2025 Leapmotor C10 Design review

How much does a Leapmotor C10 cost?

There are two models in the 2025 Leapmotor C10 line-up: the $45,888 Style and the $49,888 Design (both prices exclude on-road costs). In comparison to electric rivals, these two C10 variants are very affordable.

For instance, the top-selling Tesla Model Y starts at $55,900 plus on-road costs, and will soon rise in price when an update arrives in 2025.

The two C10s the same mechanical package, including rear-mounted e-motor outputs, battery size and charging speed. The real differences are in the equipment levels, which are good in the Style and even more impressive in the Design. Fair to say, the pricing to equipment package the C10 offers is a cornerstone of its appeal to buyers.

The Style includes dual-zone climate control, power adjustable front seats, a 10.25-inch digital instrument panel and 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen. Accessible through that screen are embedded navigation, digital radio and integrated audio and video apps, all playing though a 12-speaker audio system.

The Design swaps to silicon faux leather seat trim and adds a heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats and multi-colour ambient lighting.

Both C10s get what’s called Vehicle to Load or V2L capability, which plugs in to the battery pack to provide recreational and emergency power. At launch though, there’s no power cord available to access the system.

While the C10 has high-end computing power, Bluetooth, wireless smartphone charging, Wi-Fi, over-the-air updates, four USB ports and Leapmotor’s own QD Link phone mirroring system, there is no sign of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

It is unlikely to pick up these popular features until a mid-life upgrade. So, even by the truncated development time of Chinese brands, we’re talking a couple of years.

So, what else is missing? There’s no key – you can open the C10 via a Near Field Communications (NFC) card or via the Leapmotor smartphone app. Sign up for the app and you’re approving your data being collected by Leapmotor.

There’s no operable parking brake (it’s fully automatic), virtually no switches on the dash (so almost every function is performed through the screen), and there is no spare tyre. Premium paint costs $990. Brown is the only one of five colours that doesn’t cost extra. There are two interior trim choices – dark grey and dark green.

The Leapmotor C10 comes protected by a seven-year/160,000km warranty, while the high-voltage battery gets eight years/160,000km.

Service intervals are 12 months/20,000km and capped price servicing comes out at $2000 for five years.

Leapmotor C10 exterior design

From certain angles, like rear three-quarter, the 2025 Leapmotor C10 can look like a shrunken Porsche Cayenne. Both cars have that rectangular, yet-rounded aesthetic, which is likely to appeal to buyers of the C10.

By the time you get around to the front of the Leapmotor C10, however, the connection is lost. The C10 adopts the anodyne look that makes it hard to separate these electric SUVs from one another.

The C10 measures up at 4739mm long, 1900mm wide, 1680mm tall and has a 2825mm wheelbase. The obvious vehicle to compare the C10 to is the Tesla Model Y, which is slightly longer, wider and lower, and also has a marginally longer wheelbase.

Key exterior Leapmotor C10 features include LED auto headlights, a fixed panoramic sunroof (with retracting shade) and powered pop-out door handles. The Design exclusively adds a power tailgate, an LED rear light bar and rear privacy glass.

The Style rolls on 18-inch alloy wheels and the Design on larger 20-inch wheels.

What is the Leapmotor C10 like inside?

At the very basic level of space for your buck, the 2025 Leapmotor C10 continues to impress. With the e-motor tucked away under the rear floor driving the rear wheels, there are no impediments to a flat floor, maximum leg space and lots of luggage room.

The second row also includes plenty of headroom, softly comfortable outboard seats (it’s flatter and firmer in the middle), adjustable air-con vents, dual USB ports, map pockets, door bins and a fold down armrest.

The boot is generously sized at 581 litres with a wet bin under the floor. Split-fold the rear seat and that expands to 1410 litres. You can also fold all seats flat to create a bed.

Curiously though, there is no front trunk – or frunk – to add more storage under the bonnet.

It’s upfront where the C10 experience gets a bit funky. Jump in the driver’s seat and you’ll quickly notice the lack of physical buttons on the centre console. Things like external mirror adjustment, most headlight functions, air-conditioning, most audio functions, drive modes and regenerative braking are operated through the screen. And as already mentioned, there’s no parking brake to operate.

Thankfully, there is still drive selector for Drive and Reverse functions, and indicators and wipers on stalks, while audio volume can be controlled via a thumbwheel.

Leapmotor tries to alleviate the stress and drilling with a swipe-down shortcut menu on the touchscreen, but it’s all pretty complex and more than a little annoying.

There is also a voice control system but it provided only limited help.

Thankfully, Leapmotor’s has avoided the Tesla (and Volvo) mistake of omitting an instrument cluster, with a speedo set in front of the driver.

The seats are also comfy – and adjustable off levers on the seat rather than through the screen – the steering wheel adjusts for reach and rake, there is plentiful storage, and the build quality seems good with soft touch materials.

Is the Leapmotor C10 good to drive?

Once you drill down and switch off the various driver, speed and lane monitoring systems that start up every time the car starts, the 2025 Leapmotor C10 proves itself to be an entirely inoffensive drive. Don’t turn off all those monitors and you’ll be subject to a variety of sound effects and steering inputs which will appeal to some drivers, and put others off driving this car.

The C10’s driver assist systems have been recently updated to make them less intrusive and easier to switch off. There is more work to be done by the brand, both in terms of behaviour and access. To fully switch off one form of lane keeping (two different systems had to be disabled), the car had to be stopped and put in Park.

Amusingly, the drive monitoring requested the removal of sunglasses and hats so it could operate properly.

As we explained earlier, Leapmotor’s foray into the global market is being managed by the auto giant Stellantis, and engineers from its Maserati sportscar division provided tuning expertise for the C10's independent suspension. The result isn’t a hard-edged sportscar, but a comfortable drive that really does its best to smother various road surfaces in Australia. For day-to-day commuter driving the C10 will be mostly used for, this feels like a really good set-up.

Probably the weakest aspect of the C10's driving experience is the electric-assist steering, which lacks feel in any mode and rubbery in sport. In comfort, it's light and easy for urban traffic and carparks.

At 160kW and 320Nm, the C10 powertrain is responsive enough to do the job without ever feeling in the realms of a single motor Tesla Model Y. Responses are smooth and quiet, in a typical EV way.

Where the C10 still struggles is range and recharging. The C10 claims a pretty unimpressive 19.8kW/100km consumption rate from its 69.6kW/h battery pack, which we undercut on test at 18.8kWh/100km in predominantly country driving. That’s nowhere near Tesla efficiency.

The claimed range is 420km range based on the reasonably realistic WLTP measure. But the C10 can only DC fast charge at a mundane 84kW – although to be fair the vast bulk of fast chargers in Australia top out at 50kW anyway.

But the message is pretty clear. You’re going to struggle to get over 400km between recharges in the real world, and then when you do recharge, it’s going to be at a slow pace.

If you really want to shorten that driving range, try towing. Leapmotor says the C10 can hail up to 1500kg.

What safety features does the Leapmotor C10 have?

The 2025 Leapmotor C10 continues its high-tech value pitch with a claimed 17 driver assist systems The 2025 Leapmotor C10 continues its high-tech value pitch with a claimed 17 driver assist systems standard.

They include autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, traffic jam assist, rear collision warning and cross traffic alert and brake, as well the various switchable monitors mentioned above.

The C10 also includes a panoply of crisp and sizable camera views, rear-seat ISOFIX and top tether mounts and seven airbags including a centre airbag to prevent head knocks between front seat passengers.

The C10 recently gained a five star ANCAP safety rating based on the latest 2024 protocols.

How does the Leapmotor C10 compare?

The 2025 Leapmotor C10 is one of a rapidly increasing number of medium-sized electric SUVs predominantly from China. They include the Zeekr X, Xpeng G6, Deepal S07, Kia EV5 and Tesla Model Y.

Coming soon to Australian showrooms are the BYD Sealion 7 and the Geely EX5.

The C10 aces the pack when it comes to pricing, is competitive in terms of size and equipment, and is lagging at the back when it comes to powertrain performance, especially recharging.

Leapmotor Australia argues its pricing means it stretches its relevance beyond EVs to buyers of conventional petrol-powered medium SUVs, such as the top-end of the Toyota RAV4 and Kia Sportage range. They are both good vehicles that buyers should consider.

Should I buy a Leapmotor C10?

The problem with the 2025 Leapmotor C10 even before we discuss the vehicle is the great unknown of the brand itself. Maybe it would be a sensible to just give yourself a little bit of time to see how the C10 adapts to local conditions and challenges.

But if you can’t wait and you're a proud early adopter, the Leapmotor C10 offers a really compelling combination of price, equipment and tech.

Once you deactivate the monitors, it even drives quite nicely. Sadly, there’s no way to overcome the fact you’re going to have to spend a lot of time swiping through touchscreen menus to conduct basic functions. The good news is that those functions could have been a lot worse.

And so could the overall vehicle. The C10 is actually quite a pleasant surprise, but it could be wise to let someone else figure out if there are some unpleasant surprises buying one first.

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