Volvo XC90 vs Leapmotor B10

What's the difference?

It’s a credit to Volvo that the XC90 feels like a new car, even with its older underpinnings. This latest update has successfully addressed areas that needed the most attention, namely the multimedia system, interior and exterior design. The electric driving range now feels somewhat old school compared to the numbers some manufacturers can achieve these days. A lot of PHEVs now exceed 100km EV range and buyers are starting to expect that. And setting up the third row takes way too much effort to want to do it regularly. The new Volvo XC90 is a comfortable, engaging and properly premium family SUV and the updates have only improved what was already a solid offering.

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.

Back in early 2015, I attended the international launch of the second-generation Volvo XC90. At the time I thought it was a handsome SUV, with Volvo successfully interpreting what is essentially a big people-hauling box on wheels with typical Scandinavian flair.

There’s been a facelift since then, but this latest refresh brings the XC90 bang up to date.

New elements include a modern take on the 'Thor's Hammer' LED headlights, and a new bonnet and grille with an updated diagonal logo spread across the car's face. At the rear the only change is slightly darker tail-lights.

The new grille in particular looks great, and with all of the blacked-out elements of the T8 - grille, lower air intakes, parts of the apron, mirror caps, roof rails and window surrounds - it looks quite cool, especially contrasted with the test car's 'Crystal White' paint. It has elevated the overall look.

Inside, Volvo has made big changes, mostly with the dash and console. It retains the familiarity of other Volvos, but is much more in keeping with its new all-electric EX90 sibling.

It still has a horizontal theme, but with cool new vertical air vents. The new multimedia screen fits well into the dash layout, and isn’t over sized. It’s the ideal size at 11.2 inches. There are a few buttons underneath but not many.

The mix of materials used at the front of the cabin includes ‘Grey Ash’ wood, piano black, chrome, metal-look speakers, grey fabric and soft touch as well as hard plastics. It sounds like it would be too much but it works well.

Volvo has always been a leader when it comes to car seats and the new XC90 is no exception. The beautifully designed ventilated charcoal Nappa leather seats look and feel stunning. The tiny Swedish flag is a nice touch, too.

The engine start/stop button and the crystal selector add a touch of glamour to the cabin. Overall, the XC90 feels properly premium inside, still with a Scandinavian bent. Just lovely.

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.

Any dedicated seven-seat family SUV needs to nail practicality and when it comes to the Volvo XC90, there are clear pros and some surprising cons.

One of the many pros is the seats. As mentioned, they look schmick, but are also supremely comfortable and offer the perfect level of bolstering and support. The T8 has a seat adjustment memory function that can be programmed into the driver profiles that also tailors other functions to suit different drivers.

The quality of the materials and build quality of the cabin is largely impressive. Even the damping of the indicator stalk has a feeling of high-end quality.

Volvo’s digital instrument cluster is clear and easy to navigate, once you work out what the buttons on the steering wheel do. They don’t have words on them so it takes a while. The driver’s manual comes in handy for this.

The big story in the cabin is the new 11.2-inch multimedia display. Volvo uses a Google platform and the car comes with Google Services which includes Google Assistant voice control, Maps and Play.

I’m a fan of Apple CarPlay and once I have assessed a car’s in-house multimedia system I often defer to CarPlay. It’s simple and familiar. But aside from using CarPlay to connect once, I used Volvo’s system for the vast majority of my time with this car.

Logging into your Google account means your favourites come up on the map and there is no downside to functionality. If I had the car for longer I would've added Spotify to the system and logged into that, too, but I was happy listening to digital radio on the phenomenal 19-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system.

The screen takes some familiarisation, but once you understand the home keys and how to switch between apps, it’s a pleasure to use. It has a clear layout, nice graphics and is responsive. Yes, the air con controls are mostly housed in the screen, but if you tap the lower part of the screen the entire climate menu appears. It is light years ahead of Volvo’s previous screen set-up.

Most functions are housed in the screen, although there are buttons just under the screen for volume and audio on/off, front and rear demisters, hazard lights and a button to open the glove box.

Storage up front is just okay. The console houses shallow cupholders and a handy upright phone holder, as well as the device charging pad. It’s a shame there’s no under console storage, but the transmission tunnel might be too chunky for that.

The shallow central bin houses two USB-C ports and a 12-volt outlet. Bottle storage is decent in the front door cards.

The panoramic sunroof only has a sheer blind (it’s powered) which is less than ideal in a country like Australia. It’s been fine in winter but I’m curious to know what it’s like in the height of summer.

The second row features manual window blinds to keep your little ones cool.

There’s some back support for the second-row seats but the base is flat. Some of the seat fabric in that row looks like it doesn’t quite fit, but I think that’s the nature of the leather with the intricate designs.

In terms of space, there’s ample leg, toe and headroom, and the rear backrests recline for extra comfort on long trips. The bases roll forward and back and the seats are split 40/20/40.

Kids will likely fight over who has to sit in the middle seat because the combination of an intrusive transmission tunnel and the rear of the front centre console protruding into the space means it is not a great seat.

Occupants have access to chest and knee-level air vents, heated seat and digital climate controls, map pockets, two USB-C ports and a central fold-down armrest with a fiddly cupholder mechanism. The rear doors will only house small, narrow bottles.

Accessing the third row of the Volvo is challenging. For starters, to move the second row seats forward you need to use the lever at the top of the seat and the roller under the base to move them. And they are heavy seats. That leaves just enough of an aperture to get into the third row.

But first you have to raise the third row. Sadly there’s no lever in the boot area to quickly raise or lower the third-row seats. You have to either climb into the boot and reach for the lever at the top of the seats, or reach through the back door and try and raise them that way. And again, they are heavy.

It is a deeply unintuitive system and leaves you exhausted and frustrated. Especially when you consider other seven seaters have a much more functional and lightweight third-row arrangement.

Once in the third row, it’s clear it is for humans with tiny legs only. It is not a space appropriate for six-foot tall men like me, even for short distances. You do get ample headroom, air vents, cupholders and storage boxes on either side that open up to show a kid-friendly spider web design with a friendly looking spider. Cute!

The seats fold flat into the boot floor and the loading lip is level with the floor so loading heavy or long items should be a breeze. You can adjust the air suspension from the boot to lower the height further which is always a handy feature.

It comes with a solid cargo blind but you need to remove it if you want to raise the third row. When putting it back in, it catches on the third-row seat belts, so it’s not the best design.

In terms of boot features, the Volvo comes with a household charging cable that is housed neatly under the boot floor in a stylish bag. Many PHEVs and EVs still don’t have a dedicated spot to house a cable so you have to take up boot space with a chunky cable bag. Good job, Volvo.

It has a powered tailgate, a few nooks and a pair of 5.0kg hooks. However, it doesn’t have a spare wheel of any description. Just a tyre repair kit. This is due to packaging restrictions, but it’s never an ideal solution.

In terms of space, the Volvo can swallow 640 litres of cargo with the second row up and 301L with all three rows in place. That latter figure isn’t bad compared to some seven-seaters.

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.

Talking about the price may well be us highlighting the Leapmotor B10’s strongest point right up top, because you can get into one for less than $40K, drive-away, before the end of March 2026.

While regular pricing for the B10 starts from $37,888, before on-road costs, for the base Style and $40,888 for the kitted-out Design LR, Leapmotor has a limited-time deal starting from $38,990, drive-away, for the B10 Style and $41,990 for the Design LR. LR for Long Range, by the way.

That runs until the end of March, 2026, but even its standard pricing is impressive for what you get.

The entry-grade B10 Style comes with plenty of kit, including an 8.8-inch LCD driver display and large 14.6-inch central multimedia touchscreen, a wireless phone charger, auto climate control, a panoramic sunroof with retractable shade, heated mirrors, auto LED headlights, a set of 18-inch wheels, surround-view parking cameras with dashcam recorder capability, over-the-air (OTA) updates and Level 2 advanced driver assistance (ADAS).

That’s a list of inclusions that can, on paper, rival much more expensive models.

The Design LR, for not much more money, adds heated and ventilated synthetic leather seats with electric adjustment (six-way for the driver, four-way for the passenger), a heated steering wheel, a 12-speaker sound system, ambient lighting, a power tailgate, tinted privacy glass, LED tail-lights and auto folding mirrors.

You’d hate to be in the product planning team of a legacy manufacturer trying to put together a competitive spec for a small electric SUV to sell in Australia against that.

Even other small electric SUVs from China come with much smaller batteries or fewer features around the $40K mark, like the MG S5 EV Essence RWD with its 49kWh battery ($42,990 D/A) or the base Geely EX5 Complete FWD ($40,990 BOC) and the higher Inspire variant is $4000 more.

Two powertrains are available in the new XC90, both with all-wheel drive.

The B5 Bright comes with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with 48-volt mild hybrid assistance offering 183kW of power and 350Nm of torque. It can dash from zero to 100km/h in 7.7 seconds.

The version I’m testing has a 233kW, 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a plug-in hybrid system that uses a 107kW electric motor and an 18.8kWh, 400-volt battery.

The total system output for the T8 PHEV is 340kW and a meaty 709Nm. It uses an eight-speed automatic transmission. It can complete the 0-100km/h sprint in a brisk 5.3 seconds.

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 mild-hybrid XC90 B5 Bright has an official fuel use figure of 8.1 litres per 100 kilometres, which is on the thirsty side, although it is a 2.5-tonne SUV.

Officially, the XC90 T8 Plug In Hybrid sips just 1.8L/100km on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle, but as with any PHEVs, unless you charge your car religiously and never drive far enough to deplete the battery, that figure is extremely hard to achieve.

I charged the car regularly using my home wall charger (two to three hours for a full charge) and the fuel gauge barely moved.

After a week of mixed driving my final fuel economy figure was 3.4 litres per 100km, which isn’t too bad.

The XC90 T8 has a 3.6kW onboard charger and a Type 2 plug so it’s only capable of AC charging. It is not compatible with a DC source so no fast charging on the go.

The official electric driving range according to Volvo is 77km, which feels a little old school compared to the many PHEVs landing on the market now that have an EV driving range in excess of 100km.

The offical figure also seems somewhat optimistic because the most I got on a full charge was 60km. Anecdotally, I have heard it can get up to 70km after a charge, it just didn't get there in my time with the XC90.

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.

For a tall, large and heavy SUV, the XC90 has an excellent driving position. You feel hunkered down in the driver’s seat; it’s almost sporty!

Those healthy power and torque figures translate well on the road. It is properly quick off the mark and picks up pace rapidly when already at speed. You do need to work out the trigger point for the accelerator because if you give it too much it feels a little like a slingshot.

The transition between the electric motor and the petrol engine is noticeable, but it’s still smooth. It’s not harsh or clunky like some hybrids and PHEVs. Similarly, the eight-speed transmission is so smooth it rarely makes its presence felt. It's a lovely match for this powertrain.

On that, the cabin is incredibly well insulated. It’s a hushed ride at any speed. Again, you’ll hear the engine kick in but it has a nice note so that noise is welcome.

The powertrain has several driving modes including 'Pure' (EV only), 'Power' (for added performance) and 'Hybrid'. Hybrid is the go-to and 'Auto' allows the system to determine when the petrol engine kicks in. This is the best everyday mode.

Volvo understands the XC90 is more than just family transport and has engineered it in such a way that it offers a surprising level of dynamism.

It’s flatter in corners and bends than you expect of a car of this size and weight. It has a balanced chassis, likely helped by the air suspension, with minimal body roll and little lateral movement inside. Impressive.

It has enough grip on looser surfaces, aided by the all-wheel drive set-up.

The ride quality is more composed and refined at higher speeds, regardless of the road conditions, managing potholes and the like quite well. Volvo has tweaked the suspension tune as part of the update for this very reason.

At lower urban speeds, it’s not quite as calm. You’ll feel speed bumps and potholes and it's a little jiggly on rough surfaces. The low profile (275/35 R22) tyres are partly to blame here.

With that said, it’s not enough to dampen the overall XC90 drive experience. It is a lovely car to drive, whether cruising on freeways, country road blasts or city commuting.

Its underpinnings might be 10 years old, but the XC90 feels as fresh to drive as many of its rivals.

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.

The Leapmotor B10 was bestowed a five-star ANCAP rating in early February 2026 under the body’s most recent criteria.

There are seven airbags, including an important centre airbag, plus the B10 boasts 17 ADAS systems with 12 cameras and sensors helping monitor the road, surroundings and the driver.

As mentioned, those systems can be a little intrusive sometimes, but less than other new models from brands new to Australia.

The B10’s list of safety features includes multi-collision braking, collision sensors, an emergency data recorder, the aforementioned dashcam-style surround-view recording system, belt pretensioners, plus all the elements of the ADAS suite Leapmotor calls 'Leap Pilot'.

This includes adaptive cruise and lane centring, lane departure warning and emergency intervention, collision avoidance and warnings, blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert and brake, speed assist, and driver monitoring and distracted driver warnings.

For baby capsules and child seats there are three top tethers across the second row with ISOFIX anchors on the two outer positions.

The XC90 is covered by Volvo’s five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, and the servicing schedule is every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. These are similar terms to other premium brands in Australia.

Buyers can opt for one of two capped-price servicing packs, costing $2380 for three years and $3870 for five years.

This pricing is a little more than the BMW X5 but quite a bit more affordable than the Mercedes-Benz GLE.

The Swedish brand used to have a reputation for over-priced servicing but it’s sharpened up its offer considerably in recent years.

Volvo has around 40 dealerships located across Australia and conducts its servicing in-house at the dealer.

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.