Leapmotor B10 2026 review: Design

If there’s one thing you can’t complain about in 2026 it’s a lack of affordable electric vehicles. There are now plenty of zero-emissions options and they’re not the kind of short-range hatchbacks you might be imagining either.

Cars like the Leapmotor B10 we’re testing here are cleverly-sized small SUVs with all the ingredients to set them up for success (and to keep away those ever-higher fuel bills).

Read More About Leapmotor B10

• New car from Chinese dark horse exposed: 2026 Leapmotor A05 cheap electric hatchback revealed in Chinese fillings as it prepares to battle BYD Dolphin, GWM Ora and MG4
• It's all over: Why Japan will never reclaim its best-selling crown from China as new era of dominance begins for Chinese brands like BYD, GWM and Chery | Opinion
• Key BYD Atto 2 rival detailed: 2026 Leapmotor A10 due to launch in China imminently as a Kia EV3, MGS5 EV, Chery E5 and Jaecoo J5 EV competitor

For this review we’ve got a top-spec Leapmotor B10 Design. To get into one of these, you’re looking at a before on-roads cost of $40,888, which puts it in a similar league to the BYD Atto 3, Chery E5, Jaecoo J5 and MG S5.

All of these rivals land in a very close price radius, with most of them being more affordable than our top-spec Leapmotor, but one key difference is its significant driving range.

At a WLTP-certified 434km from its 67.1kWh battery pack, it should out-drive the Chery E5 (430km), Atto 3 (345km), and Jaecoo J5 (402km) to the same measure, and you’ll have to spend several thousand dollars more to get into the longer range versions of the Atto 3 or MG S5, at which point you may as well buy a Geely EX5 or GAC Aion V which have more range and are in a full size-category up.

So, in some ways, the B10 Design is the ideal blend of spec, price and driving range in this entry-level part of the market.

Like all Chinese cars, this Leapmotor small SUV is value-packed with highlights of its spec including generous synthetic leather interior trim, heated and ventilated seats, a 12-speaker audio system, panoramic sunroof (with powered shade, no less!), a 14.6-inch central multimedia touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Most importantly (aside from the aforementioned driving range) the brand has responded to negative feedback on the safety suite of its larger C10 SUV by adding a custom settings shortcut to the steering wheel of the B10, allowing you to pre-set a driving profile and activate it with the double-tap of a button.

It’s also very much right-sized for city slickers. It’s a small SUV which is narrow enough to dart down laneways and easily fit in parking lots, with a big enough interior space for a growing family. At 182cm tall, I fit comfortably in all five seating positions.

Drawbacks? There’s no key? More accurately, the brand expects you to use your phone as the key, with the only back-up being a credit card thing.

You tap it on the mirror to unlock, and have to place it on the wireless phone charger to start the car. It’s weird and annoying and makes me wonder what would be so hard about having an actual remote with buttons.

On the topic of buttons, the B10 hardly has any on the inside for controlling key functions. Almost everything has to be done through the central screen which is inconvenient at best and dangerous while you're trying to drive at worst.

In addition, the strange flip-down cupholders are useless for holding anything which isn’t the right-sized bottle. So, get used to putting things in the armrest box or listening to them slide around in the tray below.

For a car so focused on software, what’s on offer here is only just fine. It’s better than some of its rivals in that the menus and shortcuts are at least logically located, but it’s never fun scrolling through menus to find a setting which should have been a button in the first place.

And the Leapmotor B10 drives surprisingly well. Like other cars in this class it’s got soft and spongy suspension, which makes it very comfortable but means it lacks body control in the corners. It’s not as overtly soft as the GAC Aion UT I drove recently, so there’s at least something to be said for it in the handling department. Doubly so, since the B10 is rear-wheel drive - an oddity in this small SUV segment.

The steering is heavily electrically assisted and very light as a result, although it maintains a bit of feel to the front wheels.

I’m sorry to report its rear-driven nature doesn’t exactly make it feel like a sports car. Cleverly-tuned traction systems make sure the 160kW/240Nm is strong but not wild enough to overwhelm the LingLong factory tyres.

Sporty machine, this is not, but I walked away relatively impressed with how quiet, comfortable, and smooth it is. With the car set to my custom safety settings, it has no dealbreakers from behind the wheel.

I drove mine in mainly commuter scenarios and beat the official energy consumption handily. My car was reporting an amazing 12.7kWh/100km in my travels. When I subtract the distance I travelled from the remaining range it landed at about 480km which is a lot more than the WLTP 434km official figure.

Confusing things further, the trip computer has two methods for calculating range, static or dynamic, and both were way off. The static one reported the less accurate NEDC range pro-rata, and the dynamic computer consistently and drastically underestimated the remaining range. Very strange.

This longer-range version of the B10 can charge at a maximum speed of 168kW on a fast DC charger which is plenty. Officially the charge time is around half an hour, and on a 75kW unit, mine charged from 10-90 per cent in around 40 minutes.