Long term reviews

The Leapmotor C10 REEV has entered the Chesto family garage, and it’s a model I’m pretty interested in. Well, its powertrain specifically. And that’s because I suspect I’m a lot like most of you; all aboard the EV train, right up until we find ourselves too far from the bright lights of the city.See, an EV mostly makes perfect sense for our little urban family, and when I have one through the garage I generally charge it once a week, if that. The suburbs are an EV’s best friend, and we can take seemingly limitless short hops before needing to top up.I say ‘mostly’, because (and this is just a hard fact of EV ownership, so don’t shoot the messenger in the comments) they are indisputably more annoying than their ICE-powered counterparts on really long trips.We duck off down the NSW South Coast every now and again – about 2.5 hours from our place in Sydney – and it’s on these adventures that I sometimes forget the ease of EV life in the city and begin cursing the lack of regional charging infrastructure, and pondering why my wife doesn’t enjoy spending her holidays sipping bad coffee in a service station forecourt while we wait to top up.The C10 REEV, though, promises to fix that. I’ve got the fancy Design variant (currently $47,990, drive-away, but usually $47,888, before on-road costs). And the REEV bit — or Range Extender Electric Vehicle — refers to the fact its rear-mounted electric motor is supplemented by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that acts as a mobile power generator for the C10’s 28.4kWh lithium iron phosphate battery.In simple terms, it drives like an EV, but when charge is low the engine kicks in to provide power to the battery. I have driven my C10 with a near-flat battery, and it keeps moving – albeit very gingerly at first as the battery recharges. And I’ve driven it with no fuel, surviving just on battery power. And both work, suggesting it really does offer a pretty comprehensive safety net for those motoring incompetents like myself who insist, against all odds, that we’ll make it to the next fuel station/public charger before we run out of juice.Leapmotor reckons that, with battery and tank topped up, you can expect a combined driving range of 1150km, albeit according to the more lenient NEDC testing protocol. Still, my car has promised a range of about 1000km via its on-board computer.There is a catch, though, and that is that you need to treat it like an EV and keep it topped up, because otherwise you’ll be using a lot of fuel. My test car’s on-board computer says over the last 2613km the REEV has averaged 7.3L/100km of fuel, which is worse than a good conventional hybrid. Get real lazy with the electrons and things are tougher still — I’ve seen 12.3L/100km pop up, which is almost dual-cab ute country.Still, the Leapmotor shouldn’t be punished for its owner’s laziness. It says EV in the title, so plug it in judiciously and you should see those numbers plummet, which is exactly what I’m doing from here out, so stay tuned for the next dispatch.What Leapmotor should be punished for, though, is the worst keyless entry system I have ever encountered. Mostly because it’s not keyless, and you can barely enter.The brand provides a credit-card-style fob which has no buttons. Easy enough, you think, because the proximity lock and unlock must be flawless. Um, nope. It doesn’t have that. Instead, you need to hold the card against a small square on the driver’s mirror to unlock the car as well as lock and switch off the vehicle. I discovered the latter when I got a call from my neighbour at 10pm asking me why my car was lighting up the street like a UFO landing.Now, to fully understand my hatred of this system, you need to know a little more about my life. We have a 14-month-old son, and so my relationship with Woolworths and Chemist Warehouse is at VIP level. And when we get back from the shops, I need to grab my son from his seat, grab the groceries from the boot, then carry both to the driver's door, dig around in my pocket for the card, and then lock the door. And then the same in reverse when we try to leave the house. It would be tricky if I had three arms, and it's near impossible with just the two I've got.Happily, Leapmotor does have an app that you will be downloading immediately, allowing you to lock and unlock the car remotely, as well as pre-cool the cabin.With all of that sorted, the C10 REEV has slipped pretty comfortably into our family life. There’s enough backseat space to comfortably fit my son’s baby seat, and the boot will swallow a pram with space to spare for shopping and all the other stuff we now require.So far on the road the Leapmotor has proven pretty easy living, too, with the power (158kW, down slightly on the all-EV version of the C10) ample for getting up and moving. Comfort over athletic capability is the order of the day, though, with some floatiness to the ride. The brake pedal also takes some getting used to. Presumably there’s some internal tussle over how the regenerative braking should respond to my foot, but the pedal can at times feel worryingly spongy, then overly grabby.But I think I’ve now got the getting-to-know-you stuff in hand, so we push on into month two to see how this relationship develops. And it could be important – if I make my wife sit by a dusty charger somewhere too many more times, it might well be my only relationship.Acquired: January 2026Distance travelled this month: 650kmOdometer: 2613kmAverage fuel consumption this month: 7.3L/100km

My time with the Forester Hybrid AWD Touring has come to an end, and I have some thoughts for you on what is Subaru’s most important model, should you be considering putting one on your driveway.And I do mean important. Subaru sold a total 39,005 vehicles in Australia last year and a whopping 15,179 of those were the Forester. Only the Crosstrek (10,842 sales) got close, with none of the brand's other models cracking the 10K barrier.Important that this model stays popular, then. To try to ensure it, Subaru has finally taken aim at the Toyota RAV4, introducing a proper hybrid system (it calls it a 'strong hybrid', by the way) so it can go head-to-head with the country's best-selling SUV.The system pairs a 2.5-litre petrol engine that produces 121kW and 212Nm all on its own with an electric motor that kicks in another 90kW and 276Nm. Total system power is 145kW, and the brand reckons you’ll sip 6.2L/100km on the combined cycle, and get around 1000km from every 63-litre tank of fuel.Intrestingly, Toyota owns around 20 per cent of Subaru, and the two companies have collaborated on models like the 86/BRZ and bZ4X/Solterra, but there's no crossover between the RAV4 and the Forester. This one is all Subaru.There are two cheaper hybrid models sitting below my flagship model — the Hybrid Sport and the Forester Hybrid — but my Touring is the most expensive, listing at just under $56K, before on road costs. That’s quite the investment. Mind you, the RAV4 Hybrid tops out above $58K, so it’s all relative, right?Having now spent a little over three months behind the wheel – tackling everything from freeway jaunts to city running, and ferrying my 13-month-old boy and the Ikea's worth of stuff he needs every time we leave the house – I found some things I really liked, and some things I really didn't.Let's start with the good stuff, shall we?It’s boringI know, I know, that doesn’t sound like a compliment. But in this case it really is. I drive a lot of cars, newcomer and legacy brands alike, and the thing I have appreciated most about the Forester is that is has offered up zero surprises.It drives nicely, if a bit firmly in places, it steers well, its safety systems don’t appear tuned to drive people insane, the tech is pretty flawless and it has done exactly what we’ve asked of it with very little fuss. And in the world of new cars, sometimes no surprises is the best surprise of all.The ride can feel a bit harsh at times (weirdly it's more noticeable from the passenger seat) and the driver monitor is easily fooled by sunglasses, but both are liveable quirks.You don’t want for much in terms of equipmentThe Touring tops the Forester tree, and while it’s not cheap, you also don’t want for much. Our car rides on silver 19-inch alloys, gets standard roof rails and there are leather and suede seats that are heated and cooled up front. Elsewhere, there’s a 10-speaker Harman Kardon stereo, a sunroof, an 11.6-inch central touchscreen (with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto) and a 12.3-inch digital dash. There’s also on-board navigation, though most will surely be running Google or Apple Maps instead.It can fit a family (or my family, at least)Not all mid-size SUVs are built equally, especially when it comes to fitting child seats in the back. In some, the seats take up so much room that the front passenger finds themselves sitting too far forward. That’s not the case here. Plus the privacy glass, easy-access ISOFIX anchors and the fact the rear doors open super wide make family life easy. Even the boot, which swallows 484L with the rear seats upright, was big enough for all the gear we had to carry, including prams and the like.But every silver lining has a cloud. And with that, it's onto the negatives.The priceI know we said there are more expensive Toyotas. But in a world where you can drive away in a mid-size plug-in hybrid SUV for less than $40K, putting this on the road for around $60K is a bit of an ask, right? I dedicated the last long-term dispatch to trying to figure out what price tag you can apply to legacy. But I guess the ongoing success of models like this and the RAV4 goes some way to answering that question.The fuel useSubaru reckons you should see about 6.2L per hundred kilometres on the combined cycle, but I have covered A LOT of kilometres, and done a lot of long-distance freeway driving, and I can’t get the number to drop below 7.0 litres. Toyota claims an impressive 4.8 litres per 100 kilometres for its AWD hybrid, and real-world testing suggests a number with a five in front of it is pretty achievable.Some hybrid sacrificesIt’s not all good news on the Hybrid front. You pay more for the car, obviously, but you also get a heavier vehicle with marginally less boot space, and while petrol-powered cars get a full-size spare, hybrid owners will be left fiddling with those horrible repair kits should they ever get a flat tyre.Acquired: September 2025Distance travelled this month: 1184kmOdometer: 4460kmAverage fuel consumption this month: 6.9L/100km

Time's up for the Skoda Kodiaq - well time with the Berry family that is. So, has this Hyundai Santa Fe rival stood up to the test of family duties?

Three months in with our Geely EX5, is having an electric car at the price of an internal combustion engine car too good to be true?

It's missing its original stereo, but still has a CD stacker.Interior is excellent quality. There is just enough space in the rear cargo area.It handles quite well for its age. It brakes well but it could do with a little more power.At the moment it's a bit expensive and hard to find parts. The insurance costs are great.Not too bad but it needs a little work done on it. 

Cutting edge tech package. Features are a cut above standard Asian offerings in its competitor set.Excellent. More interior space than my Genesis GV70 mid-size SUV.Ride is firm and responsive. Steering is accurate. Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) is well damped.Nil servicing costs. Three years free servicing negotiated at time of purchase. Fuel costs are minimal.I've had no issues at all.

To be fair by today's standards the multimedia would be considered poor, however it has Bluetooth for my phone and the rest of it is just something I personally don't care about and has too much focus. It is, after all, a car and they're designed for driving which should be your primary focus when using one, not what apps it has.Safety wise it is comparable to vehicles of its era and is, for me, quite good. The biggest safety system is the person attached to the steering wheel, something that seems to be lost with all the focus on auto emergency braking (AEB) and adaptive this and that, which is a reflection on people forgetting their competence, importance, responsibility and accountability.Absolutely awesome! It is voluminous inside and with some tetris-style packing it will swallow an amazing amount of life's detritus and junk.The front seats are amazingly comfortable on long journeys. The flexibility of splitting the three rear seats individually and down to a completely flat loading floor with a huge boot gives you panel van-sized loading space. Additionally, the extra two seats for a seven-seat configuration are actually rated for adults and have excellent foot room, although I personally wouldn't want to be travelling long distances in them as an adult.Quiet, refined and an accumulator of speed on the open road that handles with aplomb for a 2.5 to three-tonne high-riding brick, it carries way more speed than you think was possible.Cruise control is a definite must on the open road or you will find yourself in the crosshairs of the constabulary.This is no sports car when it comes to steering input and feedback, but it has an inordinate amount of grip, it goes well and handles wonderfully, with the air suspension doing a fantastic job of absorbing the horrible road conditions. Cornering is relatively flat and the car is extraordinarily quiet at any speed, regardless of how fast you're going.OMG! You only have one kidney to sell to pay for the hideously expensive genuine Land Rover spares and servicing here in Australia.You might need to find yourself an aftermarket specialist Land Rover mechanic as this could save you literally thousands of dollars. Use OEM or very good quality aftermarket parts unless you have very deep pockets and money is no object. Allow an average of $2-3000 a year just for servicing (I service every 10,000km, not the 20,000km+ that Land Rover specifies) plus tyres and other consumables. I do an average of 20-25,000km a year with my driving so costs will vary depending upon what you do.Fuel economy depends on your driving style, but with my modified-for-off-road and regional travel D4, I regularly get between 9.0-10L/100km on the open road and less than 14L towing a near two-tonne camper trailer. Around town is variable with traffic and how hard I drive but typically it’s under 12L/100km.The big killer is the massive rise in insurance costs over the past two years. The value of the vehicle has decreased by more than 15 per cent but the cost to insure has increased by more than 35 per cent, so expect bills well in excess of $3K a year for quality insurance.The only reliability issues I have had with this car are aftermarket accessories being installed by supposedly reputable companies doing average work. Their dodgy installation and lack of customer service has caused issues and as such I can't hold Land Rover responsible for that.You must understand though that this is a big heavy car and things like brakes and suspension components work hard to keep everything going so they do wear out and need regular replacement, but Land Rover is too expensive price wise.

Two months in, has the fancy veneer worn off the Geely EX5?

It is very basic as I have had to add a rearview camera, central locking, GPS, a dash cam and a throttle controller. I would have liked to have parking sensors and cruise control. The rear seat area is confined and uncomfortable, and the door cards are poorly made. but the tray area is a good size and very handy.The take off and pickup is sluggish, but once it is up and going it just purrs especially on the highway.Wet-weather driving needs caution as it tend to lose traction when it has no load.Found the maintenance cost to be minimal and servicing is not costly as it rarely has a problem. The fuel cost is about 9.5-10L/00km.I have had the car for 16-plus years and had one problem that was easily taken care of in the fuel line at minimal cost, so apart from that I have had no gripes.I regularly go on 4WD fishing trips and it hold up well.

The multimedia is clear and informative with the Sync 3 system. Emergency services are quick to access with the cars Sync 3 system which also has voice capability. Apple and Android support is also included.The inside cargo is spacious enough for most things everyday-use wise. The boot space can be limited if there is a spare tyre, however without it, there is plenty of room for a hatch of this size. This car drives like a dream. The all-wheel-drive system makes taking turns a breeze. The 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine is enough power to take the vehicle from 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds. Though it can be stiff sometimes, the joy of driving this car is more than worth it.Fuel is your standard unleaded 98. The insurance for me personally was more expensive than I thought because of it's Ford Performance label and possibly my age. Servicing is standard when looking after the car. However price on new tires can be quite expensive.This car feels reliable in the sense of bringing fun, excitement and thrills to the driver. It functions like a regular car would on the daily, but I use it for weekends and special occasions. This car does not disappoint when it comes to reliability in any way. Just keep the spare tyre in the boot for emergencies, though.