Leapmotor Reviews

When is an EV no longer an EV? Leapmotor's new C10 REEV gains a petrol engine that acts purely as a generator, like the defunct Holden Volt and BMW i3 REx. It goes up against fierce plug-in hybrid rivals like the BYD Sealion 6, Chery Tiggo 7 PHEV, Jaecoo J7 SHS and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

The Stellantis-backed Chinese start-up, Leapmotor, is going for the booming plug-in hybrid electric vehicle segment in Australia with the C10 REEV. But unlike its mid-sized SUV PHEV rivals, this one is an EV-first proposition, offering impressive range, high equipment levels and a compellingly low price. Plus, regular over-the-air updates promise to improve it with age. Sounds too good to be true?

Leapmotor has hit our shores after a $2.5b investment from Jeep parent company Stellantis and the first cab off the rank is the C10, which is an electric mid-size SUV. It enters a saturated market, does it have what it takes to stand out?

The Leapmotor C10's top-spec Design grade adds an array of trimmings although represents largely the same value offering as the base Style. With a launch price of $51,500 drive-away (or $49,888 before on-roads) the C10 Design still undercuts most of its mid-size electric rivals, bar the BYD Atto 3 which is a half-size smaller.

The entry-level Leapmotor C10 Style arrives with a headline drive-away price-tag of just $47,500.

Electric car price parity is already here, but would you pick this Chinese newcomer over a mid-spec Toyota RAV4?

A Tesla Model Y-sized electric SUV that's a good $10K cheaper than the Musk-mobile? That's the Leapmotor C10 promise, with the newcomer Chinese brand (now backed by auto giant Stellantis) looking to shake up the Australian EV market when it arrives in November. But does it live up to that promise?