Leapmotor B03X Design review: keep calm and be cute

Leapmotor New Zealand has been quietly filling in its SUV range downwards over the last two years. It started with the medium C10, added the compact B10 and now we've got a city-sized model, which is naturally called A10. Makes sense.

Except it's not called that. At least not here. Nobody seems entirely sure why the name changed from the Chinese-market A10 to "B03X" for export. Some say it's to align more with the B10 as an urban SUV and make room for more models underneath; others say there was concern over confusion with Audi's model naming strategy in Europe. Not that Audi's entirely clear on what to call its cars either. And Leapmotor already has a truly tiny city car in Europe called T01, which doesn't fit with the other naming protocols at all.

Anyway, B03X it is, to denote a smallish urban car that's also an SUV ("X") with elevated ground clearance. And ain't it cute?

On the outside: what are the Leapmotor B03X Design's main design features?

Maybe that's a fair call on the size/naming thing. The B10 is relatively large for a compact SUV and the new B03X isn't exactly tiny at 4270mm in length, with a very long 2605mm wheelbase.

The look and styling detail tells you this a car that doesn't take itself too seriously. But it's also incredibly practical and well-packaged.

Leapmotor's SUVs are among the more characterful-looking of the new generation of Chinese EVs and the company has gone to town on design detail for the B03X.

In photographs it's fair to say it looks a little... what's the word... dorky. In the metal, it does sport a certain sense of style. It's a bit Mini Countryman and a lot Fiat 500L, the now-defunct embiggened version of Fiat's city car that was never sold here. Fiat is a Stellantis brand and Leapmotor International is majority-owned by Stellantis, so maybe it's just all in the family.

The B03X has familiar Leapmotor touches like the checkerboard running lights up front, but it also goes big on bespoke branding with "Leapmotor" script on the front spoiler bib and "Leap" down the plastic sills.

From the thing-you-have-to-show-your-friends department comes the "ha ha" tail lights, which illuminate in something approaching a happy robot face at night.

OVERVIEW

On the inside: what's the Leapmotor B03X Design cabin like?

Here's another thing various Leapmotor models have in common: the controls are minimalist in the extreme, with a big screen, no console buttons and several mysterious markings on the steering wheel. Leapmotor even hands out a little cheat-sheet to media to help us get started.

There are so many cargo options. Trips to the garden centre will be a doddle in this bad boy.

In truth, it's all quite simple once you learn your way around and in combination with the fairly logical layout of the infotainment screen and intelligent voice control, this is an easy-to-operate little car.

The cabin is truly vast given the exterior dimensions, thanks to a combination of that really long wheelbase, a high roofline and a flat floor. The seats are strangely squishy, as is the Leapmotor way, which is quite polarising in our experience. Give them a good try before you buy.

Our Design model has some classy (configurable) ambient lighting, including the graphic strip on the dashboard where there's also a cartoon character holding a balloon to indicate the presence of the passenger-side airbag. It appears again on the phone charging pad, encouraging you to top up your mobile.

It's airy in the back and Leapmotor has appropriated a Honda idea with a seat squab that can be flipped vertically to accomodate larger/taller items behind the front seats. It's pretty nifty actually, although it doesn't go the whole Honda Magic Seat route with various tipping and folding mechanisms; the front passenger seat can fold completely forward for long loads, though.

The boot is big for the class at 405 litres, and that's before you factor in the "GigaBox" storage area underneath, which raises the total to 510l. The rear seats are also split 60/40 in the traditional way. There are definitely lots of cargo options. Trips to the garden centre will be a doddle in this bad boy.

INTERIOR

On the road: what's the Leapmotor B03X Design like to drive?

The B03X has a steering wheel in the conventional shape and mounted in the conventional place. But we're not sure it's connected to anything.

This is unashamedly a city car and many owners may indeed be delighted with the feather-light steering and cautious turn-in.

The little Leap is absolutely devoid of steering feel, although it does gain a little weight if you switch the mode to Sport. But only a little.

The general handling attitude on the open road is gradual understeer; in combination with the steering (sic) we could be talking about an alarming experience at speed, but in fact the B03X feels predictable thanks partly to a decent set of Yokohama tyres on our Design model. Still eco-tyres, but respectably grippy.

And really, does any of the above matter? This is unashamedly a city car and many owners may indeed be delighted with the feather-light steering and cautious turn-in.

The B03X is brisk enough to be fun in town driving (0-100km/h in 8.6 seconds) and the e-motor is nicely calibrated for linear acceleration. You can dial the regen up or down to suit your driving style.

The driver assists are pretty good, but we don't have to moan about the stuff we don't like because the B03X has Leapmotor's combined settings function. Basically, one of those mysterious steering wheel buttons is a shortcut to a customisable menu of your preferred driver-assist setup. So you can choose what you want on, what you off... and be done with it. Brilliant. 

The B03X is live, with an embedded sim, so you get over the air (OTA) updates.  We also got the benefit of a shared key via the Leapmotor app during our test period, which gives remote control of basic functions, info like charge status and hands-free locking/unlocking via Bluetooth.

It's not the only way to operate the car, but by embracing app unlocking you can also enable a pin code for starting. It's all very easy and feels like a nicely techy way to run your little EV.

The B03X Design has a bigger LFP battery than the entry-level Life, giving 382km range. It also charges faster, at a maximum rate of 133kW.

SPECIFICATIONS

On ownership: what's the Leapmotor B03X Design warranty and servicing situation?

Leapmotor recently increased its standard warranty to 6 years/100,000km. You get 8 years/160,000km for the battery, and 4 years of roadside assist.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/20,000km.

On the whole: what do we think of the Leapmotor B03X Design?

The entry-level Life price of $37,990 seems more appropriate for a city car, but aside from more range you're getting quite a lot of extra luxury in our $42,990 Design test model: heated wheel/seats, power adjustment for the driver's chair, eco-leather upholstery, ambient lighting, the full surround-view camera setup and parking sensors, and better audio.

The look and styling detail tells you this a car that doesn't take itself too seriously, but it does also feel quite luxurious in its own way with all the extra kit. And it is incredibly practical and well-packaged. We're fans, as long as you're sticking to the city.

Leapmotor B03X Design FAQs

What kind of car is the Leapmotor B03X Design?

A compact SUV.

Does the Leapmotor B03X Design have hybrid or EV technology?

It's full battery electric.

What’s the efficiency of the Leapmotor B03X Design?

It's rated at 15.7kWh/100km and range is 382km (WLTP).

Is the Leapmotor B03X Design safe?

It's not yet tested by ANCAP but gets 5 stars from NZ's VSRR.

What safety and assistance features does the Leapmotor B03X Design have?

What are the Leapmotor B03X Design's main rivals?

• Jaecoo J5 ($42,990): Underneath the Temu Range Rover styling, an accomplished and practical SUV.
• BYD Atto 2 Dynamic ($41,990): Arguably the most grown-up of this group, although this money only gets you the entry Dynamic model.
• Dongfeng Vigo ($39,990): Desperately short on dynamic ability and ADAS smarts, but truly clever packaging and cabin features.
• Ora 5 Ultra ($39,990): Another one with comedy styling, but lots of polish too and good open-road ability to.
• Honda Super-One ($41,900): Not an SUV, but if you're talkng cute city EVs, this has to be in the conversation.