The Leapmotor T03 might be the best small electric car you've never heard of. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Review

At last, there are small electric cars priced comparably to combustion ones, though the EVs in question are only from bargain or emerging brands. One such is the car we look at here, the Leapmotor T03.

Background

Unlike some other Chinese brands, Leapmotor prioritises value above all else, but doesn't deliver it in its EVs with drawbacks like overly feeble performance, basic equipment levels and pathetic driving range. Perfect proof of that comes with this car, the Leapmotor T03. As you might guess from this Chinese model's friendly look, there's a surprising amount of European-ness here. Both from the car, which is built in the old Fiat 500 factory in Tychy, Poland; and from the brand that sells it, Leapmotor International, which is partly owned by Western auto conglomerate Stellantis, whose various brand showrooms will be used to sell the T03. Leapmotor was formed in China as recently as 2016 (by Zhu Jiangming, an electrical engineer with no previous automotive experience), but has grown rapidly, already selling a quarter of a million cars globally and expecting to double that figure by 2030. Providing of course that models like the T03 attract a wide audience. And this car might. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experience

Just one powertrain is on offer, with a 93bhp motor that embarrasses the 64bhp you get from a comparable Dacia Spring; hence a 0-62mph time of 12.7s that's a second faster than that Romanian model. More significantly, this Leapmotor's 37.3kWh battery is bigger too, offering a 165 mile range. The comparable Spring has a 26.8kWh battery with a mere 140 mile range. The T03 has quite a lot of motor wine at under 20mph, but it's fine once you get going and there are three powertrain modes ('Eco', 'Standard' and 'Sport'). And three steering settings ('Comfort', 'Standard' and 'Sport') the lightest of which is very light indeed. You can really jink around the urban traffic, parking could hardly be easier and the turning circle (9.7m) is very tight. Expect quite a lot of wind noise at highway speeds, but obviously, this Leapmotor isn't really intended for much out-of-town use (the top speed is 80mph), thought it's more 'proper-car-like' on the highway than you might expect. One annoying feature is that you have to actually stop and park up to turn the rather intrusive ADAS camera safety features off. There are three levels of brake regeneration - 'Eco', 'Standard' and 'Sport'. 'Sport' is the fiercest and in this setting, you can almost enjoy 'one-pedal' driving where it's hardly ever necessary to use the actual brake pedal to slow the car, unless you're coming to a stop.

Design and Build

The T03 is, to suit its urban remit, satisfyingly little, just 3,620mm long and 1,577mm wide (about the footprint of a Fiat 500e), but notably taller (1,652mm). Compared to its arch-rival, Dacia's Spring, it's shorter and narrower, but 61mm taller. The styling is very rounded, the dinky narrow little wheels sit at each corner and the faux grille is shaped to look like a smile. Inside up-front, it's all pretty basic of course; what's not coated in cloth is all fashioned from hard plastic. But there's a full dose of screen tech, an 8-inch instrument display matched with a 10-inch central screen. That infotainment monitor (which uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon tech) has inhaled most of the functions that would normally be handled by fascia buttons in a car of this price (including, unfortunately, the climate controls). And, just as unfortunately, it lacks 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto' and is partly hidden by the (non-adjustable) steering wheel. Navigation is included though and there are some nice cabin touches, like the leather-clad steering wheel and the chromed door handles. In the back, there are only two seats, but it's far more spacious than you'd expect for a car of this class with such small dimensions. That's because the 2,400mm-long wheelbase and space across the platform is maximised by Leapmotor's clever 'cell-to-chassis' architecture. Emphasising the airy feel it is a standard-fit glass panoramic roof. A couple of six-footers would just about fit and there's an ISOFIX app mounting for a child seat. Where you pay for this a bit is in boot capacity, rated at just 210-litres (a Dacia Spring has 308-litres). There's a high loading lip too and a complete lack of under-floor storage, so the charging cables will take up much of the room you do have. It'll be fine for school bags and the weekly shop though.

Market and Model

From launch, Leapmotor wanted around £16,000 for this T03, which is very good value indeed. It's not quite enough to make this car the UK's cheapest new EV; there's an entry-level version of the Dacia Spring at around £15,000, but that's the feeble 45hp version hardly anyone wants. Bear in mind that from these prices, as we completed this test, Leapmotor was offering an 'Electric Car Grant' to reduce the price by £3,750. A more sensibly-engineered 65hp Spring will cost about the same as a T03 when all is taken into account, but has a smaller 26.8kWh battery and 28hp less power. To get anywhere near the equipment level of this Leapmotor, you'd need the Spring in its top-spec 'Extreme' form, which costs £1,000 more - and even then, you wouldn't get as much kit as on this Chinese model. A T03 comes only in a single level of spec and includes 15-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic glass roof, adaptive cruise control, auto air conditioning, an 8-inch instrument cluster, a synthetic leather steering wheel, rear parking sensors and a rear view camera. You get LED taillights but not LED headlights. Media stuff is taken care of by a 10-inch central console with navigation, Wi-Fi and 4G, plus an 'app control' system. Safety kit includes twin front side and curtain airbags, plus a complete portfolio of ADAS camera safety kit. Including autonomous emergency braking, Lane departure warning, automatic speed assist with traffic sign recognition, driver tiredness detection, blind spot detection, forward collision warning and Emergency Lane Keep Assist. Though the T03 is yet to be tested for safety by Euro NCAP, it should be fundamentally pretty solid given that 68% of its body is made from high-strength steel and the structure features 'energy-absorbing boxes'. This 'body-in-cage' structure uses a one-piece all-aluminium anti-collision beam and high-strength steel format.

Cost of Ownership

We gave you the EV mileage figure in our 'Driving' section - 165 miles, providing you keep the car in its most frugal 'Eco' drive mode. You should be to reach that figure even in winter thanks to a cloud-based system that monitors the battery to keep it at optimal temperature. Also helping with the range figure are the thin 165-section tyres, the brake regeneration system and a low drag coefficient of 0.26Cd. Detracting from it is the rather chunky 1,203kg kerb weight, which is to 29kg more than a rival Dacia Spring (probably because of this Chinese model's higher levels of standard equipment and its larger battery). Efficiency is officially rated at 3.8mpkWh; that's a bit behind the 4.6mpkWh of the Spring (which as we told you in our 'Driving' section in its volume 26.8kWh form goes 25 miles less on a charge). And battery replenishment times? Well the DC charging rate's pretty slow (up to just 45kW) but better than that rival Dacia (which can only charge at up to 30kW). DC charging can be completed from 30 to 80% in 36 minutes. For home use, there's an on-board 6.6kW charger that can offer an AC charging top up from a 7.4kW wallbox in 3 hours and 35 minutes. A full 7.4kW wallbox charge would need six hours and 30 minutes. There's a four year or 60,000 mile warranty. And the industry-usual eight year battery warranty. Maintenance should be straightforward thanks to the brand's network of UK Stellantis dealerships.

Summary

There's a lot to like here for the money Leapmotor is asking. For the many customers who would ideally like a more affordable Fiat 500e, but with the five doors and practicality of an electric Fiat Grande Panda, a T03 might be just about ideal. The Dacia Spring was supposed to meet that need, but this Leapmotor model trumps that Romanian rival in most of the areas that really matter - drive range, power, value, equipment and rear seat space. It's an impressive first effort from this Chinese maker in this segment. Of course, there are things to criticise, as you'd expect there would be for the budget price. Boot space is tiny and too many functions are controlled by the cabin's touchscreen. A emotive name would probably also help this Chinese brand's cause here; tell the neighbours you've just bought a Fiat 500 and you sound on-trend. The purchase of a Leapmotor T03 sounds like acquisition of a domestic appliance. But if you don't mind that, then certainly check one of these out. At last, a small EV properly priced, free of onerous range restrictions and accessible to almost anyone. It's been a long time coming.