Battery size: 37.3 kWh
Range: 165 miles
Company car tax: 2%
Max charge rate: 45kW
To all you people who have been complaining that electric cars are too expensive, here’s a treat. A car which costs the same as a Kia Picanto, but is fully electric with a 165 mile range. Even though you’ve never heard of the brand, it has the backing of one of the biggest car companies in the world. And it will be built in Europe. It’s the £15,995 Leapmotor T03.
OK, let’s deal with the Leapmotor bit first. It’s a Chinese company which has climbed into bed with Stellantis, the global behemoth which owns Vauxhall, Citroen, Peugeot and Fiat. The first T08s will be built in China, but soon they are expected to come from a Fiat factory in Poland which will keep the tariffs at bay and shipping costs lower. They will be sold through a network of 50 dealers in the UK, normally alongside other Stellantis cars.
The T03 is one of two cars it is launching in the UK, along with a more predictable large electric SUV called the C10.
Range, battery and charging
The T03 has a 37.3 kWh battery, which doesn’t sound huge but it’s bigger than a Dacia Spring’s. Actually, it’s more than the old MINI and a Mazda MX-30 too. It gives 165 miles of range in the official cycle, which is pretty usable.
That means you won’t need to charge often, which is good news as it’s a little leisurely. Even on a home wall box it will only take 6.6 kW rather than the usual 7.2kW and the maximum DC charging power is 45 kW. That is more than the Spring’s 30kW though.
The charging port is on the nose of the car. I love that as it means you are always near the plug if you drive nose in. But I know some people hate it – including insurance companies who have to fix it after a bump.
Practicality and boot space
The first thing you notice about the T03 is that it’s tiny. At 3,620 mm long and 1,577 mm wide, it’s smaller than a Dacia Spring in everything but height.
The new Hyundai Inster and Renault 5 are both longer range, alternative small EVs (the Renault is a bit bigger at 4.0-metres long, while the Inster is similar in size to the T03) that you might consider, but both are quite a bit more expensive.
There’s a surprising amount of space for passengers inside the T03, even in the rear. Six footers won’t be brushing their hair on the roof and while the legroom will be tight it’s not impossible to get in.
In the front there’s a decent amount of storage space, including a phone slot and single cup holder.
The boot isn’t as practical though. The opening is really narrow and high, and it reveals a space of 210 litres – you get 50% more in a Spring. The VW Up! has 40 litres more too.
If your weekly shop is more than a couple of ready meals you’ll probably need to fold the seat back down, which is easy to do with one hand. There’s no split in the seat though, so you can’t carry three people and luggage.
Interior, design/styling and technology
While the exterior looks are deliberately on the cute side, the interior is more conventional but it’s smart and remarkably well built for the price. The driver is treated to a digital cluster behind the steering wheel and a 10.1-inch central touchscreen. The graphics are impressive but the central display is clunky to use and most of the buttons are either in a menu or on the steering wheel.
There’s only one trim level available, so the only choice you are given is the colour. But that single spec is packed with kit. There’s a Bluetooth phone key and push button start, 15-inch alloy wheels alloy wheels, four electric windows, and – bizarrely - a panoramic sunroof with an electric power shade. The door mirrors are electrically adjustable and heated.
We’d gladly swap some of that for CarPlay, a reach adjustable steering wheel and a rear wiper though.
We’ve no complaints about the quality though. All the parts you touch often such as the steering wheel, stalks and handles would shame cars costing £10,000 more. Only the ‘piano black’ passenger door handle lets it down. It looks good when new but is bound to become tarnished quickly when attacked with jewellery and sticky fingers.
Motors, performance and handling
Press the start button, select Drive on the Mercedes-alike stalk selector and the T03 moves away swiftly, once the electric parking brake has realised it needs to release (which it does with roughly the same level of noise as a commercial airliner dropping its landing gear). In fact, the T03 makes all kinds of daft and irritating noises. Below 15mph it sounds like there is a tortured ghost trapped under the bonnet, so it’s best to turn up the radio.
You are offered a choice of three different modes for the steering feels and another three for the motor. Normally I’d just go for the Standard or Eco, but they can make the car feel a little dulled so I switched straight to Sport. While the steering will stay in this setting, the throttle defaults back to Eco.
You might also consider turning off the driving aids before departing too. The chimes and bongs soon become annoying, reminding you of every speed limit change while tugging at the wheel and suggesting you take a break if you yawn.
Once past that, the T03 is a pleasant surprise. It has 94bhp – which is much more than the 63bhp of the Spring. It means it feels perky when accelerating and it will happily keep up with traffic on the motorway. That’s not the car’s natural environment – the high sides mean it gets buffeted by air wash from trucks and side winds. There’s an irritating amount of wind noise too.
It’s comfy enough, even on UK roads, but it does bounce and bob over bigger potholes; mostly you're just aware that it's a fairly narrow, lightweight car on skinny 165-section tyres, and that inevitably has it feeling a bit choppy over poor road surfaces. Having said that, it's still wieldy and appropriate for winding through a city, which is where the T03 is designed to excel. And you get Continental tyres on the T03, which are much better than the LingLong tyres that the Spring gets as standard, so while the Leapmotor doesn't feel hugely grippy, it's still better for general cornering confidence than the Dacia.
Brake regen’ in the T03 is quite mild, and there’s no one-pedal mode, which is a shame given that one-pedal driving is really good for muddling through town. I’d definitely suggest more variable brake regen’ modes for the facelift of the T03, as an easy way to improve its about town usability.
Safety is a bit of an unknown with the T03. It’s not been crash tested by Euro NCAP, but it does get six airbags, autonomous emergency braking at slow speeds, traffic sign recognition, blind spot warning and lane-keep assist. We’ll have to wait for Euro NCAP crash test results for any definitive verdict on the T03’s safety rating. Brake regen’ is quite mild, and there’s no one-pedal mode, which is a shame given that one-pedal driving is really good for muddling through town. I’d definitely suggest more variable brake regen’ modes for the facelift of the T03.
Running costs and pricing
There’s only one trim level available, priced at £15,995, so the only choice you are given is the colour, and there are only three of those. Light White, Starry Silver, and Glacier Blue, if you are interested.
There’s no news on finance or insurance groups yet. What we can tell you about is the astonishing economy in the real world. When I drove the car – admittedly at the ideal temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius – it averaged an almost unbelievable 10.2 miles per kWh when driving through and between towns. This dropped when on the motorway with the air con on full, but it is still the most efficient car we've tested. We'll have to see how it performs in the chilly British winter.
Verdict
The T03 might look like an old Smart and sound as exciting as a car park level, but it’s a really usable small car with a surprising amount of performance, passenger space, range and equipment. It drives well too, especially in town and has astonishing efficiency – at least in ideal conditions. As you may have seen, when Nicki put it up against the Spring in our UK twin-test, the T03 actually came out on top! So there you have it. While the Spring looks much cooler, inside and out, it's this new Leapmotor T03 that comes out on top as the best affordable, urban EV.
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