

I will say though, the heated front seats and steering wheel get warm almost instantly, which was great in the almost Arctic weather Melbourne has been experiencing recently.

While I can appreciate the minimalist design of the dashboard, from a practical standpoint it’s a huge pain. There’s virtually no physical switchgear beyond the indicator and gear selector stalks, with the majority of the controls built into the touchscreen multimedia system.

Want to adjust your side-mirror position, the air-vent direction, or drive mode? That all needs to be done via the touchscreen. Sure there are some buttons on the steering wheel which help with functions like adjusting the volume and cruise control, but it doesn’t do them all.

This is incredibly frustrating because when you do interact with the touchscreen on the move, the driver attention monitor chimes at you for not keeping your eyes on the road ahead.

Add to this, the touchscreen runs Leapmotor’s own operating system. Admittedly it does run really smoothly, but it doesn’t offer any smartphone mirroring functionality, which is a negative for some.

I imagine you would get used to using the selection of inbuilt third-party apps if you own this car, but I find the connected satellite navigation app particularly painful because it would send me on a slower route. Having Google Maps or Waze would be much more intuitive.

Up front there are two cupholders next to the wireless charging pad, a storage shelf under the centre console, a massive centre console box, a mediocre glovebox, a USB-A and USB-C port, and a 12V socket.

Moving to the second row, it’s arguably the best place to be in the C10 REEV. There’s oodles of space on offer and a completely flat floor.

At a leggy 182cm tall, I had plenty of legroom behind my driving position and also plenty to look at thanks to the huge fixed panoramic glass sunroof which, thankfully, has an electric block-out blind if the sun gets too bright.

The second-row bench feels like a big, soft couch in the best way. It’s leans backwards, allowing you to lay back and relax as a passenger.

One of the few things that detract from the space is high floor, due to the high-voltage battery pack placement. It makes you feel like your knees sit higher than normal.

Second-row amenities include centre console-mounted air vents, USB-A and USB-C ports, seat-back map pockets, door pockets, and a fold-down armrest. If you’re looking for cupholders, they’re right next to the air vents on the centre console.

Like the C10 EV, you can fold the front seats backwards to create an almost-flat space for lounging. You need to remove the front seat headrests to do this, but once you do it’s a cool novelty to show to your friends, or use while charging.

Around the back the tailgate opens quickly and quietly. Once it’s open the space on offer is decent, but not class-leading.

Leapmotor claims there’s 546 litres of boot space on offer with the rear seats upright, which is 35 litres less than the C10 EV. Folding the rear seats expands this space to 1375 litres.

Boot-related amenities include a retractable cargo cover, a light, some bag hooks, as well as two boot floor storage compartments for things like the charging cable.

Unsurprisingly, there’s no spare wheel of any kind in the C10 REEV. Instead you get a tyre repair kit under the boot floor, which is handy if you have a slow leak but not if you have a complete tyre blowout.

With the optional eight-seat setup, it’d be hard to think of this van as impractical. And if you consider that it also has a boot capacity of 1030L in its most downsized form (and 4630L with the rear seats removed), any argument seems null and void.

The fact the boot is electrically operated, and that it has a separate tailgate glass opening section, and that you can open the boot using the keyfob – not to mention the kerbside door – just adds to the pragmatic appeal of this van.

The six rear seat backs can all be flattened down, and you can tumble them forward, too – the kerbside seats in a one-by-one motion, the driver’s side ones tumble two-at-a-time. It takes a bit of muscle to do those ones.

Essentially you can set it up as a parcel van if you want, or even as a mobile office – the rear seats can be configured to face each other, in ‘conference’ style. But you need to know that this isn’t an easy process, and once you’ve got it set how you want it, you’ll probably end up just leaving it as is.

Loose-item storage isn’t great, but at least the door pockets are large enough for some bottles and documents.

No matter which way you like it, those in the back will have good ventilation (it has a three-zone climate control system with a separate fan controller in the back above the second-row seats), and a decent amount of space. Crucially, there are no cup or bottle-holders, nor any loose item storage in the back two rows – there are mesh nets on the backrests of the very front seats, but that’s it.

If you plan to use this as a mover of smaller people, the V-Class’s child-seat anchor-point game will not disappoint. It has four ISOFIX anchors (two in each row) and six top tether points – yep, every spot in the back!

Up front there’s a problem with the cup-holder situation, too – there are two, but they’re way down on the floor, meaning it’s hard to access your cuppa on the move. In fact, loose-item storage isn’t great, but at least the door pockets are large enough for some bottles and documents. There’s a sunglass holder, too. The little media screen is a bit disappointing in its size, and the Comand controller codpiece that juts out from the centre console can take some getting used to.

Connecting and reconnecting a phone isn’t too difficult (although you have to pair audio streaming separately to phone streaming – which is weird), and there’s no extended smartphone capability such as Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Using the navigation system is very simple, but the graphics are extremely aftermarket looking – that’s no bad thing, because Benz’s maps always looked a bit 1990s, but these ones are somewhat cartoonish.

There are two V-Class models you can buy;  this newly added V220d variant, at $74,990, or the high-spec V250d Avantgarde, which is listed at $87,200.

That’s a pretty huge difference, especially considering you get plenty of equipment in the lower-spec version. To get a better understanding, let’s list off what’s standard, and what you get if you fork out the extra $12,210 for the top model.

The V220d has a 7.0-inch media screen with Garmin maps, dual USB ports, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, auto headlights and wipers, DAB+ digital radio, CD, auxiliary and SD input, electric parking brake, electric front-seat adjustment with memory settings, cruise control, colour driver information screen with digital speedometer, black leather trim and sports pedals.

There’s three-zone climate control and velour floor mats up front, too, while parking moves are made easy with the brand’s Active Parking Assist system, which can semi-autonomously park the van for you. Other niceties include front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera, dark tinted rear glass, heated/folding/auto-dimming side mirrors, and electric side doors and tailgate (with opening glass section).

Stepping up to the V250d sees the addition of a 15-speaker Burmester sound system, ambient lighting (three colours), a higher-resolution 8.0-inch media screen with integrated Wi-Fi hotspot and online access and navigation with live traffic updates, a 360-degree surround-view camera, adaptive cruise control, illuminated door sills in stainless steel, a rear parcel shelf, 18-inch alloy wheels, anodised roof rails, a body kit, chrome exterior trimming, LED adaptive headlights with automated high-beam and LED daytime running lights, and tyre-pressure monitoring.

There’s some separation between the two in terms of engines as well – see below for more detail on that.

And for a little bit of context, there are no other luxury-branded people-movers out there. Buyers may consider alternatives like the Volkswagen Multivan Executive at $83,390 (wait, how much?), but in all honesty, if you can forego the badge and just want space for your money, the Kia Carnival Platinum ($61,290) offers a considerably better value equation.

The car we tested had the optional roof rails ($649) and parking system with surround-view camera ($616) fitted, and was an eight-seat model rather than a seven-seater, which adds $1346 to the price.

The key difference with the Leapmotor C10 REEV compared to the C10 EV is what’s under the bonnet.

Both feature an electric motor that drives the rear wheels, however the C10 REEV’s is slightly detuned to produce 158kW, compared to 160kW in the C10 EV. Torque for both is 320Nm.

Both also have a high-voltage lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack, but the C10 REEV's is smaller at 28.4kWh, compared to 69.9kWh in the C10 EV.

However, under the bonnet of the C10 REEV is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that acts as a generator to charge up the battery pack.

Unlike typical plug-in hybrids, the engine cannot directly power the wheels at all. It’s a similar concept to Nissan’s e-Power hybrid system, but with a considerably larger battery pack.

In addition to three driving modes, there are four ‘energy drive’ modes. EV+ doesn’t kick in the petrol engine generator until the battery charge drops below nine per cent; EV doesn’t start the battery until the battery charge drops below 25 per cent; Fuel, which can hold the battery charge or use the engine to generate charge up to 80 per cent; and Power+ which constantly has the engine charging the battery.

Leapmotor claims the C10 REEV can do the 0-100km/h sprint in 8.5 seconds, which is one second slower than the C10 EV.

It’s worth calling out the C10 REEV is around 30kg lighter than the C10 EV, but with a tare mass of almost 2000kg, it’s far from lightweight.

Both the V220d and V250d are powered by 2.1-litre turbo diesel engines, but in differing states of tune.

The V220d has 120kW of power and 380Nm of torque, while the V250d pumps out 140kW and 440Nm. Those figures are decent given the capacity of the engine, and to help keep fuel use down it has stop-start, sadly it’s a bit grumbly and overactive.

Both run seven-speed automatic transmissions and are rear-wheel drive. The Benz vans have strong towing capability, with an unbraked towing capacity of 750kg, while it can deal with braked trailers up to 2500kg.

Leapmotor claims the C10 REEV has an electric range of up to 170km, according to NEDC testing.

All up with a single battery charge and full 50-litre fuel tank, the company claims you can travel a total of up to 1150km, also according to NEDC testing.

In EV mode, Leapmotor claims the C10 REEV has an energy consumption of 15.2kWh/100km. In practice during my testing I saw an average of around 13kWh/100km, which is fantastic and almost Tesla-like in terms of efficiency.

This theoretically means you can travel 218km on a full battery, but it's worth noting the battery pack will never fully deplete its charge.

Combined fuel consumption is claimed to be 0.9L/100km, though your fuel consumption will depend heavily on how much and how often you charge the car.

During my testing I tried out multiple different drive modes, including one section where I kept the car in a battery charge hold mode called ‘Fuel’. During this I saw an average of 6.7L/100km, which isn’t fantastic for a hybrid.

With this as-tested fuel consumption figure you can theoretically travel 820km on petrol power alone. Adding the theoretical EV range, you get a theoretical total range of 1013km.

You’re able to AC charge the C10 REEV at rates up to 6.6kW, which is notably slower than the C10 EV (11kW). The DC fast-charging rate is also notably slower at 65kW, compared to 84kW in the C10 EV.

It’s worth noting, however, Leapmotor claims you can DC charge the battery from 30 to 80 per cent in the C10 REEV in 18 minutes, whereas it takes 30 minutes in the C10 EV.

Mercedes-Benz claims that over a mix of urban and highway driving, the V-Class will return 6.3 litres per 100km, no matter whether you choose the V220d or the V250d – which is pretty good given the thing is long (5140mm), wide (1928mm) and relatively heavy (almost two tonnes).

Over a lengthy drive in the V220d – some of it on a twisty mountain road, some in stop-start traffic, most on the freeway – I managed 7.2L/100km. This will rise with added bodies, but not by much.

Setting off in the Leapmotor C10 REEV, it’s surprising just how much it’s like the EV version.

The rear-mounted electric motor provides all the power, so you get a zippy feel from a standstill and at lower speeds. The acceleration is gradual and won’t snap your neck like some EVs.

This car is beautifully quiet and serene in pure EV mode. The light steering and tight turning circle also makes this an easy car to drive and park in the city.

However, the pedals feel like they’re mounted too high, which makes you awkwardly bend your ankles back to press the pedals comfortably. This can be tedious in stop-start traffic.

Add to this the disjointed interaction between the regenerative braking system and traditional friction brakes. There were many times where I’d be pressing the brake pedal and as soon as the car got below 5km/h it would stop dead. It’s not the most pleasant feeling and something I never mastered during my three-day loan.

Depending on how often you charge up the car’s battery pack, it’s possible that you might never have the 1.5-litre petrol engine kick in during your daily commute. Even if it does when the battery charge gets down low enough, you likely would not be able to tell.

The first few times it happened I genuinely had no clue the engine had started. There’s no jolt through the accelerator or dip in acceleration. The only way I found out was by going into the vehicle status menu on the touchscreen and seeing the engine temperature and revs in the top left-hand corner. It really is that quiet.

When the engine is charging up the battery at city speeds, it’ll rarely rev above 1800rpm, which at that point it’s imperceptible in the cabin. Out on the open road however it can creep up to 2500rpm, which then makes its presence known a little more. It's still nowhere as buzzy as a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, however.

For a brief period I tried out the Power+ mode on some country roads and I found the engine really did come alive at this point, and not in a good way. It would frequently rev above 3000rpm, and the droning engine sound would enter the cabin.

The Leapmotor C10 REEV is generally a nippy car, but when the battery charge does get down it can limit the amount of power the electric motor sends out.

Below 25 per cent a charge warning light comes up on the digital instrument cluster, and unless you’re in Power+ mode, it limits the power output to around 100kW. It’s not terribly slow, but if you’re needing to overtake, it can notably slow the process down.

In terms of dynamics, Leapmotor claims the C10’s suspension was tuned by Maserati engineers. Like the C10 EV I drove previously, however, the ride errs on the comfort side and big bumps can unsettle the car.

In the twisties the car is also far from a dynamic weapon. It tends to get the leans in the bends and can wallow around when changing directions rapidly. The steering also has no feel whatsoever, making it feel like you’re piloting a car in a video game.

For context though, none of its direct rivals are fantastic from a high-speed dynamics standpoint, so it’s almost par for the course.

My drive saw me chauffeur my partner and our dog down to Cooma, where we then took my parents down the coast. We put the V-Class’s flexible seating to the test, as we had to buy a massive bathtub and bring it back with us. This proved that, although this thing is a luxury van, it can also be a hugely practical delivery van.

The comfort on offer was perhaps the biggest advantage for my passengers – with superb suspension composure, ride comfort and body control, the V-Class is like a big boxy limousine.

It won’t set your heart racing in corners as there’s quite a lot of body roll to contend with, but the steering is direct and very nicely weighted, making for easy progress whether you’re piloting it down a mountain pass or dealing with roundabouts or parking lots. The turning circle is small, which in turn makes the van feel smaller than it actually is.

The brakes can feel a little numb underfoot, meaning you might find yourself pushing a little harder on the pedal than you think you ought to. The response is good, though, even with weight on board.

The extra, effortless grunt of the V250d would be advantageous.

What was a little surprising was a lack of torque at higher speeds for overtaking moves. On a slightly sloping country back road with four adults on board, I expected there to be well and truly enough for a quick overtaking move – but the drivetrain didn’t quite have the grunt to get the job done. At least, not in the Comfort drive mode.

By using the ‘Dynamic’ drive selector and choosing Sport mode, there was extra push on offer – the gearing changed, and so did the throttle response – and that made overtaking moves a little easier. But still, the extra, effortless grunt of the V250d would be advantageous, and I know I wouldn’t like having to play with the drive-mode switch every time I overtook. Just leave it in Sport mode? You’ll pay the price on fuel use. 

Around town the seven-speed auto went about its job really well, offering smooth shifts in all situations. The transmission can clunk when you engage park or shift to reverse, though, which isn’t overly premium, and there is some turbo lag that you’ll have to remember when you prepare to take off from traffic lights. Another thing that didn’t necessarily persuade my passengers of the premiumness on offer was the fact that the kerbside door leaked when it was raining. Not good.

The V-Class has been awarded the highest possible ANCAP crash test score of five stars – it achieved that in 2014, based on a EuroNCAP score that was put through local screening.

It has plenty of safety kit to keep your mind at ease – whether you’re a driver or passenger.

There are six airbags, including full-length curtain coverage, and the V-Class has a reversing camera with dynamic guide lines, an adaptive electronic stability control system (ESP) with load sensitivity and cross-wind assist, rollover mitigation, trailer-sway control (when fitted with a genuine Benz towbar), hill-hold assist, flashing brake lights under emergency braking and driver-drowsiness detection.

There are other handy features, including auto headlights and rain-sensing wipers, auto-dimming interior and exterior mirrors, forward collision warning (not AEB), blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist (but not with steering intervention).

You’ve got spend up to the V250d to get the adaptive cruise control system, but there’s still no AEB on that variant.

Leapmotor quietly made some changes to its ownership structure for model year 2025 (MY25) cars.

All 2025 Leapmotor C10s, including the REEV, are covered by a six-year, 150,000km warranty. It was previously seven years, 160,000km for MY24 cars.

The high-voltage battery warranty remains unchanged at eight years, 160,000km.

Some key differences, however, are eight years of roadside assistance (previously five years), as well as eight years of capped-price servicing (previously five years).

The Leapmotor C10 REEV requires logbook servicing every 12 months or 10,000km, whichever comes first, which is notably shorter than the C10 EV’s 12 month/20,000km intervals. This will likely add up if you travel long distances.

Capped-price servicing for the C10 REEV totals $4000 after eight years or 80,000km, whichever comes first. That averages out to $500 per service. Ouch…

For context, servicing the C10 EV for eight years or 160,000km, whichever comes first, costs a total of $3000. That’s $375 per service, which is still a little on the high side for an EV.

Mercedes-Benz Vans backs the V-Class with a three-year/200,000km warranty plan, which is good.

The company has also introduced a new capped-price servicing plan for the V-Class, with maintenance due every 12 months or 25,000km, whichever occurs first. The fact the distance intervals are so far apart could be a bonus for business operators, but the costs are high: the first service costs $556, then the following two visits will set you back $1112 each time. Yikes.

A longer capped-price plan with lower prices would make this van a lot more attractive to business owners. A Kia Carnival could make a lot of sense in that regard, too – even business operators get a seven-year/150,000km warranty with a seven-year/105,000km capped-price plan, and the same cover for roadside assist.